CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2008 Altima has a defect trend of CVT transmission failure showing up around the 100,000 mile mark.
It's an expensive repair at nearly $4,000 average repair cost. For more information see Nissan Altima CVT defect info on NissanProblems.com.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
17 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
17 / 1
Average Mileage:
60,623 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
I T-boned another car that had run a red light. The drivers side front air bag did deploy. I was transported to the hospital. The hospital found multipule contusions, sprains and strains to my chest wall, lower back, neck, hands and wrists. My primary care doctor ran additional tests, which found no additional injuries except, both hands had a fracture of the 3rd metacarpal (the bone located in the middle of the hand) and a tear of the tfcc (triangular fibrocartilage complex) in both wrists. Which is located on the outside of the wrists. Since the injuries to both hands and wrists are identical and no other broken bones or soft tissue tears were found on my body, I strongly believe that the air bag deployed to forcefully causing these injuries to my hands and wrists. If the injuries to my hands and wrists had been caused by them hitting parts of the inside of the car, the injuries to my hands and wrists would have been different from each other.
The contact owns a 2008 Nissan Altima. While driving 35 mph, the front passenger side air bag warning light illuminated. The failure recurred several times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 08V521000 (air bags, electrical system). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 170,000.
The contact owns a 2008 Nissan Altima. While driving approximately 45 mph, the contact's vehicle crashed into a second vehicle and the air bags did not deploy. The vehicle sustained significant damage to the front end. The contact indicated that the seat belt malfunctioned and did not secure the driver during the incident. The driver suffered neck, back, and chest injuries that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 144,000.
The contact owns a 2008 Nissan Altima. While driving approximately 55 mph, the front passenger side air bag warning indicator illuminated continuously. The failure occurred whenever the vehicle was in operation. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing where it was discovered that the front passenger occupancy seat sensor would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 53,000.
The airbag light for front seat passenger indicates "airbag is off" when an adult is sitting in the front passenger seat. Adult weighs 125lbs. I have taken video of this as evidence. This happens intermittently. I have also called Nissan customer service to report this. Nissan says there is no recall or issue. I beg to differ. NHTSA bullietin 08V521000 list occupant classification system (OCS) "fails to recognize adult in seat and shuts off passenger airbag". shame on Nissan.
- Lakeland, FL, USA
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2008 Nissan Altima. After starting the vehicle, the front air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the air bag sensor seat possibly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 70,000. This is safety issue for air bags may not deploy in accidents. Nissan has been notified with case# 18895692, they are reviewing. Dealer note: Dtc B1129 - B1132 front rh side air bag module: The front rh side air bag module is wired to the air bag diagnosis sensor unit. The air bag diagnosis sensor unit will monitor and shorts in detected lines to the front rh side bag module. Replace the front rh seat back assembly.
The dashboard is melting and deteriorating. Extremely sticky and shiny. Very glary in both night and daytime driving. It's a real visibility issue. Airbag deployment may possibly be affected also. Nissan agreed to replace the dash but would not pay for the labor cost which was almost $300. This dashboard was constructed of inferior materials and Nissan knows it. That is why they agreed to pay for the part.
The contact owns a 2008 Nissan Altima. After starting the vehicle, the front air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the air bag sensor possibly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 97,000.
Was informed by our Nissan dealership that this vehicle has inoperable airbags due to a failure of the front crash zone sensor. Of course, this is just an assumption on their part. This vehicle has never been in an accident or experience any impact of any nature to cause this sensor to malfunction. Nissan dealership ran a diagnostics test, but still no clear indication as to there being inoperable airbags. Was given two options, starting with one option of replacing the sensor in its entirety at an estimated cost of $525, and if that didn't work, running another diag. Test at an additional estimated cost of $592. In an attempt for some assistance, a consumer complaint was filed with Nissan North America only to be denied assistance on the cost of this repair. Their decision was based solely on the age of the vehicle and it not being under a warranty. Paying a $1,000 for a "guess" is extremely steep and unreasonable and a cost to which I cannot afford. Due to their faulty transmissions, at 45,000 miles, the transmission on this vehicle had to be completely replaced, to which Nissan picked up the tab for due to faulty transmissions of their cvt transmissions. Being purchased as a brand new vehicle only to have a transmission being completely replaced at 45,000 miles sheds new light on the poor quality of Nissan vehicles. At this time, Nissan is refusing to assist.
