Question for Nissan Xterra owners equipped with side curtain airbags in their rigs...

[Obi-Juan]

While doing some research on roof rack mounting points, I happen to come across a lot of threads on several offroad sites regarding the accidental deployment of airbags while offroading. In fact, digging further specifically into 2nd Gen Xterra side curtains, I found out that they will (and have), deployed for some owners while using their X in rugged offroad conditions.

Apparently this is a feature of the airbag system as stated in the Owners Manual:

"Curtain and rollover air bags are also designed to
inflate in certain types of rollover collisions or near
rollovers. As a result, certain vehicle movements
(for example, during severe off roading) may
cause the curtain and rollover air bags to inflate."

So my question(s) to fellow X owners are...

1) Have your curtain or rollover air bags ever deployed while just driving offroad (not in a collision)?

2) If so, was it expensive to reload/reset the deployed airbags?

3) How do you disable the side air bags in your X? (via pulling a fuse, wire harness connection, or other)

Non-X owners - Do you have similar problems with your rig? If so, what's your method of addressing the problem?

 

[stoney126]

I've heard some thing like this with the wranglers. Though I haven't really dug into it and what angle does it have to see to deploy. Not sure about removing the air bad fuse. Removing is one thing putting it back always has me sweating a Lil Haha.


Any deployment is going to be expensive. The units will need to be replaced possibly with any molding or trim damaged during deployment.

 

[Jhberria]

I've had my Xterra in rough terrain. I've been pretty off-camber many, many times. I've wheeled with other 2nd gen Xterra owners that have had their trucks in similar and worse situations. I've never experienced a side curtain airbag deployment, and I've never heard a first hand account from another owner who has experienced a side curtain deployment. That being said, your mileage may vary.

 

[Obi-Juan]

I've had my Xterra in rough terrain. I've been pretty off-camber many, many times. I've wheeled with other 2nd gen Xterra owners that have had their trucks in similar and worse situations. I've never experienced a side curtain airbag deployment, and I've never heard a first hand account from another owner who has experienced a side curtain deployment. That being said, your mileage may vary.

Got it, thanks for the reply. I ran into several postings on a few Xterra owner club sites, as well as some videos on youtube and it made me a little nervous. I've only been building on the X platform since October of last year, so when I saw this, I figured I'd ask the OB community for some insight on the subject. Some of the folks on the other forums suggest disconnecting a yellow wire harness, then resetting the airbag warning light after hooking it back up after every offroad outing. I wouldn't really mind if I set it off accidentally (not in an actual real accident situation), but I would be pissed if it deployed inadvertently with my 6 year old riding in the back seat.

 

[Jhberria]

Got it, thanks for the reply. I ran into several postings on a few Xterra owner club sites, as well as some videos on youtube and it made me a little nervous. I've only been building on the X platform since October of last year, so when I saw this, I figured I'd ask the OB community for some insight on the subject. Some of the folks on the other forums suggest disconnecting a yellow wire harness, then resetting the airbag warning light after hooking it back up after every offroad outing. I wouldn't really mind if I set it off accidentally (not in an actual real accident situation), but I would be pissed if it deployed inadvertently with my 6 year old riding in the back seat.

Understandable concern. If I had little ones, I wouldn't want to risk a side curtain deployment either. I do remember reading about disconnecting the harness. Might be something worth exploring if you have concerns. Also, there's a pretty strong Xterra cohort on this forum, so hopefully we'll be able to help with any questions you have in the future.

 

[obrianmcc]

I had similar concerns with my Frontier. From what I could gather through all of the varying information is that any off camber of 30 deg or greater can trigger the sensor in thinking that it is in a roll situation. I concluded that if I find myself in that situation I would just pull the fuse ... The fuse should be safe to pull with ignition off. Scary expensive to have reset as I recall. I believe Toyota now has a disarm ... Nissan needs to follow suit ...

 

[Billy "Poserlander" Badly]

Huh, hadn't heard about that. I scrolled thru TheNewX posts on the subject, and it looks like pulling the airbag disconnect under the seat is the current workaround (note: I am not endorsing this, haven't tried it personally). It looks like OB member @BCBrian had this issue with his Frontier, maybe he'll chime in

 

[BCBrian]

I had them deploy in my 2010 Frontier and it cost me about $3500 to repair. Not only do the airbags need to be replaced but so do the seat belts, which lock, and the controller which is a single use unit. There are a lot of plastic interior pieces that get damaged and the headliner also gets damaged. In my case, I didn't replace the headliner as it only had some minor creases. When they deployed I was in an extreme off camber situation where I thought I was going to end up on my side. When I hit the gas to get out of it, the side curtains fired on acceleration.

Under the passenger seat is a yellow plug that has a sliding release. Unplugging that harness will reduce the chance of an inadvertent deployment. However, they will still deploy in a major incident. When I rolled my Frontier 5 times, I had the harness disconnected and the side curtains still deployed along with the other air bags.

Just so you know, the side curtain air bags are only about 3 inches thick when inflated, so I doubt they would touch your son unless he was right against the door. Both times mine fired off in the Frontier, they did not hit me. The sound however was like a shotgun blast right next to my head!

 

[BCBrian]

Huh, hadn't heard about that. I scrolled thru TheNewX posts on the subject, and it looks like pulling the airbag disconnect under the seat is the current workaround (note: I am not endorsing this, haven't tried it personally). It looks like OB member @BCBrian had this issue with his Frontier, maybe he'll chime in

Ha, Ha! I was typing my reply when I got the alert that you mentioned me!!! Hilarious!

