2007 Nissan ALTIMA HYBRID: complaints, problems and recalls

THE DRIVER SEAT ON MY 2007 NISSAN ALTIMA HYBRID IS LOOSE IN ITS TRACKS. THE DEALER ALLEGEDLY CHANGED THE TRACKS AT APPROX 5K MILES. I NOW HAVE 9K MILES ON THE CAR AND THE DEALER REFUSED TO DO ANY MORE, STATING 'WE CHANGED THE SEAT TRACK"..AND WENT AS FAR AS TELLING ME ITS NOT A PROBLEM, AND REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE PROBLEM, EVEN AS WE LOOK AT A COMPARABLE 2008 MODEL. THE SEAT MOVES WHEN TAKING CORNERS, CREATING A POTENTIAL LOSS OF CONTROL, AND A CERTAIN ANNOYANCE. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 5,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10229181 at NHTSA ↗

AIR BAG FAILURE NISSAN HYBRID-- THE FRONT PASSENGER AIR BAG AUTOMATICALLY DEACTIVATED ITSELF EVEN WHEN ADULT (EG. 110 POUNDS AND 5FEET 2 INCHES TALL) SITS UPRIGHT. IT ALSO DEACTIVATES OR ACTIVATES FREQUENTLY WHEN THE PASSENGER IS NOT ADJUSTING HIS/HER POSITION AND THERE IS NO NOTICEABLE CHANGE IN ROAD CONDITION. THE BEHAVIOR IS ERRATIC AND HAPPENS 75% OF THE TIME. I AM AFRAID FOR THE LACK OF PROTECTION BY THE AIR BAG SYSTEMS IN THE CASE OF DISASTER. NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE BY NISSAN SO FAR. 2 DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPARTMENT AREN'T ABLE …

Owner-reported narrative. 1 miles reported. Look up ODI 10247303 at NHTSA ↗

ON 6/2/2008, I REPORTED TO THE NISSAN DEALER THAT THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG ALERT LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED ON SEVERAL INTERMITTENT OCCASIONS WHEN AN ADULT WAS FULLY SEATED IN THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT. THE DEALER CHECKED THE VEHICLE AND REPORTED: "INSPECTED EVERYTHING WORKING AS DESIGNED". ON 10/2/2008, NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 08V521000 REPORTED A RECALL FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. I RETURNED TO THE DEALER ON 12/4/2008 AND THE DEALER PERFORMED NISSAN'S TEST FOR THE PROBLEM UNDER THE RECALL. THE DEALER REPORTED THAT NO PROBLEM WAS FOUND. ON THE NE…

Owner-reported narrative. 12,500 miles reported. Look up ODI 10254053 at NHTSA ↗

THE PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF LIGHT RANDOMLY GOES ON WHEN SOMEONE IS SITTING IN THE PASSENGER SEAT AND THE CAR IS DRIVING. IT WAS BROUGHT TO THE DEALER FOUR TIMES - ONCE WHILE IT WAS HAPPENING BUT SERVICE WAS CLOSED ON THAT SATURDAY AFTERNOON. THREE OTHER TIMES THEY COULDN'T DUPLICATE PROBLEM. WAS TOLD IT WOULDN'T EFFECT SAFETY OF PASSENGER. JUST GOT RECALL IN MAIL (1-9-2009) AND READ ONLINE THAT THE RECALL WAS BACK IN NOVEMBER, HAD I KNOWN IT WOULD HAVE BEEN COVERED UNDER LEMON LAW. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 5,064 miles reported. Look up ODI 10254436 at NHTSA ↗

2007 NISSAN ALTIMA HYBRID. PASSENGER AIRBAG SENSOR LIGHT ILLUMINATES,INDICATING AIRBAG IS OFF, WHENEVER MY WIFE (5FT 3IN , 118LBS) IS IN THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT. HAVE TAKEN IT TO DEALER WHO TELL ME THAT SENSOR IS FUNCTIONING "ACCORDING TO NISSAN'S SPECIFICATIONS." WOULD LIKE SOME DIRECTION ON WHAT TO DO NEXT. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10292816 at NHTSA ↗

