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 2014 Nissan Altima owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while driving 15 MPH and coming to a stop, another vehicle crashed into the passenger side of the vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. The contact sustained injuries that she did not want to disclose and required medical attention the next day. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The dealer and manufacturer were not made aware of the failure. The approximate mileage failure was 76,000.
The contact's wife owns a 2014 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that at start-up, the air bag warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact took the vehicle to a dealer and was informed to call the manufacturer to see if the repair would be covered under warranty. The manufacturer agreed to pay 60% for the cost of the repair; however, once the repair was performed, the failure persisted. The contact returned the vehicle to the same dealer and the manufacturer agreed to pay for the full repair of the air bag unit. Despite the second repair, the failure persisted, and the manufacturer stated that the repair was no longer covered. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
My son was involved in an accident this weekend. A car pulled out in front of him and he hit them going between 45 and 55 MPH. None of his airbags deployed in his 2014 nissan altima. He had his seat belt on, but instead of the airbag keeping him from hitting the steering wheel like it should we ended up in the ER with chest pain. Thankfully he is ok along with his passenger, but I feel the airbags should have deployed. I'm not sure who I need to speak to about this. As is can see all of the black car's airbags deployed.
The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who was unable to determine the air bag failure, however, while the contact was getting their transmission repaired they noticed the air bag warning light was no longer illuminated. Approximately 2 months after the repair the air bag warning light had illuminated again. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.
The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Altima. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the wiring in the front driver's side seat was damaged, and the rear of the driver's side seat needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 165,000.
The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag and check engine warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was determined that the air bag might deploy at any time, and that the clock spring, the steering wheel, and possibly the driver's seat needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 170,000.
The contact owns a 2014 NISSAN Altima. The contact stated that the airbag warning light was illuminated. The dealer was contacted and stated that the airbag harness under the driver's seat had malfunctioned. The airbag and seat had not been replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact was informed that the repair was not covered under the warranty. The approximate failure mileage was 41,000.
I was driving on the interstate and a deer struck my vehicle going approximately 60-65 mph. None of the airbags deployed.The sensor lights were not on and did not indicate any airbag sensor issues. The incident damaged the radiator and my vehicle had to be towed. I could have potentially suffered a serious physical injury. Insurance representatives were contacted and the vehicle is at the repair shop currently.
The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while driving 45 MPH, the air bag warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 101,000.
On May 9, 2014, I took in my 2014 Nissan Altima (which was still under warranty) to the dealership to repair the airbag sensor light since it came on even with someone in the passenger seat who weighed over 130 pounds. The Nissan service technician checked it and failed to duplicate the concern. Sometime after that, Nissan performed a recall on the sensor. After the recall, I again took the car in as the sensor still came on periodically incorrectly. This was on 10/11/16. At that time, they said the programming had not been completed and so they completed it. This also did not fix the sensor. I took it in again on May 10, 2017. The notes on the repair order say: "Customer states intermit when passenger is occupies in front passenger seat the passenger side air bag light comes on check and advise. No active codes. Performed zero point reset." Nothing was found again. …
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.
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 2014 Nissan Altima?
NHTSA has 208 complaints about the air bags of the 2014 Nissan Altima, 19% of the model year's 1,114 complaints. The component named most often is frontal › sensor/control module (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2014 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 2014 Nissan Altima airbag problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 22,000 miles, and 54% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 32 crashes, 2 fires and 44 injuries and 1 death 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.