Nearly One Million “Fixed” Nissan Airbags May Still Be Defective

Last year, automobile manufacturer Nissan North America, Inc. recalled approximately 990,000 vehicles due to a dangerous airbag defect.  Now, after Nissan attempted to fix the defect with only a software update, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating whether the manufacturer has in fact remedied the auto defect.

The Original Nissan Airbag Recall

In March of 2014, Nissan recalled 2013-2014 Nissan Altima, Pathfinder, Sentra, and LEAF vehicles, 2013 Nissan NV 200/Taxi vehicles, and 2014 Infinit QX60 and Q50 vehicles following several incidents in which passenger air bags did not deploy.  The failure to deploy could occur—and apparently did occur in some instances—due to a defect in the vehicles’ system for detecting whether the passenger seat is occupied by an adult, or either occupied by a child or unoccupied.

“[The]computer program could misjudge the weight of the person in the front passenger seat and conclude that a child instead of an adult was sitting there.

The airbag is not supposed to deploy if a child is in the seat because of the risk that the airbag can cause serious injuries, safety researchers have concluded. But the failure to deploy for an adult could have the opposite effect, resulting in more serious injuries.”  Source: The New York Times

The Current Investigation of the Nissan Airbag Recall

Nissan provided a software update to remedy the recall, but the NHTSA has launched an investigation into the efficacy of the purported fix after receiving more than 1,200 complaints that airbag warning lights continue to indicate a danger of airbag failure even after the software update.  This is cause for serious concern, considering the serious and potentially fatal injuries that can occur when a defective airbag does not deploy in a crash.

Lowe Scott Fisher Co., LPA–Ohio Airbag Defect Lawyers

If you or a loved one were injured as the result of a defective airbag, contact an Ohio airbag defect lawyer at Lowe Scott Fisher Co., LPA today for a free consultation.