2009 Nissan Altima Hybrid Air bags Problems

“I purchased a 2009 Nissan altima in sept. 2009. I noticed immediately that the passenger airbag remains off 50% of the time when my girlfriend (approx. 100 pounds) sits in it. I tried to follow up with the dealership where I purchased the car and a separate dealer as well. My dealership where I purchased the vehicle told me it was a common problem and that there is no way to leave the airbag on or to adjust the sensitivity. He also stated that other people had similar complaints. …”

“The passenger seat sensor to detect an occupant and enable/disable the passenger airbag failed. This is an item critical to occupant safety that is not a wear-and-tear item and one which should reasonably be expected to last the life of the vehicle. As a result, the passenger side airbags will not work as intended when occupied by an occupant of the appropriate weight per the sensor's setting. It is apparent that many altima vehicles, models before and after my 2009 year model, have experienced failure of the same extremely expensive to replace component. …”

“The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Altima Hybrid. The contact stated that the air bag warning indicator illuminated while driving approximately 20 MPH. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the sensor in the passenger side seat needed to be reprogrammed. The vehicle was repaired however the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 67,000.”