Problems with 2009 Nissan Altima STEERING

Takata recall steering lock failer, engine will no longer work. car was parked when it happened. part defective. nissan is apparently aware of problem. they should fix part.

This car leaks water into the drivers side floor, and keeps trapped rain water inside of both panel doors for weeks after it rains. i've already had to get the exhaust manifold leak fixed (which luckily was covered under a recall). not to mention that i ended up having to go to the er last year for a breathing treatment because fumes were leaking into my cabin via the air conditioning(problem unknown/undiagnosed). but now like many other owners of the 2009 nissan altima, unfortunately the steering wheel ignition lock/switch malfunctioned causing my engine not to be able to turn on suddenly. when i returned to my car, the key fob was not recognized and the engine will not turn on. after towing it to a local nissan dealership, it was diagnosed as a faulty steering wheel ignition lock, and will cost me an average of $1100 to fix. after contacting nissans headquarters to see if it would be covered even though their "campaign" ended in jan 2016 for my vehicle, they denied the request to provide assistance. i don't understand how any auto manufacturer can be allowed to get away with installing a faulty part into the car, and then pass along the ultimate cost of fixing it to any owner. it's not okay to simply cover the cost of those owners who's switch fails during a certain time period, and then inform the rest of us that they are unwilling to help. nissan installed the defective part, and the right thing to do would be to own up to that mistake and issue a recall. clearly nissan does not have the best interest of their customers at heart. and from what i understand, they must have known that part was faulty enough not to issue a temporary extension of the

Steering wheel lock is malfunctioning and preventing the car from starting

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 nissan altima. the contact stated that while in park, the steering wheel seized. in addition, the vehicle failed to start. the failure recurred on numerous occasions. the vehicle was towed to a dealer, who diagnosed that the steering wheel lock needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 100,120.

Unable to start my car due to the steering lock

Steering lock would not disengage preventing vehicle from starting. key fob was not recognized. car was disabled and had to be towed. i was stranded in a city parking lot for 6 hours awaiting assistance and feared for my safety. towed vehicle to nissan dealer for repair.

Yesterday morning, the car no longer recognized my key fob and i was unable to start the engine. upon contacting nissan, i was informed that this is related to the electronic steering control lock assembly. the vehicle was stationary at the time of the incident and located in my home garage. even after this assembly is replaced, i will continue to be concerned about the safety of my family. if the car were to no longer recognize my key fob again, but we are no longer in the safety of our home, we would be open to the elements. it's also possible that our means of transportation for emergencies could be unavailable when needed.

Could not start the car. luckily i was in someone's driveway and not on the highway. i was on my way to florida from ny and had stopped a number of time along the way. i had the car towed to a nissan dealer where they replaced the steering lock assembly which kept the car from starting. i found out this was an on going problem nissan was aware of. the extended warranty had expired and i was responsible for the total cost. if this had happened in the middle of an unpopulated area it could very well have become a safety issue.

My 2009 nissan altima would not start on sunday so i had to get it towed. i soon learned from a nissan mechanic that the [electronic steering lock] is malfunctioned, which meant my car would not recognize my smart key, even when inserting it into it's respective slot (plan b). how is the nhtsa letting consumers drive a car that won't start at any moment and even plan b that the manufacture installed doesn't even work? i could have been stranded in the middle of nowhere which is a huge safety concern. worse, i could have been driving and then loose control of the vehicle. above that, i was told that nissan did not need to proactively let their customers know about the issue because it fell under a 'warranty issue'. i don't get it. i didn't cause this issue, nor does it fall under the normal circumstances of typical wear, tear, or replacement like battery, tires, etc. how is it fair to make me, nissan's consumer, pay $1000+ dollars for something i did not cause? for a malfunctioned piece that was installed on my nissan altima that was ultimately put in a warranty? with having a warranty, nissan has admitted their equipment was sold malfunctioned, so how is there not a recall about it? to put the cherry on top of the cake, the rep (which i asked for permission to post), said that "vehicles are man made - they aren't made perfect". so meaning, their own reps are acknowledging they don't have high-quality products.

Turned car off in parking lot. would not start due to steering lock, towed to dealer . awaiting results as per nissan

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 nissan altima. while attempting to start the vehicle, the steering wheel seized. the vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering column lock (escl) needed to be repaired. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 175,000.

Vehicle will not start due to faulty steering lock mechanism. i was in a parking lot with my two young children when my car would not start. apparently, this issue has caused a lot of people to be stranded. nissan is well aware of the problem and that their mechanism during '09 and '10 was faulty. how could any malfunction that leaves people stranded not be considered a safety issue! the part is very expensive and only carried through nissan... that in itself should be suspicious.

Just stop the car in front of my garage door and never start again the light with the key inside the car is on and off i stop by the dealer change the battery on the key they told me if does not work then it is gone to be the steering lock a common problem on the nissan just 850.00 plus tax was the estimate of course i have to tow 45 miles to the dealer

Car would not start, locked up on me. vehicle towed to nissan, told it will cost me close to $1000 to repair, noticed other costumers had this same problem. nissan extended the warranty for 6 years which expired 4-25-2015. my vehicle was parked in plaza parking lot

On 2/11/2016, i went shopping. i left the store to return home and the car wouldn't start. the key fob didn't work. steering was locked. gear shift was locked. lights and locks worked. i had a feeling i knew what it was because my cousin, who owns the exact same car and year, had this problem. after 2 towing charges, one to our local mechanic and one 50 miles to a nissan dealer, it was verified to be the same steering lock mechanism problem. we live in a rural area. this had the potential of being a huge safety issue. i am upset with the $920.06 cost of repair (without the towing charges) for a 6-1/2 year-old car with 69,000 miles. nissan knows of this problem and sets a limit on warranty repair.. of course ours is 6 months and 13 days passed the warranty extension. not all of us choose or can afford to turn cars in every year or two. there is a known failure of this part. why must there be a warranty extension limit?

