Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (seat frames, recliners, heated seats and seat tracks).
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).
When a passenger sits in the front seat the airbag light on the dashboard indicates the airbag isn't armed. I have had a Nissan dealer "fix" it three times and it starts again in a few weeks. First time dealer said a connection came loose when the seat was adjusted. Same thing the second time and the third time they said they secured the connection. the light came on in a matter of weeks again . I will take the car back for a fourth time soon. I asked the dealer service rep if there were any service bulletins regarding this problem, he said there weren't any, I feel that I can't have the only car with this problem. Whenever there is a passenger in the front seat I worry about being involved in an accident and their airbag not deploying.
My airbag light has been illuminated for the past few months. It does not illuminate while someone is in the seat. Once reset, it stays off for a while. When checked, the mechanic informed me that the sensor in my passenger seat needs to be replaced. Due to this malfunction, the vehicle may improperly deploy airbags. This has not happened but I'm concerned that it could possibly happen.
When Adult sits in passenger seat, the passenger (Air bag off)light is on. Which means the Air bag is off and will not deploy in a accident. When a heavy weight adult sits in the seat, the light turns off. Sensor might be bad in seat. My wife is 140 lbs. light stays on when she sits in the passenger seat .
Both the driver and passenger side seat sensors do not detect when a person is in the seat, causing the air bags to remain off when vehicle is occupied. This is a common issue with the 2013 Altima, but Nissan has not issued a recall to have the seat sensors repaired.
My "vehicle was previously recalled to reprogram front passenger occupant classification system (ocs) electronic control unit (ECU). " I took my car in for the recall to have it taken care of, but now I'm still having issues with the ocs. Currently, the driver side airbag light is on, indicating that it is not functioning properly. In addition, while the car was in motion and I was sitting in the passenger seat, the passenger side airbag light was lit up. This indicated that the airbag was off, despite the fact that I was sitting in it. After taking the car into the dealership, I was informed that I needed a new ocs control unit as well as two ocs sensors. I informed them of the previous recall on the ocs; however, they said this was a separate issue, so I was going to have to pay around $700. …
For 3 years we have been dealing with this particular issue, with no resolution. The dashboard light signaling that the passenger air bag is properly activated for an adult occupant comes on or does not come on when it is supposed to. This occurs whether the car is stationary or on the move. The dealer has told us not to put anything on the passenger seat = ridiculous. The dealer then said that it "reprogrammed the system". Then the dealer told us that they needed to replace the sensor. I believe this has been done 2 x. We last had this attended to sept 15, 2015 but the "so-called repair" did not work again. This air bag issue is serious, and we feel unsafe in this car, therefore we have driven less than 2000 miles in 5 months - the car sits in the garage. The problem is intermittant = we don't know when the air bag system is functioning correctly - we must assume it is malfunctioning!
Front passenger airbag remains disabled when full sized adult is sitting in front passenger seat. Car was taken to dealer over one year ago for recall on this issue. Still has not been resolved. New recall issued oct 2015, took vehicle to Nissan for fix on 11/24/15. Nissan will not fix, say they have no way to fix the issue. Nissan states I will have to continue to drive a vehicle with inoperable passenger air bags. Showed Nissan service dept video of full sized adult sitting in passenger seat, vehicle running, and "airbag off" light illuminated in center of dash. Nissan states there is no fault in the system, and passenger should just "move their legs" to arm the system. Passenger seating position does not arm airbag or alter the function of the faulty system. Problem occurs randomly, with vehicle moving/stationary.
Since I purchased my Altima in 12/2012, 90% of the time the "pass" passenger airbag light comes on when my wife is sitting in the front passenger seat. I have had the Altima in for repairs on this about 5 times at tamaroff Nissan in southfield, michigan, including when there was a recall. I've had it looked at twice after the recall repair and it is still not fixed. Tamaroff has reloaded software and checked the sensors with no luck. They finally indicated that since my wife weighs around 110 pounds, she is on the cusp of what the sensor will react to. Jokingly, they indicated that if she would carry something heavy in her lap, such as a bowling ball, the pass airbag light would not be activated. My previous Altima never had this problem.
On June 2nd 2019 I was turning from a local street to rt 303 when heard a pop noise. It caused my wheel to jerk quickly to the right and my dash board light turned on. When I pulled over to the side to look and see what it was I saw that the body of my vehicle was resting practically on the tire. I went into a parking lot about 400m which was in front of an auto body. I left it in the parking lot over night and the next day I took it across the street where there is an auto body. When they lifted up my car they saw that the rear left part holding up my shocks had rusted and eroded and snapped and that my rear right side was rusted and cracked.
Several times the passenger seat / occupant detection system has failed to properly identify an adult occupant and has disabled the passenger airbag. This occurs with males and females ranging from 40th to 70th percentile in all genders. I have recorded videos of these incidents for record of their occurrence. The only resolution is to pull over, power car completely off and restart car. On restart the car recognized the occupant and enabled the passenger airbag. The date of incident is of the first occurrence. This happened several more times with the most recent being May 2015 with approximately 29,000 miles on the vehicle.
Seat complaints in other Altima years
Frequently asked questions
How common are seat problems on the 2013 Nissan Altima?
NHTSA has 37 complaints about the seats of the 2013 Nissan Altima, 2% of the model year's 2,313 complaints. The component named most often is front assembly › head restraint (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2013 Nissan Altima seat problems?
No. NHTSA lists no seats recall for the 2013 Nissan Altima, though it has 12 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2013 Nissan Altima seat problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 8,000 miles, and 78% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 0 fires and 1 injury to seats 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.