Nissan concealed an Altima airbag sensor defect, a new class action lawsuit alleges.

Kenya Cass, Alisa Steptoe and Cecelia Garcia filed a class action lawsuit on Sept. 23, 2026, against Nissan North America Inc. and its parent company, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

The lawsuit alleges that certain 2016-2018 Nissan Altima sedans contain a faulty passenger seat sensor system that can turn off the front passenger airbag with no warning.

The reported defect

Nissan's occupant classification system uses sensors under the front passenger seat cushion to judge whether the seat is empty or holds a child or an adult, according to the complaint. The passenger airbag reportedly deploys in a crash only when the system detects an adult.

The proposed class action claims the system in the affected Altimas can misread an adult as a child or treat an occupied seat as empty. Either mistake prevents the passenger airbag from deploying in a crash, the lawsuit alleges. A dashboard status light comes on in the first case but reportedly does not in the second, providing the passenger and driver with no signal that the airbag is off, the complaint contends.

What Nissan allegedly knew

Nissan knew about the defect before it sold a single affected Altima, the filing claims. In April 2016, its largest recall over occupant classification problems covered nearly 3.3 million vehicles, including 2013-2016 Altimas that received a software update with no replacement parts, according to the lawsuit.

In August 2017, Nissan reportedly gave dealers a hardware retrofit for 2013-2016 Altima owners who still had problems after the recall repair. The company allegedly never told owners about it, offered it for the Altimas at issue or recalled those cars, the proposed class action alleges.

The plaintiffs' experiences

Cass alleges the airbag warning light in her used 2017 Altima started turning on and off in early 2025. After a dealership quoted about $2,000 for a diagnosis and roughly $5,000 more for a possible airbag replacement, an independent shop repaired the sensor and later replaced the airbag, although the warning light returned.

Steptoe claims a Nissan dealership cleared the warnings on her 2018 Altima twice without repairing the underlyig sensor, the complaint says, and both warning lights have stayed on since January 2026.

The airbag warning light in Garcia's 2018 Altima allegedly came on in February 2025 and has stayed on since. All three plaintiffs say they would not have bought their cars, or would have paid much less, had Nissan disclosed the defect.

The legal claims

The lawsuit brings six claims under California law, all tied to the alleged defect:


  • Breach of implied warranty of merchantability under the California Commercial Code

  • Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, California's consumer warranty law

  • Consumers Legal Remedies Act, which bars deceptive consumer sales practices

  • Unfair Competition Law, which prohibits unlawful, unfair or fraudulent business acts

  • Fraud by omission, based on the alleged failure to disclose a known defect

  • Unjust enrichment, which applies when a company profits unfairly

Cass, Steptoe and Garcia seek damages, including punitive damages, restitution, attorneys' fees and an order requiring Nissan to repair, recall or replace the affected cars and extend their warranties.

What the lawsuit means for Altima owners

Any person or business that bought or leased a 2017 or 2018 Nissan Altima, or a 2016 Altima built after April 1, 2016, in California falls within the proposed class.

There is no settlement, no claims process and no money available at this time.