The airbag sensors on the passenger side have problems differentiating between children and adults. Three people so far have been injured. Most of the 1,271 complaints and claims reviewed by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) stem from the fact that the airbag deactivation indicator light did not go off when an adult was in the passenger seat. The passenger seat sensor thinks the seat is either empty or is holding a child when actually it’s an adult.
The vehicles involved are from 2013 to 2017 and include the Altima, Leaf, Maxima, Murano, Pathfinder, Sentra, Rogue, NV200, NV Taxi, Infiniti JX35 and QX60, and Q50. The Chevrolet City Express, which is built by Nissan for GM, is also included for the same model years. Of the recalled vehicles, 3.2 million were sold in the U.S. In some cases, the fix is a software update, while 20 percent of affected models need hardware replacement. Nissan will notify dealers of the plan to remedy the problem in late May. Nissan will notify their owners, while GM will notify Chevrolet City Express owners.
In addition to checking the passenger seat airbag sensor, more than 600,000 Sentras, also included in the airbag recall, were recalled for a second issue. The Sentra’s front seat belt bracket can be deformed if it’s used with a child restraint system. For that issue, dealers will reinforce the bracket.
