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NHTSA campaign 18V044000

2009–2012 Nissan Versa: air bags recall

An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

high 52,614 vehicles affected 63% reported repaired

What was reported

Source: manufacturer filing, 49 CFR Part 573
Problem Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2009-2012 Versa Hatchback, and 2009-2011 Versa Sedan vehicles ever registered in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, Nissan is recalling certain 2009-2010 Versa Hatchback, and Versa Sedan vehicles ever registered in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." Nissan is also recalling certain 2009 Versa Hatchback and Versa Sedan vehicles ever registered in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C." In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these passenger air bag inflator may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling. Risk An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death. Fix Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began March 9, 2018. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1-800-647-7261.

Reported to NHTSA Jan 10, 2018 by Nissan North America, Inc, owners notified Mar 9, 2018.

Which vehicles are covered

Source: NHTSA campaign 18V044000
Model yearOn WhichTrim
2009 Nissan Versaevery Nissan on this site
2010 Nissan Versaevery Nissan on this site
2011 Nissan Versaevery Nissan on this site
2012 Nissan Versaevery Nissan on this site

None of the vehicles this campaign names has a page on WhichTrim: every model year it names is older than the catalogue, which begins at 2016. The campaign record above is complete as filed, and whether one specific vehicle is included is settled by its VIN. Other campaigns on vehicles without a page here →

How much of it has been fixed

Source: manufacturer quarterly report, 49 CFR 573.7
Reported repaired 63%

of the campaign

The final figure: the six quarters of reporting that 49 cfr 573.7 requires have closed.

This is the manufacturer's own cumulative count of vehicles it has inspected and repaired, divided by the vehicles the campaign covers. It files that count with NHTSA every quarter for six consecutive quarters, starting from the quarter in which owners were told a remedy was ready, and then the obligation ends — so a figure on an older campaign is where the count stopped, not where it stands today.

It rarely reaches 100%, and not because the work was not done. The same report asks manufacturers to count vehicles they could not reach at all — exported, stolen, scrapped, or simply never located — and those stay in the denominator. A low number means a lot of these vehicles are still out there unrepaired; it does not tell you which ones.

The federal paperwork

Source: nhtsa.gov

Filed documents

Check one specific vehicle

A recall applies to a build range, so year, make and model cannot settle it. NHTSA checks a VIN against the manufacturer's own list and tells you whether the repair is still outstanding on that vehicle.

NHTSA VIN recall lookup →

Campaign 18V044000

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Common questions

Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR Part 573

Does this recall repair cost anything?

No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to remedy a safety defect or a compliance failure at no charge, for vehicles up to 15 years old measured from the date of first sale. A dealer that asks you to pay for a recall repair is in the wrong.

How do I know whether my vehicle is included?

By VIN, not by model year. The manufacturer files a build range with NHTSA and only vehicles inside it are covered, so two identical-looking cars from the same year can differ. NHTSA's own lookup checks a VIN against the manufacturer's list.

What if the repair is not available yet?

It happens, and often. Manufacturers must notify owners when a defect is found even if the parts or the software are not ready, then notify them a second time once the remedy exists. The remedy filed for this campaign is described above.

What did the manufacturer say was wrong?

The problem, risk and fix quoted on this page are the manufacturer's own words as filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR Part 573. WhichTrim does not paraphrase them.

Who started this recall?

NHTSA's record credits NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. A recall can begin with the manufacturer's own testing, with a defect investigation, or with a compliance test against a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard.