In July 2024 my airbag light came for no apparent reason. I took it to Nissan Service-they got it off with no guarantee it would stay off and said the airbag would have to be replaced if it came on again. In came on again in June 2026. I got my oil changed at a local shop and they got the light off verifying it was the L side airbag causing it to flash. That lasted about 2 months and it is flashing again. I got it off turning the key on and off 3 times. I am not 100% sure the airbag would work if needed. Nissan wants thousands of dollars to fix it. I wonder why this hasn't been a recall.Many Nissan owners have had the same issue.
2016 Nissan Versa airbags problems
21 complaints (26% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 35,523. 8 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 21
- of this car's complaints
- 26%
- typical mileage
- 35,523
- crashes
- 8
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
Owners did not name a specific part.
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+
Nissan Versa airbags problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2016 Nissan Versa airbags
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substance that traps and holds moisture) in US vehicles are under recall. These "non-desiccated" inflators either have been or are required to be replaced.In some cases, the remedy part for these recalled inflators was, or will be, an inflator using either propellant 2004 or 2004L that does contain a desiccant. None of these "desiccated" remedy parts (which were installed in older model year vehicles) are currently under recall for a degradation concern. Certain subsets of desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004 for use as original equipment, however, have been recalled for a degradation concern. All Takata inflators produced with propellant 2004L contain desiccant, and none of these desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L are under recall for a degradation concern. There have been no reported field ruptures in any non-recalled desiccated PSAN inflators.It is understood that desiccants fully saturate at some threshold, at which point any additional moisture will not be captured. This means the degradation process observed in non-desiccated inflators using propellant 2004 may also occur in non-recalled desiccated inflators using propellant 2004, assuming additional moisture enters the inflator and high temperature cycling occurs. Based on available information, desiccant saturation can occur within the first five years in the worst environments, and the time required for full saturation is affected by multiple factors. While no present safety risk has been identified, further work is needed to evaluate the future risk of non-recalled desiccated inflators using propellant 2004.Three entities -- Takata (now known as TK Global), the Independent Testing Coalition, and Exponent -- have been studying the long-term behavior of Takata desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004L (as well as 2004) in the presence of moisture and temperature cycling. The research efforts, which include development of predictive modeling techniques and field sample analysis, are ongoing. To date, none of the researchers have identified field evidence showing that propellant 2004L is undergoing a degradation process that leads to aggressive deployment and potential rupture. However, the time in service of such inflators remains short compared to that of the inflators using propellant 2004. Further study is needed to assess the long-term safety of desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L.The Office of Defects Investigation is opening this investigation to examine whether a safety defect related to propellant degradation exists in non-recalled desiccated PSAN frontal inflators manufactured by Takata. This investigation will require extensive information on Takata production processes and surveys of inflators in the field. Lists of recall actions that may have used desiccated PSAN inflators as remedy parts, as well as the makes and models originally manufactured with them, is available with the downloadable version of this document (see -- note this information is subject to change/revision as the investigation proceeds). This investigation does not supersede EA15-001, which remains open.
EA21002
What 2016 Nissan Versa owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
0 The vehicle has a CVT transmission failure causing severe shuddering, jerking, and progressive loss of acceleration. Initially the vehicle would not exceed 20 mph, then worsened to 15 mph, then 10 mph, and now will not exceed 5 mph. The issue consistently occurs after the vehicle has been driven for more than approximately 2 minutes. There are no warning lights or alerts prior to the failure. The vehicle has completely lost power while driving and has stopped in the middle of the road with no ability to accelerate or restart the vehicle, creating an extremely dangerous situation and risk of collision. This appears to be a known and common defect with the CVT transmission on this vehicle model and year. The condition has progressively worsened and makes the vehicle unsafe to operate.
The airbag warning light has come on and is flashing.Brought it in twice for it was in diagnosis mode the first time. History mode second time and two days later it is on again and flashing that is three times in one month! Nissan needs to have this problem fixed!
My Check Airbag light came on without any incident and has stayed on since January, 2025. I took it to a Nissan dealer and they told me they would charge me $4,000.00 to see if it could be fixed. Charged me $209.96 just to look at the car. Their report said AIRBAG SIDE MODULE LH FAULTY. I am very uneasy now driving around not knowing if my airbag will deploy if ever needed. It is now July, 2025 and I cannot afford putting out this kind of money for the airbag light. I am a [XXX] over [XXX]. Can anyone help? INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
A while ago my airbag light began flashing, we reset it a few times and it would come back after a week or two sometimes longer, either a flashing or solid light, it felt almost random. No codes came up when we had it ran, and then we took it to the dealership for inspection. It is the back of my driver seat, the airbag for the driver side back seat. I don’t know what the qualified number of complaints is, but please at least look into this. The most complaints this car has is something to do with the airbags. I’ve also had a similar ac/belt problem that was mentioned by the guy from Texas. He said the ac compressor caused a belt failure, mine was the other way around, my belt was squeaking for a while, had it replaced- month later my ac compressor gave out due to the belt operating at full capacity for the first time in a long time. It is available for further inspection. An airbag is plainly a safety risk, not to mention the part is “on extreme back order”, which leads me to believe that this a bigger problem then what is being reported here. The problem was confirmed by the dealership It has only been inspected by the Nissan dealership As also stated above, there were warning lights about its failure. It’s late, I apologize but I’m not proof reading this. Please look into it, please, it’s a very expensive repair that I won’t be able to afford for a long time, and I’m concerned about my back passengers..
Air bag red signal on and off. It is very loose. AC compressor needs repair that cause Belt broken, pulley isn’t working and AC condenser needed to be repair. Power Train catalyst issues. Exhaust leaking at manifold, catalyst too exhaust as exhaust connections. Oxygen sensors too slow to respond. Replace sensors with exhaust repairs.
Air bag red signal on and off it is very loose. AC Compressor is locked that cause belt broken and pulley is not working that AC Condenser had to be fixed Power Train Catalyst issues Exhaust leaking at manifold and catalyst too exhaust as Exhaust connections. Oxygen sensors too slow to respond. Need to repair sensors with exhaust.
Just got the car from someone, and the air bag light comes up and stays on all the time the engine starts, trying all the ways to reset the light and not working, I found online that many same car owners has the same problem and there is no recall from the manufacturer, Nissan cars has a lot of air bags problems., my car has no collision and has only 62000 miles. Going to a dealer to ask about the price to fix and was told about more than a thousand dollars and not guaranteered'
Lost consciousness due to previously undiagnosed medical issue, car was in 2nd gear and hit telephone pole. Car was totaled and I was injured from the impact, airbags did not deploy. I was presumably going as fast as possible in 2nd gear as my foot was on the pedal when I lost consciousness.
My car was in park , when I got in and shut driver's door the airbags exploded hurting my eyes and neck. Still dealing with nissan for 18 months and still not even looked at
Questions about the 2016 Nissan Versa airbags
Does the 2016 Nissan Versa have airbags problems?
Owners have filed 21 complaints about the airbags of the 2016 Nissan Versa, 26% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.
At what mileage do 2016 Nissan Versa airbags problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 35,523 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2016 Nissan Versa airbags?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Nissan Versa have bad airbags?
The Nissan Versa model years with the most airbags complaints are 2009 (180 complaints), 2008 (171 complaints) and 2012 (167 complaints).
Other 2016 Nissan Versa problems
Transmission 20Engine 10Brakes 9Electrical 8Steering 7Fuel system 6Acceleration 5Lights 3Suspension 3Tires 3Visibility 2Wheels 2Body 1Seat belts 1
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