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 2004 Nissan Armada owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Hi.well on 051219 I my Nissan was parked outside from my work place I was making a left turn to get the road to my house when all of a sudden the inside airbags turn on they popped .I got so scarry could not see anything there were cars coming in both sides I felt my life in treat there was fire and smoke right above my head .I drive to the side and turn my truck off it was towed by a friend of mine now mi Nissan is parked on my garage cannot take to work I am having trouble to get a ride to my job is there a way I can get help
The side airbags deployed without any incident of an accident or crash. There was no accident-nothing was but or bumped just driving 35 MPH and the side airbags deployed fully and the seat belts on the driver and passenger side tightened to the point of restricted breathing. The seatbelts no lomger can be used as they should. They do not extend out fully. And the airbag sensor light is constantly. Before the deployment of the side airbags the brakes would grind to the point of needing to pull over to pump the brakes in order for them to function again properly. This would happen every 100 miles or so.
Takata inflators pasanger sit dosent sense theres a person on the sit airbag is off all the time even when driving and there's a adult heavy person on the sit I've tried several friends heavy persons and it's always off even when driving any speed ..... Rear brakes don't work properly when driving in regular street 25 milles suddenly emergency light turns on and back breaks sound like they are loose and don't stop car had to turn car off in the middle of street and then turn it on to reset brakes and then it works fine for a day or 2 or a week not sure when but its very often
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Nissan Armada. While driving 40 MPH and attempting to engage the brakes, the vehicle failed to stop and crashed into the preceding vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained moderate bruising across the chest due to the seat belt. The contact did not receive medical attention. A police report was filed. Neither the manufacturer nor the dealer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 117,000.
On 10/16/10 my father was involved in a front end collision with a tree (center of bumper) while driving his 2004 Nissan Armada. A high degree of damage was sustained on the vehicle. He suffered from facial lacerations and bruising. The airbags in the Armada did not deploy for some reason. We have begun the process of contacting Nissan to report this. My guess is that he hit the tree doing at least 20 MPH based on the damage (although my guess May not be correct).
Failure of air bags to deploy. Wife was involved in an auto accident, she was traveling at around 30 MPH the other around 35 MPH. Her vehicle was considered a total loss. The force of the crash caused her to hit the steering wheel with her chest causing chest pain, busing and a possible back injury. The law enforcement, fire and emergency personnel on scene all indicated that the air bag system should have deployed. Please help.
I was traveling over the 285 spaghetti junction bridge when a crashing sound like a gun shot disrupted my drive. I gripped the stirring wheel and was able to pull over to the side. Catching my barrens, we realized that the side "curtain" airbags deployed. There was not an accident, no one hit us and we did not hit anyone so we were not sure on how or why the airbags deployed. We contacted Nissan headquarters and they are not willing to assist us stating that because of the mileage and year of the vehicle there is nothing they can do. It is really upsetting that they are not considering the incident could have been deadly if the airbags deployed in the front and blinded my visibility. Instead Nissan will not give us a reason for the deployment or even check out the vehicle as it sits at the Nissan Infiniti dealership. …
I own a 2004 Nissan Armada. About 2 weeks ago while driving the red airbag warning light turned on and would not turn off. I just had it serviced today and was told that the front crash zone airbag sensor being that it is located outside of the front radiator grill ends up rusting out from the elements of our weather. Therefore it needed to be replaced. The car is out of warranty so therefore it was billable. After doing some research I came across a Nissan recall from January 2009. The NHTSA campaign id # is 08V690000. This recall was for the exact same problem with the crash zone sensor rusting out from snow/salt in the northern us states but was only limited to 2005-2009 pathfinders, frontiers and xterra vehicles. …
My wife was driving about 30 MPH in the evening and all of a sudden with no accident no fender bender or bump the side airbags deployed for no reason, shaken and scared she called me to inform me of the situation, thankfully my kids were not in the car at the time! I began to do research and found that I wasn't the only one, this airbag sensor that is bad on all armadas were recalled except the 04 model according to Nissan customer service, so initially I was appalled, the nice lady at Nissan said that in order for me to do anything further I would have to pay for a diagnostic out of my own pocket like the other poor guy on here who paid and was out of a vehicle for about 3 weeks just to end up in a situation where they won't do anything about it after they find that the sensor states vehicle was in a roll over accident even though it wasn't!!! …
Tl contact owns a 2004 Nissan Armada. While driving approximately 25 MPH, the air bags suddenly deployed without an impact or crash. He took the vehicle to the dealer and they kept it for three weeks. At the end of the three weeks, he received a recall notice from the dealer stating that the computer that diagnosed the vehicle indicated that it had been in a rollover crash. The contact took the vehicle back and called the insurance company. They inspected the vehicle and stated that the air bag defect had been a manufacturer issue and was not due to a rollover crash. The failure has not been repaired. The current and failure mileages were 55,532.
NHTSA investigations
Side air bag non-deployment
The subject vehicles are equipped with optional seat-mounted side air bags.all vehicles are equipped with standard frontal air bags and side air curtains.installation of the incorrect SRS diagnosis sensor unit does not impair deployment of the frontal air bag and side air curtain in the event of a crash.no reports of non-deployment of the subject seat-mounted side air bags have been received by the manufacturer or…
Airbag complaints in other Armada years
Frequently asked questions
How common are airbag problems on the 2004 Nissan Armada?
NHTSA has 23 complaints about the air bags of the 2004 Nissan Armada, 5% of the model year's 464 complaints. The component named most often is frontal › sensor/control module (3 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2004 Nissan Armada airbag problems?
No. NHTSA lists no air bags recall for the 2004 Nissan Armada, though it has 1 recall 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 2004 Nissan Armada airbag problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 83,000 miles, and 16% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 4 crashes, 1 fire and 5 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.