Nissan Class Action Says Altima Air Bag Sensors Don’t Work

A Nissan driver alleges that air bags in the 2015 Nissan Altima do not properly inflate, exposing passengers to injury.

According to plaintiff Jeffrey Dodson, the air bags sensors in 2015 Nissan Altimas fail to sense that there is a passenger in the front seat.

Allegedly, this defect causes the air bags to not deploy in a crash, which can increase the risk of injury to the front passenger seat occupant.

The Nissan class action lawsuit states the car maker has been aware of numerous customer complaints on this issue, warranty claims, and other data that drew attention to the defect.

Dodson claims that Nissan either knew or should have known that the air bags were defective and needed to be “redesigned, reprogrammed, and/or replaced.”

Allegedly, Nissan did not take appropriate steps to correct the defect, and initially failed to disclose the safety flaw to customers.

Dodson says that the company failed to disclose the air bag defect and continued to sell and service the Altimas anyway.

The 2015 Nissan Altima air bag class action lawsuit notes that Nissan issued a recall for 2014 Altimas with the same problem, that were manufactured before March 2014.

However, this recall allegedly did not fix the problem, because after some vehicles were recalled, they continued to experience the same problem.

The Nissan air bag malfunction class action lawsuit goes on to note that another recall was issued in April 2016, after three more Nissan air bag systems “may not have performed as designed in a crash.”

The April 2016 recall allegedly included the 2015 Nissan Altima vehicles, because the air bags in the 2015 models were the same air bags as those in the 2014 vehicles.

However, Dodson argues that he and other drivers continued to experience the defeat after their vehicle was subject to recall.

The Nissan Altima class action claims that Dodson specifically was denied further repairs to fix the problem, after his vehicle was subject to recall and continued to experience the air bag defect.

Dodson allege that Nissan knew of the defect and the inefficacy of the recall to fix the defect, and despite its knowledge, continued to market and sell the 2015 Altimas as safe and reliable.

The Nissan class action goes on to note that the company specifically advertises that the air bags are effective, though they are not.

He cites language in the 2015 Altima brochure, which says that the “Advanced Air Bag System with dual-stage supplemental front air bags with seat belt and occupant-classification sensors ‘help[s] protect passengers’, ‘[w]hen a collision is unavoidable.”

Allegedly, Nissan’s failure to acknowledge or sufficiently fix the air bag problem is a violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, and caused injury to consumers.

Dodson says that many consumers were physically injured by the air bag defect, and that Nissan owners were financially injured by Nissan’s actions because had they known that the vehicle was defective, they would not have purchased it at all or would not have paid as much for them as they did.

The Nissan Altima owner is represented by David B. Levin of the Law Offices of Todd M. Friedman PC.

The Nissan Altima Air Bag Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Jeffrey Dodson v. Nissan North America Inc., Case No. 4:19-cv-04043-SLD-JEH, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, Rock Island Division.