So, my wife got the letter in the mail the other day. Our 2011 Versa has a passenger airbag that is going to try to kill us. We get to have it replaced at the dealership sometime. I'm pretty sure it's at no cost to us. They will contact us when the parts are available and we'll be able to schedule a service at that time. I hope everything goes smoothly with it. I also hope it happens sooner rather than later.

We had a recall in the past for our odometer/ speedometer. They had to rewire it because it was clocking miles faster than the car was actually going. It's still a bit fast, but not nearly as much. That fix went over just fine, so I'm hoping for the same good luck.

Until it's fixed, my wife is hesitant to allow anyone in the passenger seat. I told her not to wreck and we should be fine!

Has anyone else gotten a letter about this? Has anyone else had theirs repaired already? Do you still allow people in your passenger seat if you haven't had it fixed yet?

We got one for my daughter's 2008, but not for my 2012, the now-gone 2007 or my son's 2015 Note. The letter said there would be a follow-up letter when the parts were available. It did say it was a problem in high humidity areas, and while we've had a lot of rain I'm not sure whether we qualify. My daughter doesn't usually have passengers, so it's not much of a problem for her. If I get the recall, it will be a bit more of a problem.

I just ran the VIN for my wifes 2012 sedan through the recall database and its not on the list.

The risk varies and is statistically low but the faulty airbag system is dangerous to be exposed to. To reduce the risk, put passengers in the back seat.

I guess. My wife was being extra cautious, but it's sort of blown over. We've just been riding around normal mostly. We have yet to hear anything from Nissan since our original letter. I'm not sure how long I can just wait around before I start calling and asking about it. It hasn't quite been three months since the notice, but it has been at least 5 years since the airbag was put into the car.

This is ridiculous. I received the same letter in July, and have heard nothing from Nissan since. There have been some updates in the system (on safecar.gov) but the so-called interim repairs are not available to everyone, apparently. My dealer can't even order the parts yet for the interim fix OR the permanent fix.

Even if the risk is low, I would not feel safe having passengers in the front seat. I can't imagine how I'd feel if someone were issued due to a known, preventable risk.

The latest update I saw was that the final parts may not be available until December or even into the 1st quarter of 2017... so it could easily be six or nine months after the recall announcement before a fix is available.

I called Nissan to complain, and received very little (well, actually zero) satisfaction. My dealer's hands are tied, since they can't even order the parts.

Anyone have any satisfying resolution to this problem through their dealer or Nissan?

If it's any consolation, the problem is not limited to Nissan and the lack of parts is not Nissan's fault. We are going through the exact same thing with my wife's 2007 Toyota Yaris. Repair and replacement parts can only be produced at a certain pace. The supply has to be spread among many car brands. Demand is simply too high for that many units to be supplied as quickly as you would like them to be.

srellim234 wrote:If it's any consolation, the problem is not limited to Nissan and the lack of parts is not Nissan's fault. We are going through the exact same thing with my wife's 2007 Toyota Yaris. Repair and replacement parts can only be produced at a certain pace. The supply has to be spread among many car brands. Demand is simply too high for that many units to be supplied as quickly as you would like them to be.

I completely understand that demand has totally outstripped supply for the parts. However, what I cannot wrap my head around is why communication has broken down so terribly, both between manufacturers and dealers and manufacturers and owners. Apparently the promised timeframe for a fix has slipped from mid-October (the initial promise in Nissan communications) to as late as Q1 2017.

I'm beyond frustrated trying to make my car safe to drive again (I'm teaching my teenage son to drive, and need to be able to sit in the front seat with him. Not going to do that with bits of metal waiting for me.)

First-world drama? Certainly. I totally get it. But it is my world, and its a pain... a potentially dangerous pain.

I'm of the thinking that the airbag assembly, in conjunction with the mounting assembly has to do with the unsafe deployment of the airbags. I think the mount is vehicle specific, but the airbag is standardized. I don't believe any Versa has had a reported injury or death due to airbag shrapnel during deployment. I don't know that Nissan has been able to produce shrapnel in any test. I do know that many Versa's have crashed since they've gone into production. I also see the reported deaths are civics, citys and accords, with one Ford Ranger. So, I think the manufacturers are doing a bit of CYA and replacing all that have this takata airbag assembly, whether or not it is installed in a configuration that can result in flinging shrapnel into the passengers.

