The airbag light on my 2016 Nissan Altima model came on, showing code B0020-13. This airbag code indicates a problem with the driver side airbag system, typically caused by damaged wiring, a malfunctioning seat sensor, or a loose connector beneath the driver's seat. The repair quote from my local Nissan dealership ranges from $1500 to $3000 to replace the entire seat back. With other airbag issues resulting in a recall, Nissan's failure to address this particular issue raises significant concerns regarding safety. The local dealership cleared the code and I'm uncertain how to proceed with this repair due to the high costs and no guarantee that it will fix the problem.
Nissan Altima airbag light comes on
841 of the 15,497 owner complaints about the Nissan Altima describe airbag warning light, most of them for the 2013 model year.
- owner complaints
- 841
- worst model year
- 2013
- typical repair cost reported
- $1,600
- typical mileage
- 42,000
Is there a fix? There are 9 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
No deployment 23Check engine light 14Jerking 7Headlights 7Won't start 6Stalling 4Loss of power 4Grinding brakes 4
Trouble codes mentioned
B0020 18B1018 4B1129 2B0028 2B1436 1B1132 1B1057 1B00A0 1
What owners say
The contact owns a 2017 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while driving 45 MPH, the front passenger’s side air bag warning light illuminated and remained illuminated. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.
The contact's granddaughter owns a 2011 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while a granddaughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction, followed by an abnormal sound while turning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where diagnosis revealed rack and pinion, power steering pressure sensor, and steering gearbox failures, requiring replacement. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag warning light illuminated, the horn failed to function as intended, and power steering fluid was leaking. The vehicle was taken to an alternate independent mechanic, where diagnosis confirmed a broken air bag clock spring damaged during the initial repair. The vehicle was returned to the initial independent mechanic, who stated the replacement rack and pinion was defective. The rack and pinion and horn were replaced, and the vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The failure mileage was approximately 161,059.
I have a 2016 Nissan Altima, Its airbag light is on. diagnose say the driver side airbag has problem. Nissan has recall, but not include my VIN: [XXX]. How?? INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
A vehicle airbag light is staying on which indicates my airbags will not work this is a common problem in a 2015 Nissan Altima SL but it is not showing up as a recall on my certain vehicle. This recently started happening at 114,000 miles. When the light first came on it would go on and off at different times it would not be every single time I started the car but now it will not shut off
The contact owns a 2017 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while driving 80 MPH, the air bag warning light illuminated and remained illuminated. The dealer was contacted and diagnosed the vehicle with an electrical fault inside the air bag, and it was determined that the air bag inside the seat back needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted by phone and was made aware of the failure. The manufacturer stated that the electrical fault from the air bag was not under warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.
The passenger‑side airbag warning light first appeared within the first year of ownership. During that visit, the dealership did not repair the defect. They only reset the warning light and told me it was not a problem. No diagnostic documentation or repair explanation was provided, and the underlying issue was not addressed. The warning light returned in April 2026, showing the same unresolved defect. The dealership stated the repair would cost approximately $2,000 and said neither the Certified Pre‑Owned warranty nor the extended warranty would cover the airbag system. This contradicts the nature of the failure and the prior visit, where the defect was dismissed instead of repaired. This is a repeat failure involving a federally regulated safety component. The airbag system may not deploy properly, and the vehicle has been operating with an unresolved safety defect since the initial visit. The problem has been confirmed by the dealership, and the warning lamp continues to illuminate. The defect has not been corrected by the manufacturer, despite multiple attempts to seek assistance.
I was driving home from the store like 4 blocks away and on the road there’s dip n the road you can’t avoid it so after i drive over it the airbag light comes on with hitting anything.
The contact owns a 2015 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the SRS warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a driver's side air bag module internal failure. The dealer recommended replacing the driver's side air bag module and informed the contact that the repair was not covered under the extended warranty. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed the dealer information. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 59,256.
SRS - Airbag LF Side Impact: B0020-13 Error 2,000.00 to replace faulty air bag
Related recalls
Air bags: critical fasteners
- What is wrong
- Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain 2025 Altima vehicles. The front passenger air bag and front passenger knee air bag may have been installed with incorrect mounting fasteners, which can cause the air bags not to deploy as intended.
- Risk
- Air bags that do not deploy as intended increase the risk of injury in a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the air bag mounting fasteners, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 30, 2026. Owners may contact Nissan’s customer service at 1‑800‑867‑7669. Nissan's number for this recall is PD202. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on beginning August 17, 2026.
Recall number 26V526000 · Recall details
Air bags: sensor: occupant classification
- What is wrong
- Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Altima vehicles manufactured January 3, 2013, to July 29, 2013, 2015-2016 Rogue vehicles manufactured October 14, 2014, to August 12, 2016, and 2016 Maxima vehicles manufactured June 4, 2015, to August 19, 2015. An incorrect Occupant Classification System (OCS) Electronic Control Unit (ECU) may have been installed in the front passenger seat. The incorrect ECU and seat combination may misclassify the front passenger seat occupant.
- Risk
- If the front passenger seat occupant is misclassified, the air bag may deploy incorrectly in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
- Remedy
- Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace the ECU and update the OCS software free of charge. The recall began February 13, 2017. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1‑800‑647‑7261.