The dashboard of my 2008 Nissan Altima has been melting for over a year and a half and is now causing such a large and intense glare on the windshield that it is difficult to see during daytime hours and at night when driving under lights. The dashboard is constantly sticky and comes off in chunks when you touch it. I have searched for information about this issue and found several people with the same problem. Some have even reported issues/possible issues with the airbags. It wasn't until today when I searched again, hoping others may have come up with a solution, that I found a thread on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/nissanusa/posts/10152938385130375) discussing actions to take to better this situation. One Nissan owner suggested filing a complaint here. Some owners have reported quotes from Nissan dealerships ranging from $300 to over $2500 when Nissan knows of this defect and it is not in any way caused by the car owners. Please help us fix this situation. Updated 5/4/2016
The red air bag/seat belt warning light on passenger seat is flashing continuously with or without passenger sitting on a passenger seat. There is also no change if seat belts are locked in or not - the red light is flashing all the time. On 17th of September my car was checked by Nissan service at autonation Nissan marrietta (925 cobb parkway SE, marietta ga 30060). They cleared the code and monitor. On 13th of October the red air bag/seat belt warning light started flashing again and I made an appointment at autonation Nissan. On 16th of October, my car was checked again by Nissan service and I was told that the problem is in a sensor in a cushion seat and estimate cost is $900. They didn't have it in their inventory and I had to wait for a delivery. On 28th of October, I was informed that the cushion seat is in their facility. I checked Nissan recalls list and found out that there was a recall of Nissan Altima 2008 because of flashing air bag red light (NHTSA campaign # 08V-521). The description fits exactly to the problem with my car. I contacted the national Consumer Affairs department of Nissan North America and made an official complaint on 20th of October. I was informed Nissan would contact me on the same day or next (on 20th or 21st of October), but no one did. I called again the national Consumer Affairs department of Nissan North America on 28th of October and was told I would be contacted by Nissan at the end of a day. I was not contacted by any Nissan representative yet. I believe I should not pay for something that was recalled for this model year.
The contact owns a 2008 Nissan Altima. The passenger side air bag indicator illuminated when the front passenger seat was unoccupied. The dealer stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 08V521000 (air bags, electrical system). The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 142,000.
Passenger air bag light on. Dealer reports air bag module passenger side no good. Was a recall in 2008 on same issue. Nissan says car not part of recall. Find it hard to believe. Called Nissan, they never call back.
Dashboard appears to be melting. It is sticky and shiny and pieces lift off with anything that is placed on the dash. The effect causes a significant glare in the sunlight that affects driver line of sight. Deterioration has also caused multiple cracks in dash surface that may potentially affect air bag deployment.
The contact owns a 2008 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that both the driver and passenger side air bag indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the occupant classification system control unit located inside the front passenger seat failed. The seat needed to be replaced, but was not repaired. The manufacturer stated that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 08V521000 (air bags, electrical system). The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 50,000.
My passenger airbag sensor doesn't always work when a passenger is sitting there. That is while the vehicle is in park, putting it in drive doesn't matter it still says that passenger airbag is off. The only temporary fix is for the passenger to bounce in the seat and it might turn the airbag on and get rid of the message light on the center of the dash. This is in a 2008 Nissan Altima coupe.
Vehicle crashed with only side curtains deploying, no front airbag deployment at all. Resulting in occupant's death..updated 08-28-14..updated 10/28/14 updated 11/6/2014 updated 08/24/2017
The contact owns a 2008 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the driver was traveling approximately 40-45 mph when an animal jumped in front of the vehicle and the driver lost control of the vehicle. The driver crashed into a ditch and the air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed of the incident and there were no injuries. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to an impound lot. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 147,800. Updated 9/4/14 updated 09/15/2014
The passenger side air bag is not deactivated when my laptop or other packges are resting in the seat. The light does not come on to deactivate the air bags.
My 2008 Nissan Altima dashboard is very sticky and melting. I called Nissan and make my first complaint 2 months too late was told. Since then the melting and stickiness on the complete top of the dash board is getting worse. Inside the car now it"S also smelling like melted tar, which may represent a health issue when breathing it, and with it the intense glare, reflection of the glossy tar on the front window it's a severe safety hazard when driving, especially when this also could result in airbags being suppressed which could fail to provide adequate protection in the event of an accident. Nissan refuses to help replace this defective dash board. Last week I called Nissan again. This time because the A/C"S evaporator needs to be replaced.I understand the cost of this would be my responsibility to pay, but because this is under the defective dash board, this one would have to be removed in order to replace the evaporator. Once removed, the melted dash board, no guarantee could be installed again, I was told by service rep at Nissan. A Nissan supervisor told me the same as others and suggested for me to call NHTSA and file a complaint, so they would work on a recall for this. My A/C needs to be fixed. I'm in fl where weather conditions and rainy season it's next to impossible to drive with windows down. I'm aware that A/C repair is my responsibility but I believe it's unfair to have to pay an additional 2,000 because of Nissan's defective material used on dashboards. This is a known concern since others have had the same issue. If Nissan doesn't do right by its consumers and or a recall is issue, there would be many consumers in the future with risks of accidents and/or possible respiratory health issues. A simple search on your page you find many other consumers with same problem. Nissan makes it sound like these are isolated issues.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Winter Haven, FL, USA