PASSENGER AIRBAG IS DEACTIVATED AT RANDOM TIMES (SOMETIMES FOR ENTIRE 20+ MINUTE TRIPS) REGARDLESS OF THE WEIGHT OF PASSENGER (ALL MORE THAN 100 POUNDS, SOME MORE THAN 200 POUNDS). I BELIEVE THE SENSOR IS DEFECTIVE. NISSAN HAS RECALLED SEVERAL VEHICLES OF MY MODEL YEAR, 2007, AND EVEN MY MODEL, ALTIMA HYBRID, HAS A RECALL, BUT MY VIN IS NOT INCLUDED. I BELIEVE THAT MY CAR HAS THE DEFECT THAT LED TO THE RECALL, AND EVEN THOUGH I'VE TAKEN IT TO THE DEALER AT LEAST THRICE, THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING OTHER THAN RUN IT ON THE COMPUTER FOR ERROR CODES…

Owner-reported narrative. 100 miles reported. Look up ODI 10325513 at NHTSA ↗

INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) DEAR SIR/MS., I WOULD LIKE TO INFORM YOU THAT MY CAR (2007 NISSAN ALTIMA HYBRID) ACCELERATED SUDDENLY AND ABRUPTLY (FIRST FORWARD AND THEN BACKWARDS), FULL THROTTLE, ON FEBRUARY 21, 2010, WHEN I WAS TRYING TO PARK IT IN THE GARAGE. THE BRAKES FAILED AND THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY DURING THIS INCIDENT. AS A RESULT, THERE WAS MAJOR DAMAGE TO THE CAR, OUR HOME AND PERSONAL PROPERTY. THE COSTS FOR REPAIR OF OUR HOME AND CAR, AND REPLACEMENT OF PERSON…

Owner-reported narrative. 30,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10328688 at NHTSA ↗

2007 NISSAN ALTIMA HYBRID- WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS (APPROX. 65 MPH) THE CAR SHUDDERED AND VIBRATED. THE SHUDDERING AFFECTED MY ABILITY TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE. I PULLED OVER AND HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO A NISSAN DEALERSHIP. THE PROBLEM WAS DIAGNOSED AS CARBON BUILDUP IN THE ENGINE. PART OF THE ENGINE (INCLUDING THE ENTIRE CYLINDER HEAD) NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. APPARENTLY NISSAN IS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM- SINCE THEY GAVE THE DEALERSHIP INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO REPLACE THE DAMAGED ENGINE PARTS- BUT HAS NO PERMANENT SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM…

Owner-reported narrative. 45,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10328803 at NHTSA ↗

Reported: 2008-10-07 (October 7, 2008)

NISSAN IS RECALLING 204,361 MY 2007-2008 ALTIMA, ALTIMA HYBRID, 350Z, 350Z ROADSTER, MY 2008 ALTIMA COUPE, ROGUE, MY 2009 MURANO, AND INFINITI MY 2007-2008 G35 SEDAN, MY 2008 G37 COUPE AND EX35 PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH CONTINENTAL AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS' OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (OCS) CONTROL UNITS. A VARISTOR IN THE OCS CONTROL UNIT LOCATED IN THE PASSENGER SEAT CUSHION MAY HAVE BEEN MANUFACTURED OUT OF SPECIFICATION. UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS, THIS COULD CAUSE AN INTERRUPTION OF SIGNAL BETWEEN THE OCS AND THE AIR BAG CONTROL UNIT (ACU).

Consequence: THIS COULD RESULT IN THE PASSENGER AIR BAG BEING SUPPRESSED WHICH COULD FAIL TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE PROTECTION IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH.

Remedy: DEALERS WILL TEST THE SIGNAL BETWEEN THE OCS AND ACU SYSTEMS USING A SPECIAL TOOL TO CHECK THAT IT IS FUNCTIONING AS DESIGNED. IF NECESSARY, THE SEAT CUSHION (CONTAINING OCS HARDWARE) WILL BE REPLACED WITH A NEW ONE MANUFACTURED TO SPECIFICATION. THE RECALL BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 4, 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NISSAN AT 1-800-647-7261 OR INFINITI AT 1-800-662-6200.