So now we just drive it just like we drive any other car. We've stopped using the back seat or other car as a safety measure. I feel safe enough. Hopefully my wife and I won't become the first airbag related injury or death in a Versa.

On a side note, no slamming the door on the Versa. I guess the side impact sensor is too sensitive and it could result in the curtain bags being deployed. Ugh!

Ooh, free of charge... except we're still waiting on our actual replacement airbags from the previous recall. The one where the airbag kills you or whatever. So, I guess I'm not too excited about this free of charge repair. I wonder if other recalls take so long.

Anyway, thank you for the heads up! No slamming doors or your interior might explode!

We got our airbags installed per the recall last week. No visible differences, the 2nd airbag light works in conjunction with the passenger seat occupancy sensor. The car was washed. So, all seems to have gone well so far. Let's see, we bought a 2011, it was probably made in 2010, so it only took 7 years to fix the issue!

We got our airbags installed per the recall last week. No visible differences, the 2nd airbag light works in conjunction with the passenger seat occupancy sensor. The car was washed. So, all seems to have gone well so far. Let's see, we bought a 2011, it was probably made in 2010, so it only took 7 years to fix the issue!

Unbelievable! Just received another notice from Nissan that now the driver-side airbags have been recalled, but of course "the parts are not available." My question is this: from a liability standpoint, on the previous recall, they told us to stop using the front seat. Are we now supposed to stop driving the car? I'm being dramatic, of course, but I'm uncertain about letting my still-learning teenager drive the car, since he's the one in the family most likely to have, shall we say, an "incident."

Well, as I wrote on November 2, I think the risk is super low, negligible, and maybe even on par with the risk level of a non-recalled airbag car (ie, there is no risk). They are simply in CYA mode. I elaborated more then, but I've convinced myself there is nothing at all to worry about. There have been Zero air bag injuries in the Versa reported to my knowledge. I just searched again and still find Zero. You can do your own research as well and maybe that will help you feel better about the safety of your car.

We have not received a notice about a drivers side airbag yet.

Actually, research on this topic and this particular issue has achieved exactly the opposite: this car does not feel safe. It’s not worth the risk. Calling the dealer on Monday. (Their recall rep is not in on Saturday.)

We got our notice in the mail that same day I posted. So, drivers side is recalled as well. Hey, what did you find that makes the car not feel safe? I did a lot of looking, but the internet is huge, bigger than me for sure, so I surely missed some things. Can you share some of that information?

I'm on a different computer and don't have the specific links... but apparently the specific kind of desiccant they used on the driver's side airbag can cause the metal to degrade, which could send shrapnel through the cabin (or the driver!). It sounds like the same issue as the passenger-side bag, but is oddly more specific. And while it's easy (even if inconvenient) to avoid having passengers too often, it's impossible to drive from the back seat to avoid the deathly airbag. Ha.

I read too many horror stories from parents and spouses of victims of other Takata recalls. I tweeted about my frustration and was contacted by advocates/activists with personal stories to tell and advice to share. And, in all my searching, I wasn't able to find anyone who said, "It's really not that big of a deal."

Yes, as you've said before, no Versas have had any such incidents. But I'd hate to be the first. Or worse, for my son (who's a teenager, driving the car more and more) to be a headline or a statistic anomaly. The risk is small. But driving is dangerous enough, I don't want to add any more risk for anyone.

If Nissan is willing to offer at least six months of rental to every owner of the 500,000+ Versas covered under this recall, the risk must be far greater than zero.

Okay. If you get to that other computer, I'd be interested in seeing the links you found. I'll add desiccant to my keyword searches and see what I find about the Versa. My wife drives the car and I'd be nothing without her (okay, I'd be a burden on society, not quite nothing, but certainly nothing good).

Quickly dug into these – some of which you probably found on your own.
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2017/R ... 9-8050.PDF
Letter to dealers: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2017/R ... 9-1054.pdf
NHTSA letter: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2017/R ... 9-1747.pdf

One article: http://autoweek.com/article/recalls/27- ... ace-recall

I didn't save links to the heartbreaking stories of people who lost loved ones and turned their grief into advocacy campaigns. I can't deny the emotions of their stories affected how I feel about the car or the airbags, but they're also not particularly helpful as part of this discussion.

