2009 NISSAN ALTIMA Complaints

THE ELECTRONIC STEERING LOCK HAS MALFUNCTIONED. THE CAR WOULD NOT START, LEAVING MYSELF AND TWO CHILDREN STRANDED.

ELECTRONIC STEERING COLUMN LOCK FAILURE. LEAVES CAR DISABLED WHERE EVER YOU ARE. CAR WILL NOT START. MUST BE TOWED. NISSAN HAD AN EARLIER RECALL BUT NEVER PUBLISHED IT TO 2009 ALTIMA OWNERS.

STEERING WHEEL LOCK MALFUNCTIONED CAUSING CAR NOT TO START. WAS HAVING A SEVERE ASTHMA ATTACK AT THE TIME AND WAS IN A LIFE OR DEATH SITUATION. THANKFULLY OTHERS WERE AROUND THAT COULD TAKE ME TO THE ER. THIS PART WAS A KNOWN ISSUE AS EVIDENCED BY AN EXTENDED WARRANTY ON THIS PART BUT NO CUSTOMER NOTIFICATION WAS EVER ISSUED TO ME. I WAS LUCKY! TO BE IN A SITUATION WHERE YOU ARE PANICKED AND NOT THINKING CLEARLY AND TRYING TO GET HELP ONLY TO BE HELD HOSTAGE BY A KNOWN FAULTY PART THAT WOULD NOT LET MY CAR START IS INFURIATING.

ESCL REPLACED AFTER FAILING TO ALLOW PUSH BUTTON START AND FAILED AGAIN A FEW MONTHS LATER.

WHEN PARKING IN REVERSE, CAR DOES NOT START AFTER 2 MINUTES. THE ELECTRONIS STEERING COLUMN LOCK UNIT (ESCL) MALFUNCTIONS AND SHOWS ERROR SYMBOL ON DASHBOARD SHOWING THAT IMMOBILIZER IS ACTIVATED AND STEERING IS LOCKED. IT IS UNSAFE, DANGEROUS AND SCARY SITUATION. I HAVE FAMILY, WITH LITTLE KIDS IN THE CAR AND STRANDED ON SIDE OF A ROAD, WITH CAR PARKED WHILE THE TRAFFIC IS FLYING BY. NISSAN DEALERSHIP AND SERVICE CENTER REPRESENTATIVE INFORMED THAT THERE IS NO WARRANTY AND NO RECALL. THE COST OF REPLACING STEERING WHEEL LOCK SYSTEM IS $1250.00. THIS CAN NOT DONE BY ANY OTHER REPAIR SHOPS AS ALL THE PARTS MUST COME FROM NISSAN. IT IS A NISSAN MONOPOLY AND RANSOM TO GET THIS REPAIRED.

TAKATA RECALL MY DAUGHTERS 2009 NISSAN ALTIMA WAS RUNNING FINE, SHE PARKED IT AND RAN INSIDE TO GRAB HER SCHOOL LANYARD AND RIGHT BACK OUT TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL WHEN IT WOULDNT START. THE KEY FOB WAS IN THE CAR, AND IT WAS AS IF THE CAR DIDNT RECOGNIZE IT. WE SEARCHED ONLINE AND DID OUR OWN TROUBLE SHOOTING AND REPLACED THE BRAKE SWITCH AND KEY FOB BATTERIES WHICH DIDNT HELP. HAD THE CAR TOWED TO OUR DEALERSHIP AND IT IS THE STEERING LOCK AT THE TUNE OF $1,005 . THERE WAS NO WARNING OF ANY ISSUE AND THERE WAS NOTHING WE COULD DO OTHER THAN HAVE IT TESTED AND PAY .AFTER LOOKING AT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMIN PAGE AND SEEING ALL OF THE COMPLAINTS I DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW THIS HAS NOT BEEN RECALLED. MY DAUGHTER COULDVE BEEN STRANDED ANYPLACE AND THAT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE TO HAVE NO WAY TO START THIS VEHICLE .NOW..DO WE PLAY THE WAITIN GAME TO SEE IF AND WHEN IT HAPPENS AGAIN? THIS SEEMS TO BE A RECURRING ISSUE FOR THE NISSANS AND HOPEFULLY THEY WILL HAVE TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY IN FIXING THE PROBLEM. OUR FAMILY CANNOT AFFORD THIS ,AS I'M SURE NOBODYS FAMILY CAN.

