2001 Nissan Altima
midsize car / 4-door sedan
Moderate overlap front: original test
Rating applies to 2000-01 models
Tested vehicle: 2000 Nissan Altima GXE 4-door
The Nissan Altima was redesigned for the 1998 model year and modified beginning with 2000 models to change airbag characteristics.
| Overall evaluation | |
|---|---|
| Structure and safety cage | |
| Driver injury measures | |
| Head/neck | |
| Chest | |
| Leg/foot, left | |
| Leg/foot, right | |
| Driver restraints and dummy kinematics Dummy movement wasn't well controlled. During rebound, the dummy moved toward the driver door, which had bowed outward, and its head approached but did not hit the window sill. Then the head moved up and back and hit the B-pillar. Plus there was too much upward movement of the steering wheel. |
Action shot taken during the frontal offset crash test.
The dummy's position in relation to the steering wheel and instrument panel after the crash test -- plus footwell intrusion -- indicate the driver's survival space wasn't maintained well.
Smeared red greasepaint shows where the dummy's left shin hit and broke the plastic knee bolster, exposing a sharp edge of the underlying metal plate that gashed the vinyl "skin" just below the knee.
Close-up of the gash in the vinyl "skin" just below the knee.
Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side
| Test ID | CF00004 |
|---|---|
| Footwell intrusion | |
| Footrest (cm) | 28 |
| Left (cm) | 37 |
| Center (cm) | 34 |
| Right (cm) | 26 |
| Brake pedal (cm) | 26 |
| Instrument panel rearward movement | |
| Left (cm) | 15 |
| Right (cm) | 13 |
| Steering column movement | |
| Upward (cm) | 11 |
| Rearward (cm) | 9 |
| A-pillar rearward movement (cm) | 15 |
Driver injury measures
| Test ID | CF00004 |
|---|---|
| Head | |
| HIC-15 | 316 |
| Peak gs at hard contact | 8 |
| Neck | |
| Tension (kN) | 1.3 |
| Extension bending moment (Nm) | 20 |
| Maximum Nij | 0.26 |
| Chest maximum compression (mm) | 32 |
| Legs | |
| Femur force - left (kN) | 3.5 |
| Femur force - right (kN) | 2.2 |
| Knee displacement - left (mm) | 16 |
| Knee displacement - right (mm) | 10 |
| Maximum tibia index - left | 0.68 |
| Maximum tibia index - right | 0.87 |
| Tibia axial force - left (kN) | 1.4 |
| Tibia axial force - right (kN) | 5.0 |
| Foot acceleration (g) | |
| Left | 68 |
| Right | 94 |