Can't believe I didn't think of this earlier.

It was totally because my garage is small (car fits only by 3-4 inches), and when I park, I usually "nudge" the boxes that are there to know when to stop.

Started parking more carefully in there and no more airbag light!

Obviously there are some SRS sensors in the front bumper, can't believe it took me a few weeks to think of that lol.

Glad this cleared up! Thanks for some of the insight.

 

so you were just more careful with parking? did you have to reset anything? did you scan the codes prior? if so, what were the codes if you don't mind me asking?

 

Didn't have to reset anything. The SRS system resets on start up each time.

And yes, I don't "nudge" it up to the boxes anymore, and hit them (gently). Car needs a respray on the front bumper anyway so I wasn't worried about it.

I parked my car outside one night and poof problem vanished, no light on. So, I deduced that was the problem. There must be SRS sensors in the front bumper somewhere.

 

interesting. that's cool. got me thinking about my airbag light. something about driver's side fault. i thought it said knee air bag or something like that. but since i got the car, i through the keys i carry in the door so all i have in my pocket is the car key. wonder if that might have something to do with it. guess it's worth a shot.

anyway. glad you got to figure out what your problem was.

 

Of course I could be totally wrong, but I have a feeling this could be a non sequitur...

 

well, after searching around for more on mine, it was not the case. found a thread in the IS section where some GS guys also replied. in their case, the error code had to do with the driver's knee air bag circuit. long story short, i took the lower panel down and pushed on the harness to make sure it was tight & secure. although i didn't feel any movement, the light went out.

 

Good! I can't STAND dash lights on, I really wouldn't care if the whole system was disabled just turn the light off please. You don't want a check engine ligh on in this car. The dealer left something loose when they did the TB (nice, huh?) and the red triangle, check engine, PLUS check VSC, all of it comes on. That would basically ruin the whole car for me.

Glad you got yours sorted out too!

 

Light on, staying on. No bother but I wish I knew what the problem was, lol.

I almost want to disconnect battery and just slam on the horn cover a bunch, see if that fixes it.

 

I feel the same about the lights, but......

To share my experience. I purchased a 1998 Maxima SE new, in 1998. It had the typical 3/36 bumper to bumper, and 5/60 powertrain. Now this f'd a coworker when her Rogue had its CVT overheat in 37k. NOT COVERED. For me lesson learned when a powertrain doesn't match bumper to bumper, mfg. can claim trans or engine failure due to a not covered part. wonderful.

Anyway, my car was the first year with side airbags. So, out of nowhere, airbag light flashing in 2002. One (not both) side airbag module replaced under powertrain warranty. Happens again the other side, 2004. Not covered as powertrain warranty expired, diagnostic charge, waived. Estimate, $800 (in 2004 that is a ton of money--this is a Japanese car, huh?). Anyway, from 2004-2020 I always have to reset it, move the chair, unplug/replug the harness. 16 years.

but after the entire Takata scandal that I became aware of in 2016, and finally got a settlement check for in early 2020, I wonder if it makes more sense to disable airbag systems over x years old. Because despite the visors stating the system must be inspected, a) how many people actually do that b) how is it inspected, on working systems people have been killed c) if disabled, there's no chance of being killed or injured by the system, but there is the risk of not being saved in the event of an accident

edit imho it's more serious than a light, but I get it, even I want the light off. My BMW was already repaired due to Takata and it's recalled again due to Takata. At least BMW and Honda took this thing very seriously and provided loaner cars to anyone who wanted one, some were over 1 year--it cost 4-5 figs per person for these loaners, unbelievable. Audi and Mercedes were very bad, and Toyota was surprisingly not very good (these are folks who freak over a floor mat and tiny little anchor pins, but not air bags--imho the former is fake reports of highway chases etc, the latter is life and death). Takata showed who really valued their rep and put their money where their mouths were--Honda and BMW. Their brand is "Apple" like, people buy on the name, so they protect it.

