1996 Nissan D21 Air bags Problems
- Complaints
- 13about this part
- Share
- 30%of 44 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 157,500miles
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 13 complaints about the air bags of the 1996 Nissan D21, 30% of the 44 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 157,500 miles. 6 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.
Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“We purchased a truck at curry's used cars. The truck had been wrecked, it was repaired at curry's paint and body shop. Then the owner sam curry had it for sale. We purchased it. Later we found out that he did not replace the airbag that had deployed. It has a dummy airbag in the vehicle. I know that this is a federal offense. Since I found this out know that other vehicles were repaired at this body shop and airbags replaced with dummy bags.”
NHTSA complaint #10088129, filed 2004-08“The contact owns a 1996 Nissan pickup. When the contact started the vehicle and began to accelerate, the driver's side air bag deployed. There were no injuries. The manufacturer stated that an engineer would come out and inspect the vehicle. Two weeks after the inspection, the manufacturer called the contact and stated that no compensation would be provided due to the high mileage on the vehicle. The contact called the Nissan dealer and received an estimate of $2,000 for the repair. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure and current mileages were 205,000.”
NHTSA complaint #10262367, filed 2009-03, 205,000 miles“Consumer was getting into truck and began to smell something burning. Smoke started coming from steering wheel. Consumer got out of truck once smoke cleared. Drove to mechanic, and was informed that air bag wire assembly had burned, and it would need to be replaced. Please describe details.”
NHTSA complaint #8015329, filed 2002-08“Components busted inside of steering wheel where airbag is located and sounds metalic fear the steering may fail or cause airbag to deploy while driving. I emailed Nissan corp of this matter and no responce as of yet.”
NHTSA complaint #742636, filed 2001-03“A few minutes after starting vehicle, the airbag experienced false and violent deploymnent, went off in driver's face causing servere damage to driver's neck, face, chest, wrist which resulted in bruises and bleeding.”
NHTSA complaint #548216, filed 1999-08Related service bulletins
- 10192305Jan 27, 2014SERVICE INFORMATION Information necessary to service the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) safely is included in the "RESTRAINTS" section of the Electronic Service Manual (ESM)…
- 10025522Jan 27, 2014Nissan: srs precautions during service;improper maintenance, including incorrect removal and installation of the srs, can lead to a serious injury or death caused by…
Air bags: other model years
Other parts of the 1996 Nissan D21
6 complaintsTires
6 complaintsElectrical system
4 complaintsEngine cooling
3 complaintsSeat belts
2 complaintsBody and structure
2 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
2 complaintsBrakes
1 complaintsExterior lighting
1 complaintsFuel system
1 complaintsInterior lighting
1 complaintsOther or unknown
1 complaints
← All problems reported for the 1996 Nissan D21
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 30, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology