Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (front, side and curtain air bags, sensors and inflators).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2013 Nissan Altima owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact's brother owned a 2013 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while her brother was driving at an undisclosed speed from a stop sign, another vehicle in the left lane crashed into the contact's brother's front driver's side. The air bags did not deploy. No warning light was illuminated. The contact's brother received medical attention for a concussion and had back and neck pain. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence and was not yet deemed totaled by the insurance company. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the hood suddenly became unlatched, compromising front visibility. As a result, the contact veered into a light pole, damaging the bumper. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The air bags did not deploy. A Police report was not filed, and no injuries were reported. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V244000 (Air Bags), and the VIN was included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 160,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, he noticed a burning smell coming through the A/C vents. The air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that unknown frontal air bag had deployed under the hood and burned; however, the mechanic could not repair the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to another mechanic who informed the contact that they could not repair the vehicle. An unknown dealer was contacted but provided no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 109,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Altima. The contact stated the driver's side frontal air bag and the passenger's side frontal air bag sensors were replaced under an unknown recall; however, the air bag sensor warning lights had been illuminating while starting the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who informed the contact that he would be responsible for the cost of repair because the VIN was not included in a recall related to the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but did not provide any assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 10,984.
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving on the highway at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the roadway and restarted the vehicle. The contact stated that an unknown warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the air bag module and ECU module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the "Air Bag Off" warning light remained illuminated for approximately a year. The contact stated that she took the vehicle to the dealer and was informed that the OCS sensor and module had failed and needed to be replaced. The failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V911000 (Air Bags) however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 156,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, the air bag warning light illuminated and remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and was diagnosed with an air bag wiring failure. The contact was informed that the air bag wiring needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 135,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a faulty driver's side air bag. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.
I was traveling straight and made an abrupt turn. I lost control of my car and struck a pole, then hit a brick building. None of the airbags in my vehicle deployed and I hit my nose on the steering wheel and sustained other injuries.
After OCS recall 16v-244. The system is malfunctioning again around 2019. The OCS light will stay off and the passenger seat belt light turn on as it register the seat as occupied and the only solution at that time was to click the seat belt in to simulate someone wearing the seat belt. No child can sit in the front due weight sensors not working. The safety of everyone is at risk at this point due to malfunctioning OCS. After several online research I found many Altima owners complaining about the problem but not able to afford the initial cost of checking the problem and the high cost of repairing the problem in the thousands, only Altima owner still under warranties are able to get relief and thus was not reported. …
Related recalls
Air bags › Sensor › Occupant classification
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Altima vehicles manufactured January 3, 2013, to July 29, 2013, 2015-2016 Rogue vehicles manufactured October 14, 2014, to August 12, 2016, and 2016 Maxima vehicles manufactured June 4, 2015, to August 19, 2015.
Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the ECU and update the OCS software free of charge. The recall began February 13, 2017. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.
Air bags › Sensor › Occupant classification
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2013-2016 Nissan Altima, NV200, LEAF, Sentra, and Pathfinder, 2014-2016 Nissan NV200 Taxi, Infiniti QX60, QX60 Hybrid, and Q50 Hybrid, 2014-2017 Nissan Rogue and Infiniti Q50, 2015-2016 Nissan Murano, Murano Hybrid, and Chevrolet City…
Remedy: Nissan will notify their owners. Chevrolet City Express owners will be notified by General Motors. Dealers will reprogram the Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) and OCS Electronic Control Unit (ECU) in Altima, Maxima, Murano,…
Air bags › Sensor › Occupant classification
Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Altima and Pathfinder vehicles, 2013-2014 Nissan Sentra vehicles, 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles, 2014-2015 Infiniti QX60 vehicles and 2014 Infiniti QX60 Hybrid vehicles.
Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will update the OCS software, free of charge. The recall began on November 30, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.
Air bags
Nissan is recalling certain model year 2013 Altima, LEAF, Pathfinder, Sentra, and Infiniti JX35 vehicles. Sensors within the passenger Occupant Detection System (ODS) may have been manufactured out of specification. This may cause the system to malfunction and permanently suppress the passenger airbag.
Remedy: Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ODS sensors and replace them as neccessary, free of charge. The recall began on May 6, 2013. Owners may contact Nissan Customer Service at 1-800-647-7261.
NHTSA investigations
Occupant Classification System Failure
In April 2014, Nissan North America launched Safety Recall 14V-138 to address problems with the Occupant Classification System (OCS) algorithm in the following vehicles: model year (MY) 2013-2014 Nissan Altima, Pathfinder, Sentra and LEAF; MY 2013 Infiniti JX35; MY 2014 Infiniti QX60 and Q50; and MY 2013 Nissan NV 200/Taxi vehicles.According to Nissan, the OCS may misclassify adult front passenger occupants and turn…
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited.
Occupant Classification System Failure
In May 2016, Nissan North America issued a safety recall (16V-244) to address the problem of improper classification of adult front seat passengers in approximately 3.3 million vehicles, including those in the scope of this investigation when it was opened (almost one million vehicles) and additional vehicles, as shown below.Nissan models: certain model year 2013-2016 Altima, 2013-2016 LEAF, 2016-2017 Maxima,…
Airbag complaints in other Altima years
Frequently asked questions
How common are airbag problems on the 2013 Nissan Altima?
NHTSA has 514 complaints about the air bags of the 2013 Nissan Altima, 22% of the model year's 2,313 complaints. The component named most often is air bag/restraint control module (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2013 Nissan Altima airbag problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 16V-911 (occupant classification, Dec 19, 2016); NHTSA recall 16V-244 (occupant classification, Apr 26, 2016); NHTSA recall 15V-681 (occupant classification, Oct 20, 2015). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2013 Nissan Altima airbag problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 14,000 miles, and 60% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 29 crashes, 0 fires and 35 injuries to air bags problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.