I sure hope my LS light doesn't flash as it's not for no reason--it's because a fault emerged. What I do know now, however, is that airbag and ABS do not affect a PA safety inspection (shouldn't they? they're safety related)

 

I also had a Maxima but it was a 97, and it didn't have any side airbags. Hmm. Mine had all the options including a verrrry nice faux leather door insert. Where did they put the side airbags in the 4gen Maxima? The doors looked fabulous in the leather versions of those, Nissan gave 4gen Maximas a reallllly nice interior. I always said "this Maxima interior is not far off from a Lexus" well before I even owned one.

And yeah I just want this light off in my LS430, I'm sure it's something silly and stupid that my DIY friend could rig or fix. I have business card blocking the light so I don't have to see it.

 

They came in 1998, as did the LCD odometer. This happened so long ago I didn't even own a OBD-II scanner so I had to turn the screw to reset the lamp! The achilles heel of that car are brakes and the rear axle being a beam. I mean it does 137 mph (don't ask how I know) and doesn't have anywhere near the chassis it needs to do that. Funny it was my first new car and it's still in the driveway today. The only thing that can stop it is rust. Imagine a LS430 opening it up with a 1995-1999 Maxima, only to have the Maxima walk away lol (must be a SE, not a GXE nor GLE, although no longer positive about the GLE)

But it did stink having to reset the light for this many years, and again, I think it's better with the light on, i.e. airbags disabled, knowing what we know now about Takata...

 

Do you have any pics of your old one, where the side airbags are? I guess I can google. But do you know what I mean about the very plush and attractive leather door insert? Did they mess with that? It screamed luxury.

And oh mine was a 5spd too and went above 140, just a hair, according to the speedometer at least. I have owned lots of nice cars over the years and that damn Maxima (black on black SE, 5% tint) is by FARRRRRR my favorite other than my LS430. I have fairly regular dreams of driving the thing, I miss manual transmissions and that car had a GEM of a V6, amazing engine.

 

That was my first brand new car, and I guess I assumed all Japanese cars were as reliable. Even in 1998, sticks were hard to get, there were like 16 Maximas on the lot and only 3 were sticks. This was the only one loaded with leather.

I noticed the first week with it, that they had cut the seat near the headrests when taking the plastic off. As a result, they replaced the seatcover and for 22 years, the back always falls off. I had this car so long that when I first began changing the oil I only used Kendall GT1, then I switched to Castrol GTX, and only when my uncle gave me a case of Mobil 1, did I go to synth. On this car, the lower rad support rusted out and the subframe dropped. Body shop said $1,600, it's not worth it, just keep driving and when the engine does fall out, junk it. This was 2012 lol I brought the car to some forum member's house and they fixed it for $130 by welding in a sleeve of angle iron. Was like a 19 y.o. kid in his parents' house lol He had put a 3.5 liter V6 into a 1998 and the original was laying on the ground--it sorta told me this kid knows what he's doing.

Anyhow this is the side airbag

p.s. see my fake wood trim that was $429 on the sticker. I got into an altercation at a Nissan dealer over it in 1999, they refused to fix it under warranty so I reached over the counter and grabbed my keys and said I'm outta here....the SA said you put the keys back or I'm calling the cops hahahahahahahahaha those were the days.

edit p.p.s. how about the white faced dials

 

Yep.

White dials were gorgeous, also looked very high end, although I preferred the black needles in the '95-'96 over the orangie ones we got.

Car had an amazing Bose stereo that also was better in the 95-96s before they moved the tweeter from A pillar to door, but still plennnnnntttty good in the '97+s. That stereo rocked, I rocked the hell out of it. That was the age for me when I would constantly listen to music full blast, the days when I drove that car. So I loved the stereo.

The wood trim looked great for simulation but I actually liked the all black (other than gauges) in mine, no wood in the SE model. The GLE models looked gorgeous with the simulation wood inside but had the regular gauges.

People forget that back then most gauges were plain jane; now everything is high end. The white ones in the SE Maxima were worth getting excited about because they were different when everything else was pretty much the same.

We did get a better, beefier steering wheel with grips for 97, though, along with those glorious 5 star rims and the rest of the refresh.