2016 Nissan Altima · symptom sheet
Airbag warning light or recall
- 70owner reports
- 60,000median miles
- $2,300median quote
- 12involved a crash
Newest report Jul 30, 2026 · checked Oct 2, 2026
70 of the 553 complaints on this car describe airbag. Only transmission shudder is reported more often on this car.
Narrower sheets: Airbag warning light stays on (26 reports)
Tick what matches of 70 reports
Airbag on other Altima years
Report counts are for each model year on its own, so a newer car has had less time to collect them. Model years with too few reports of it for a sheet: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2024.
What this problem usually is
Airbag complaints split into a few kinds. The most common is an airbag warning light that won't go out. Others involve the passenger seat sensor switching the passenger bag off with an adult sitting there, an airbag that didn't deploy in a crash, or one that went off without a crash at all. A large share also come from owners waiting on a recall part.
What got replaced
Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the occupant sensor (32 reports) and the module (9 reports).
Recalls and investigations
One recall on the airbags covers the 2016 model year. A recall on the same system isn't always the same failure, so read the defect text.
In these vehicles, the front seat passenger Occupant Classification System (OCS) may incorrectly classify an adult passenger as a child or classify the seat as empty despite it being occupied.
All 4 recalls on the 2016 Nissan Altima, with the owner complaints on each recalled system
NHTSA investigations into the airbags on the Altima
Desiccated air bag inflator rupture. Open.
Occupant classification system failure. Closed may 2, 2017, led to recall 15V-681.
Occupant classification system failure. Closed sep 1, 2015.
Autoliv air bag propellant mixture. Closed may 8, 2012.
Passenger air bag-related facial/eye inj. Closed apr 24, 2003, led to recall 03V-150.
Passenger air bag-related eye injuries. Closed aug 9, 2001.
What owners paid
12 of the 70 reports quote a price. Each dot is one quote. The middle half runs $1,500 to $3,110.
When it happens
The middle half of failures fell between 30,510 and 75,000 miles, from the 34 reports that gave a mileage.
Is this a known problem?
The manufacturer has sent NHTSA 3 service bulletins or notices for the 2016 Nissan Altima that deal with this problem. Newest first.
Federal rules make a manufacturer send NHTSA a copy of any notice about a defect that goes to more than one dealer or owner. Most of these are service bulletins, the repair instructions manufacturers send to dealers. NHTSA generally leaves safety recall bulletins out of this file, and recalls are listed separately.
DTC B00A0-00 STORED IF YOU CONFIRM DTC B00A0-00 (OCCUPANT DETECTION SENSOR UNIT) is stored, AND OCS zero point reset cannot be performed,
DTC B00A0-00 STORED
AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT FLASHING INDICATING SYSTEM DIAGNOSTIC MODE IF YOU CONFIRM The air bag warning light is flashing slowly (repeating 2 seconds ON, 2 seconds OFF). NOTE: If this should occur, the Air Bag Diagnosis Sensor Unit is in Diagnostic Mode and needs to be returned to User Mode. ACTION 1.
What owners wrote
“My airbag light is on. It just came on one day. (No accident or anything else to cause this to happen) I checked to see if a recall was on my vehicle but it was not. There are other Nissan Altima"s that have a recall for this reason.”
Filed Dec 31, 2022
“The light for airbags stays on. It has been on for about two weeks. I see there is a recall call for this problem but it is not coming up with a recall for my vehicle.”
Filed Sep 17, 2022
“Airbag light came on dashboard all of a sudden there was recall before with airbag I called Nissan is doing nothing that issue thanks please help”
Filed Jan 21, 2022
“For the past two years I have been experiencing dim headlights. I have had them change twice and still cannot see 5 feet ahead of me. I was unaware that this could be a common problem with this model. Also, the passenger air light stays on even when no one is sitting in the seat. this problem started about six months ago. Now I think the transmission maybe starting to slip.”
Filed Oct 6, 2021
Should you keep driving it?
This page can't tell you that. 12 of 70 reports involved a crash and 15 people were hurt. Owners who file are the ones who had a bad experience, and nobody checks their reports. If the problem affects steering, braking, power or a fire risk, treat it as a safety fault and have it inspected before a long or high-speed drive.
File your own report with NHTSA. Complaint counts are how a problem gets an investigation. How reports land on this sheet.
Guide Paid for this repair before a recall covered it? How recall reimbursement works
Other problems on this car
- Transmission shudders, slips or shifts hard 85 reports
- Engine stalls or loses power while driving 61 reports
- Transmission fails or needs replacement 40 reports
- Headlights too dim or fail 37 reports
- Doors, latches or locks fail 31 reports
- Loses power when accelerating 26 reports