Recall number 16V911000 · Recall details
Air bags: sensor: occupant classification
- What is wrong
- Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Nissan Maxima, 2013-2016 Nissan Altima, NV200, LEAF, Sentra, and Pathfinder, 2014-2016 Nissan NV200 Taxi, Infiniti QX60, QX60 Hybrid, and Q50 Hybrid, 2014-2017 Nissan Rogue and Infiniti Q50, 2015-2016 Nissan Murano, Murano Hybrid, and Chevrolet City Express, 2014-2015 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid, and 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles. In these vehicles, the front seat passenger Occupant Classification System (OCS) may incorrectly classify an adult passenger as a child or classify the seat as empty despite it being occupied. As a result, the passenger frontal air bag may be turned off and not deploy in the event of a crash.
- Risk
- If the passenger frontal air bag does not deploy as intended in the event of a crash, the passenger is at an increased risk of injury.
- Remedy
- Nissan will notify their owners. Chevrolet City Express owners will be notified by General Motors. Dealers will reprogram the Air Bag Control Unit (ACU) and OCS Electronic Control Unit (ECU) in Altima, Maxima, Murano, Rogue, and Sentra vehicles, and replace the OCS ECU in LEAF, NV200, NV200 Taxi, Pathfinder, Infiniti Q50, JX35, and QX60 and Chevrolet City Express vehicles, free of charge. Interim notices were sent to owners on May 31, 2016. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Nissan customer service at 1‑800‑867‑7669, Infiniti customer service at 1‑888‑833‑3216 or Chevrolet customer service at 1‑800‑222‑1020.
Recall number 16V244000 · Recall details
Air bags: sensor: occupant classification
- What is wrong
- Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Altima and Pathfinder vehicles, 2013-2014 Nissan Sentra vehicles, 2013 Infiniti JX35 vehicles, 2014-2015 Infiniti QX60 vehicles and 2014 Infiniti QX60 Hybrid vehicles. The affected vehicles received an incorrect occupant classification system (OCS) control unit during a repair. These OCS control units may incorrectly classify the front passenger seat as empty, when it is occupied by an adult.
- Risk
- If the OCS does not detect an adult occupant in the passenger seat, the passenger air bag would be deactivated. Failure of the passenger airbag to deploy during a crash (where deployment is warranted) could increase the risk of injury to the passenger.
- Remedy
- Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will update the OCS software, free of charge. The recall began on November 30, 2015. Owners may contact Nissan at 1‑800‑647‑7261.
Recall number 15V681000 · Recall details
Air bags
- What is wrong
- Nissan is recalling certain model year 2013 Altima, LEAF, Pathfinder, Sentra, and Infiniti JX35 vehicles. Sensors within the passenger Occupant Detection System (ODS) may have been manufactured out of specification. This may cause the system to malfunction and permanently suppress the passenger airbag.
- Risk
- If the vehicle is involved in a crash necessitating airbag deployment and the passenger airbag is suppressed, there may be an increased risk of personal injury.
- Remedy
- Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ODS sensors and replace them as neccessary, free of charge. The recall began on May 6, 2013. Owners may contact Nissan Customer Service at 1‑800‑647‑7261.
Recall number 13V069000 · Recall details
Air bags: side/window
- What is wrong
- Nissan is recalling certain model year 2012 altima and versa vehicles. These vehicles may be equipped with side curtain air bags that contain an incorrect propellant mixture for the initiator component used, resulting in insufficient output of compressed gas.
- Risk
- The side curtain air bags may not deploy, increasing the risk of injury.
- Remedy
- Nissan will notify owners, and dealers will replace one or both side curtain air bag modules, as necessary, free of charge. The safety recall began on march 12, 2012. Owners may contact nissan customer service at 615‑725‑1000.
Recall number 12V055000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal: sensor/control module-inactive
- What is wrong
- Nissan is recalling certain model year 2012 nissan altima vehicles manufactured from june 15, 2011, through june 21, 2011 and model year 2012 nissan nv vehicles manufactured from june 23, 2011, through june 28, 2011 because the air bag control unit (acu) was assembled incorrectly.
- Risk
- The affected acu will not operate as designed and this issue may cause the air bags not to inflate in a crash when they are designed to inflate. This could increase the risk of injury.
- Remedy
- Nissan will replace the air bag control unit free of charge. The safety recall began on august 22, 2011. Owners may contact nissan at 1‑800‑647‑7261.
Recall number 11V408000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal
- What is wrong
- Nissan is recalling my 1994 and early 1995 altima vehicles following reports that passenger air bag deployments in these vehicles had caused a number of moderate-to-severe eye injuries. Nissan has developed a new passenger air bag that is less powerful when it inflates in a crash to reduce the risk of air bag inflation-related injuries.
- Risk
- Nissan expects that this new air bag can help reduce the risk of air bag inflation-related injuries.
- Remedy
- Nissan will replace the passenger air bag at no charge to the consumer. The manufacturer has reported that owner notification began april 28, 2003. Owners should contact nissan at 1‑800‑647‑7261.
Recall number 03V150000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal: driver side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- On certain vehicles, the electrical connector for the driver air bag may come loose. If the connector comes loose, the supplemental air bag warning light flashes intermittently.
- Risk
- The driver side air bag will not deploy in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of personal injury.
- Remedy
- Dealers will install a retaining clip on the clock spring electrical connector. Owner notification began april 21, 2003. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact nissan at 1‑800‑647‑7261.
Recall number 03V061000 · Recall details
Questions about the Nissan Altima airbag light
Why does the airbag light come on in the Nissan Altima?
Owners who report it most often also describe airbags did not deploy in a crash, check engine light and jerking or lurching, and the codes they mention most are B0020, B1018 and B1129.
Which Nissan Altima years have airbag warning light problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2013 (254 complaints), 2014 (105 complaints) and 2015 (92 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix airbag warning light on the Nissan Altima?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $1,600 (median of 98 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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