THE ELECTRONIC STEERING COLUMN LOCK (ESCL) HAS BROKEN WITHOUT ANY WARNING AND MY CAR HAS BECOME A GIANT BRICK AND I CAN'T EVEN PLACE THE CAR IN NEUTRAL TO MOVE IT. I WALKED OUT TO START MY CAR FOR WORK ONE DAY AND I FOUND OUT MY CAR WAS DEAD.

THE KEY ICON DISPLAYS AND THE CAR DOES NOT START WHILE IT WAS STATIONARY. DEALER SAID STEERING LOCK UNIT (NISSAN PART #: 48700-9N00B) IS SHORT CIRCUITED. NISSAN DEALER IS ASKING FOR $1,100 TO FIX IT.

I WAS AT A FRIENDS HOUSE IN DOWNTOWN ALBANY DOING SOME WORK, BUT WHEN IT CAME TIME TO LEAVE I GOT IN MY CAR WHICH WAS PARKED ON THE STREET AND MY CAR JUST WOULDN'T START. I TOWED IT TO A NISSAN DEALERSHIP NEARBY AND THEY TOLD ME THAT THE ISSUE WITH MY CAR IS THE STEERING LOCK ASSEMBLY. APPARENTLY THERE WAS A RECALL ON THIS ISSUE AND THE WARRANTY WAS EXTENDED BECAUSE OF THIS PROBLEM BUT NEITHER MY PARENTS OR I WERE NOTIFIED BY NISSAN THAT THE CAR WAS HAVING THIS ISSUE AND THERE WAS A RECALL ON IT . THE EXTENSION ENDED LAST YEAR AND NOW I'M HERE HAVING TO PAY FOR THIS PROBLEM OUT OF MY POCKET. I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO PAY FOR SOMETHING THAT WAS CLEARLY THEIR MANUFACTURERS FAULT. THE PART IS NOT CHEAP AND THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THEIR NISSAN ALTIMA. *TR

MY CAR WAS PARKED AND OFF, AND HAD BEEN WORKING FINE WHEN I PARKED IT ABOUT 8 HOURS EARLIER. IT WAS PARKED INDOORS IN A GARAGE ON A WARM FALL DAY, SO EXTREME TEMPERATURES AND WEATHER WERE NOT PRESENT. THE PARKING SPOT AND LOCATION WERE UNREMARKABLE (I WAS PARKED AT WORK, WHICH IS SAFE AND NO ONE WOULD HAVE TAMPERED WITH THE CAR). AFTER 7 YEARS WITH NO PROBLEM WITH THE PUSH BUTTON IGNITION SWITCH, IT SUDDENLY REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE REMOTE KEY FOB. THEY KEY CONTINUED TO WORK WITH THE DOORS AND TRUNK, AND THE CAR BATTERY WAS FINE. IT WOULD NOT ACCEPT THE KEY WHEN PLACED INTO THE EMERGENCY IGNITION SLOT, EITHER. THE DEALER DETERMINED THAT THE LOCK STEERING UNIT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED FOR A PARTS COST OF $678 AND LABOR OF $303. I LOOKED ONLINE, AND FOUND THAT THERE ARE MANY OTHER NISSAN OWNERS WITH CARS MADE AROUND THIS TIME FRAME WITH IDENTICAL ISSUE AND FIX. IT SOUNDS LIKE A SERIAL DEFECT TO ME, AND I BELIEVE NISSAN SHOULD BEAR THE COST.