2016 Nissan Altima airbag problems
70 of the 553 complaints owners filed with NHTSA about the 2016 Nissan Altima name the airbags (NHTSA’s “Air Bags” heading — airbags, their sensors and warning lights). Filed under the same heading: 1 recall, 1 NHTSA investigation. Every figure below is a document in a federal file, linked; none is a failure rate, and none is a verdict on any one car.
What owners filed about the airbags
Source: NHTSA complaint database12 of the 70 reports a crash · 1 a fire · 15 injuries. Self-reported, unverified.
Filed per year: 2016: 3 · 2017: 9 · 2018: 5 · 2019: 14 · 2020: 4 · 2021: 7 · 2022: 8 · 2023: 9 · 2024: 3 · 2025: 6 · 2026: 2
Half of the 32 owners who gave an odometer reading reported the airbag problem between 22,000 and 74,000 miles. A median of reports, not the life of a part.
553 complaints in all about the 2016 Nissan Altima, 2 filed in 2026. The whole picture, every system →
Counts are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many of these were sold; nothing here is a rate. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so “Air Bags” means the same area of the vehicle, not one fault.
Across model years: Nissan Altima airbag problems, every year on file →
In owners’ own words
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseFiled with NHTSA by the people who own these cars, about the airbags. Quoted as written, with anything identifying removed; unverified reports — what was said, not a finding that it was true.
Husband was in an accident in june. Stopped at a redlight on the city street going north, when he was hit from behind. The rear end ended up in the middle of the car. I do not know if airbags are suppose to deploy when he was stopped at the red light. His did not. He sustained minor injuries brusing to his neck shoulders and hands
A deer was struck by my 2016 Nissan Altima at a relatively high rate of speed (45 MPH) on a city street straightaway with front end impact that resulted in approximately $11,000 worth of damage. The driver sustained brusing of the chest and shoulder from the pressure of the seatbelt restraint.
Driver side airbags did not deploy at time of accident. Neither steering wheel nor side airbags. Driver, myself, was going with flow of traffic (40-44 MPH) on city street on the 2nd lane at 5:30 PM at time of accident. Driver has sustained injuries due to no protection to neck, back, shoulder, arm, wrist, and ankle.
My transmission is constantly kicking back at me, this morning 2017-09-27 my transmission completely gave out. Reving is to 5-6 RPM not being able to exceed 10 MPH. The drivers side curtain airbag keeps tripping my airbags to deactivate. Have to had the code reset several times.
I took my vehicle in for the first airbag recall and they fixed the issue. The airbag issue reoccurred again when someone would sit in the passenger seat, the vehicle still showed the passenger airbag disabled. I had people of various weights sitting there ranging from 70 pounds to 140 pounds.
What is on file about the airbags
Source: NHTSA recalls, investigations and manufacturer communicationsRecall filed under this heading
- 16V244000 HighApr 26, 2016 · 3,296,947 vehicles
- 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 Express, 2014-2015 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, and 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles. 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. As a result, the passenger frontal air bag may be turned off and not deploy in the event of a crash.
NHTSA investigation
- EA21002 Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Ruptureopened Sep 17, 2021 · open
- 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. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupt…
Trouble codes named on this system
Codes a bulletin or an owner’s complaint about the 2016 Nissan Altima names on this model year; a code with a record of its own links it.
Other systems with a record on the 2016 Nissan Altima
Source: the same files- transmission and drivetrain problems 235 complaints
- engine problems 86 complaints
Common questions
Source: NHTSA complaint database, recalls and manufacturer communicationsAre airbag problems common on the 2016 Nissan Altima?
They are documented: NHTSA holds 70 owner complaints naming the airbags on this model year (13% of everything owners filed about it), and 1 recall, 1 NHTSA investigation are filed under the same heading. Whether it is a problem on one particular car is a diagnosis, not a count, and a count says nothing about how many were sold.
Is there a recall for the airbags on the 2016 Nissan Altima?
Yes — one campaign is filed under this heading: 16V244000. A recall is matched by VIN; check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
When do airbag problems show up on the 2016 Nissan Altima?
Owners who gave an odometer reading reported it at a median of 54,000 miles; half of them between 22,000 and 74,000. That is when reports cluster, not the life of a part.
What does NHTSA's "Air Bags" heading cover?
Airbags, their sensors and warning lights. Owners choose the heading when they file, so it says which area of the vehicle the complaint is about, not which part failed.