NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Engineering Analysis EA15-004: Occupant Classification System Failure

  • Closed

NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Engineering Analysis EA15-004 on August 31, 2015 and closed it on May 2, 2017. NHTSA's investigations file lists 8 models from 2 makes for it and links 3 recalls to it.

Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file

Key facts

NHTSA number
EA15-004 (also written EA15004)
Investigation type
Engineering Analysis A more detailed stage of a defect investigation, opened when NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation decides an issue merits further review, often after a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query; it can include vehicle testing, surveys and further information requests.
Status
Closed May 2, 2017
Opened
Closed
Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
Nissan North America, Inc.
Components
Air Bags; Air Bags — Frontal; Air Bags — Frontal — Passenger Side — Inflator Module; Air Bags — Frontal — Sensor/Control Module-Inactive; Air Bags — On-Off Switch Assembly; Air Bags — Sensor — Occupant Classification
Recalls linked by NHTSA
  • 15V-681: Air Bag may not Detect Passenger in Seat, reported
  • 16V-242: Deformed Seat Belt Bracket Affecting OCS Operation, reported
  • 16V-244: Passenger Air Bag may not Deploy due to OCS Error, reported
Vehicles and equipment
8 models from 2 makes, including the Nissan Altima and Nissan Leaf

NHTSA's summary

As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Engineering Analysis EA15-004.

try.vin does not copy NHTSA's investigation documents; NHTSA's investigation record lists the ones NHTSA has published.

In May 2016, Nissan North America issued a safety recall (16V-244) to address the problem of improper classification of adult front seat passengers in approximately 3.3 million vehicles, including those in the scope of this investigation when it was opened (almost one million vehicles) and additional vehicles, as shown below.

Nissan models: certain model year 2013-2016 Altima, 2013-2016 LEAF, 2016-2017 Maxima, 2015-016 Murano and Murano Hybrid, 2013-2016 Pathfinder, 2014-2015 Pathfinder Hybrid, 2014-2017 Rogue, 2013-2016 Sentra, 2013-2016 NV200, and 2014-2016 Taxi.

Infiniti models: certain model year 2013 JX35, 2014-2017 Q50, 2014-2016 Q50 Hybrid, and 2014-2016 QX60 and QX60 Hybrid.

Chevrolet model: certain model year 2015-2016 City Express.

Additional information on the above-referenced recalls is available online at NHTSA.gov.

Also, the numbers shown in the above failure report summary are for the original vehicle population, as opposed to the entire recall population, and the ODI reports cited are as of May 31, 2016 when Nissan began to notify the affected owners of recall 16V-244.

Based on the recall actions taken by Nissan, this Engineering Analysis is closed.

Additional information on this closing resume and the investigation are in the EA15-004 public file available online at NHTSA.gov.

The ODI reports cited above can be reviewed online at https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls#vehicle under the following identification numbers: 10583283 10585264 10585349 10585379 10592434 10593399 10593501 10594329 10594614 10594755 10595161 10595645 10595946 10596128 10596459 10596952 10597037 10597452 10597518 10597719 10598537 10598869 10604755 10604834 10605188 10605251 10606565 10606828 10607038 10609649 10610519 10610991 10614467 10614609 10614745 10616905 10617008 10617507 10617903 10618099 10618202 10619059 10619563 10620719 10621840 10622214 10625808 10625981 10625998 10626006 10626023 10626335 10626458 10626732 10628355 10629382 10629460 10629606 10630441 10630502 10630990 10632251 10632588 10632934 10632997 10633714 10633810 10637994 10638591 10639040 10639147 10639324 10639473 10643046 10643843 10644203 10644333 10644341 10644690 10644891 10644985 10648834 10648997 10649414 10649772 10649874 10651360 10651564 10651924 10651982 10652024 10658665 10658844 10659484 10660294 10661195 10661358 10661541 10661795 10661855 10662901 10663033 10663338 10663860 10663978 10668054 10668768 10670538 10672807 10673088 10676471 10678478 10678997 10679512 10680748 10680769 10680975 10681656 10682235 10682902 10682993 10683391 10683689 10689672 10689809 10689981 10691626 10692137 10692558 10692625 10693168 10695312 10700614 10700960 10701008 10701011 10701014 10701018 10701023 10701027 10701031 10701032 10701035 10701045 10701055 10701064 10701074 10701146 10701196 10701228 10701237 10701254 10701301 10701306 10701326 10701367 10701370 10701384 10701415 10701453 10701526 10701558 10701656 10701670 10701946 10702003 10702667 10702798 10703032 10703657 10703766 10703813 10704196 10704988 10705530 10705919 10706621 10712543 10712568 10712575 10713335 10714316 10714330 10714536 10714980 10715132 10715945 10717336 10720918 10720971 10721331 10721746 10723424 10724568 10731167 10731868 10732012 10732065 10733877 10735438 10745948 10745982 10746399 10747660 10748077 10749091 10749110 10758979 10761398 10761433 10763320 10764590 10766486 10775946 10777923 10779712 10781422 10781449 10781508 10781901 10783624 10783776 10785993 10786461 10786713 10786788 10787867 10788370 10788371 10788962 10789694 10790181 10790230 10790362 10794790 10806647 10806933 10807302 10807841 10810487 10810558 10811858 10811864 10816502 10816686 10818702 10820204 10821247 10821751

Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation

NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Engineering Analysis EA15-004. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to that page's NHTSA investigations section.

Infiniti

All Infiniti recalls

Nissan

All Nissan recalls

What an NHTSA investigation is

NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) looks into possible safety defects in vehicles and equipment, often after owner complaints. An investigation usually starts as a Preliminary Evaluation, or as a Recall Query when it concerns whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or fixes the problem, and ODI can upgrade it to a more detailed Engineering Analysis. A Defect Petition asks NHTSA to open an investigation, and Audit and Equipment Queries are administrative investigations into whether companies complied with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting, recall and certification rules.

An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.

To see whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Free VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.

Sources

NHTSA's investigation record for EA15-004

Investigation details come from NHTSA's investigations file, which try.vin imports once a day. The investigation types are described from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's May 2023 report on NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA's petition rules (49 CFR Parts 552 and 557) and NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation procedures. How try.vin reads NHTSA investigations.