 

[Obi-Juan]

I had them deploy in my 2010 Frontier and it cost me about $3500 to repair. Not only do the airbags need to be replaced but so do the seat belts, which lock, and the controller which is a single use unit. There are a lot of plastic interior pieces that get damaged and the headliner also gets damaged. In my case, I didn't replace the headliner as it only had some minor creases. When they deployed I was in an extreme off camber situation where I thought I was going to end up on my side. When I hit the gas to get out of it, the side curtains fired on acceleration.

Under the passenger seat is a yellow plug that has a sliding release. Unplugging that harness will reduce the chance of an inadvertent deployment. However, they will still deploy in a major incident. When I rolled my Frontier 5 times, I had the harness disconnected and the side curtains still deployed along with the other air bags.

Just so you know, the side curtain air bags are only about 3 inches thick when inflated, so I doubt they would touch your son unless he was right against the door. Both times mine fired off in the Frontier, they did not hit me. The sound however was like a shotgun blast right next to my head!

Thanks for sharing your story Brian. Yeah, you make a good point regarding the curtain position when inflated. I'm conflicted because if the vehicle is off camber it's entirely possible that my 6 year old daughter (or any passenger for that matter), will most likely be close to the door glass just due to the extreme angle and gravity. Not to mention the headliner, trim, or any other material that may become a projectile during the initial deployment blast and striking anyone in the vehicle. I just removed some Raingler net mounting points that I had mistakenly installed directly in the path of the side curtain deployment zones. I'm think I'm going unplug the wire harness that you mentioned just as a safety precaution while driving offroad.

 

[Mad Garden Gnome]

While doing some research on roof rack mounting points, I happen to come across a lot of threads on several offroad sites regarding the accidental deployment of airbags while offroading. In fact, digging further specifically into 2nd Gen Xterra side curtains, I found out that they will (and have), deployed for some owners while using their X in rugged offroad conditions.

Apparently this is a feature of the airbag system as stated in the Owners Manual:

"Curtain and rollover air bags are also designed to
inflate in certain types of rollover collisions or near
rollovers. As a result, certain vehicle movements
(for example, during severe off roading) may
cause the curtain and rollover air bags to inflate."

So my question(s) to fellow X owners are...

1) Have your curtain or rollover air bags ever deployed while just driving offroad (not in a collision)?

2) If so, was it expensive to reload/reset the deployed airbags?

3) How do you disable the side air bags in your X? (via pulling a fuse, wire harness connection, or other)

Non-X owners - Do you have similar problems with your rig? If so, what's your method of addressing the problem?

I had heard about this when the '05/first year came out. Some Xterra's were totaled out by the insurance due to cost. As time has gone by I have heard less and less about this occurrence. Hopefully they made some changes. I have bounced my rig pretty hard and have had it hard over far enough to need recovery. Neither of which resulted in a deployment.

 

[Obi-Juan]

I had heard about this when the '05/first year came out. Some Xterra's were totaled out by the insurance due to cost. As time has gone by I have heard less and less about this occurrence. Hopefully they made some changes. I have bounced my rig pretty hard and have had it hard over far enough to need recovery. Neither of which resulted in a deployment.

Yeah, I hear ya. Thanks for the info. I have a 2012, so maybe they adjusted the sensors a bit over the years. Here's a video of a guy in an '05 that caught the deployment on video. Side curtains deploy at 0:28

 

[Mad Garden Gnome]

That's an '05?. I thought that grill/bumper color combination was a later production.

Yea, he sure didn't hit very hard. I've hit harder than that. But maybe he hit it "just right".

 

[Obi-Juan]

That's an '05?. I thought that grill/bumper color combination was a later production.

Yea, he sure didn't hit very hard. I've hit harder than that. But maybe he hit it "just right".

Yeah, I could have the year wrong, but I believe it's a 2nd gen which are 2005 and up, right?

 

[Mad Garden Gnome]

Oh yes, it's a Gen II. The reason I brought the year up is that I wouldn't be surprised if an 05 did it, but those later years I thought it had been addressed.

 

[BCBrian]

The heavy throttle contributed to those firing off. I'm going to start unplugging them again in my 2015.

 

[Obi-Juan]

I personally have never had it happen and don't take any precautions to stop their deployment (disconnecting anything). I do know one person that had hers deploy.

My understanding is it was a bigger issue with the Frontier and earlier second gens but that video is proof it can happen to a later second gen.

My air bags must not be too sensitive since I landed this horrible jump without issue.

 

[Obi-Juan]

After reviewing several X curtain air bag deployment videos, it appears that it only happens when when there is severe side to side cambering at just the right angles and speed to set of the roll over sensors and not related to the front end collision sensors at all. Most front air bags are designed to only deploy, if both left and right side of your front bumper are simultaneously push in a direct head on collision on a flat surface

 

[utspoolup]

Kuma had his deploy at GONE last year, I know he fought with Tim Dahle Nissan and his insurance for weeks over it. Seen him cruising by the other day and threw out a wave but I dont think he seen me.

Snowtrout, that looks gnarly as hell. Bloody good show mate! HAHA.

 

[EricB72]

I didn't know about his potential issue. Good to know...thanks for sharing!