I received a letter with a note to contact my Nissan Dealer for complementary loaner vehicle. I called up my dealer and was told to bring the car in so they can record the mileage and make sure I do not use the car while waiting for parts. A loaner will be provided.

I don't know if I'll just sell the car or actually get the loaner and wait. The estimated time for the replacement parts is Spring 2018.

fba123456 wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 25, 2017 6:52 pm

I don't know if I'll just sell the car or actually get the loaner and wait. The estimated time for the replacement parts is Spring 2018.

Unfortunately, you will not be able to sell the car / transfer the title until the service has been performed.

As an update: My dealer took great care of me yesterday. I stopped by without an appointment, and spoke to the service manager. He checked the odometer of the Versa and then had me sign a waiver that I would drive it home and park it until the final repair was applied.

The first plan, then, was to send me to a rental car company to procure alternate transportation. However, they put me in a dealer loaner instead: a brand-new Altima. I'm sure there's something in this for the dealer (they're getting reimbursed by Nissan for the $35/day rental cost, to be sure) on a car maybe they couldn't otherwise sell for some reason. But to me, it's quite an upgrade and a nice drive. Yes, I'll have to go in once a month to re-up the rental, but that's OK with me.

Wow, that's an interesting approach. Waivers signed swearing not to drive or sell your car. Maybe you guys have different years than ours. I saw no such things and even direction not to call the dealership until we get a second letter notifying us that parts are available. Did you skip that step FBA or was your letter written different than mine?

Hi CopyChief, thank you for sharing your links. I had not see a couple of those. Thank you also for sparing me the dramatic posts you've found. Thankfully, I see nothing in here I'm concerned about. I like Nissans "abundance of caution".

The letter we received (which was probably the same as yours) did say not to call the dealer until the parts were available. At the same time, there was a clause, "If you require alternate transportation, there are loaner cars available. Contact your dealer..." I'm paraphrasing, but it seemed quite clear to me that it's a serious safety issue and they're encouraging people to get loaner cars.

Strange, slightly off topic story:
So my 2007 Versa is parked on the street while I await the recall parts and drive the fancy Altima. Unfortunately, last week, we had a huge hail storm – so now my Versa, which I can't drive, also has some minor hail damage: several not-so-nice, round little pockmarks on the hood and roof.

It seems there's a dark cloud hanging over this car.

Good stories here. I have the 2009 Versa hatchback. I am being asked to bring it in for both driver and passenger airbags. I really don't want to let them touch my car and screw something else up while they screw up my airbags. I don't know what I'll do. Maybe I ought to be more careful and more trusting of other people, and just think positive. I don't know.

But, anyway, I have a Question, which is : Do these metal cannisters that are degrading in high humidity just explode randomly as you're driving along, or do you have to be in a wreck?

They do not go off by themselves. The bag needs a signal to detonate that happens at accident time. Bag blows up as planned and normal, it's the destructive amount of the explosion that is defective and unpredictable. The propellant goes off too quick rather than burning smoothly. It's the propellant itself that degrades not the container.

Got the letter, went right to the dealer . . . they put me in a new 2017 Sentra loaner a little over 2.5 months ago. Just got a call that the part came in. I'm dropping it off Wednesday (it's been in my garage for storage).

I'm actually impressed at how they are handling this!

They also are going to replace the front coil springs but I'm going to look for (or start) a tread on that, I have questions.

Whoa, thrilled that the parts are already coming in. The latest comms from Nissan on their site (which still doesn't publicly list the Driver-side airbag) still show they're studying how to get parts. Hoping the parts come in soon. I was in a great loaner for a big (an Altima!) but they switched me out to one provided by Hertz, which is an absolutely awful Hyundai Accent that's beat all to hell. Hertz should've been embarrassed to rent it to me, but it's all they had. Ugh.

@amc49: While there are no published reports of the airbags erroneously deploying, the wording is vague (or confusing) enough to suggest this is possible since the harnesses may degrade. There was a separate recall for other Nissan/Infiniti vehicles where this was absolutely the case; parts had degraded and airbags were deploying in error. As I understand it the problem with the drivers airbag is separate and distinct from the passenger recall from last year.