I have a 2009 nissan altima with push-start ignition and respective 'smart key'. while 2 hours away from home and alone, the electronic steering column lock mechanism malfunctioned and therefore did not recognize my smart key was in the vehicle and would not allow me to start the car. i was stranded alone, at night, 2 hours from home with a vehicle that would not start due to malfunctioning part. i had to have the car towed to my local nissan dealership where the diagnosis was made that the steering column lock malfunctioned and needs to be replaced. upon calling nissan corporate, i was informed that this was a known issue, however my car was no longer under warranty and it would not be covered. i purchased this car as certified pre-owned with the expectation that any safety related known issues would be addressed. i was never made aware of the issue or the possibility that i could be put in a dangerous situation. nissan told me that while they were aware the part was mis-manufactured, the part was not a 'recall' (as determined by nhtsa) criteria) and as such would not have been proactively fixed if not broken. they did however extend the warranty on the part, but only for 6 years, assuming is a driver had this problem it would have occurred in the first 6 years of ownership.my occurrence was when the vehicle was 8 years old. i feel like this a major safety concern especially if there was potential for the steering column lock to malfunction while driving and nissan should have issued a voluntary recall or indefinitely extended the warranty.

The car won't start. called the dealer, they said it is steering column module problem. i have to have it towed to the dealer to fix. fortunately, i was in home. i wonder what happens if i am out in the dark in the middle of nowhere!

After work tried to start the car in the parking lot after, but it wont start. we towed it to the nissan dealer who said it was an 'electronic steering lock column ' -escl failure . just google it there are thousands of customer complains about this problem. it cost us about $1000 to fix it. nissan corporate refused to pay for the repair. i need to be refunded because this is strictly the fault of nissan.

My 2009 nissan altima stop working after i started and was getting ready for work. when i got ready to leave i notice it stopped and when i try again it would not start at all. come to find out after having to tow it to the dealer it was an internal failure of steering lock assembly. repair cost me over $1000. supposedly nissan had offer an extra warranty on the issue but it expired last year which leave me with expense. i try calling nissan to find out if they will cover the cost but did not get any assistance. i don't think it's fair that they will cover the cost since it is a known issue that they are aware of and they choose to offer a warranty that expire. they don't know at what point in time the failure will occur.

Steering wheel lock failed. yellow key symbol on dash. steering wheel freely moves while car powered off. now unable to power on vehicle at all. i have been the only owner of the vehicle. called up nissan to get a warranty claim since the extension ended for me in jan. 2015. when asked for assistance, was told that they have done so in the form of the warranty extension. took the car to dealer for diagnosis per corporate's procedure even though i knew the issue, now out $158 and was quoted $1,600 for their repair. cant do anything with the car, its unusable and non-sellable all due to a defective part. nissan should issue a recall and take care of their defective part.

Electronic steering control lock escl. when it fails, you instantaneously, with no warning cannot start your vehicle. the only remedy is to tow car to a dealer, which will charge you a large amount ($1000 or more) to replace it. this should be the subject of an immediate recall as this has long been a problem. mine failed soon after the warranty extension expired. why allow unlimited mileage, yet not unlimited time? the car has been unmoved for months now while payments are still being made on it.

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 nissan altima. while driving home at approximately 30 mph, the vehicle stalled and shut down. the check engine light illuminated. the vehicle restarted and was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering column lock fractured. the component was recalled and repaired previously; therefore, the manufacturer was not responsible for the repairs. the dealer also diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. the manufacture was made aware of the failure, but did not offer assistance. the failure mileage was 78,479.

Electronic steering wheel lock is defective. nissan know about it....extended the warranty, but it expired in 2015. now i'm stuck with a $960 repair bill for a problem that the company knows is a widespread defect. thousands of complaints online. consumer affairs told me: "we won't provide assistance" since it is outside the warranty extension. yet the problem still exists, and thousands of people nationwide are left stranded when their cars wont start!

The electronic steering control lock failed after 62,000 miles. the dealership charged me $1,100 to replace it. this is a know problem that nissan addressed with a secret warranty extension that was not communicated to owners. at one point i believe nissan extended the warranty to 72 months/unlimited miles, but then changed its mind and ended the extension. i parked the car on 1/1/16 and it would not start after that.

I've had to repair my 2009 nissan altima due to escl that disabled my car on my way to work!! i had to have my vehicle towed in, after doing research online i noticed i wasn't the only having the issue. i called nissan consumers affair which told me i missed the extended warranty by a couple of months. this is a defect on nissan and they should be held liable for the 1,000 repair i had to pay. this is my second nissan but will also be my last!! i am very disappointed in the poor customer service and i guess it will take a fatality for them to do a recall on the steering column lock

The steering lock malfunctions on this car, and other years and models. this causes the driver to be stranded when the car will not turn on due to the car being in an anti theft mode. nissan is well aware that this is an issue and is profiting from it. the customer will have to tow the car to nissan (since they are the only ones that can fix it), and it will cost $1000 to fix. nissan states that due to it not being a safety concern, they do not have to recall this. this has affected countless customers however and it is unethical. this is not even something the person themselves or another mechanic can fix since it is electrical. i do not feel that nissan should be profiting from a part that they know is defective

My 2009 nissan altima would not start and stranded my wife in a parking lot. after much research and a tow to the dealership, the problem was diagnosed. the steering lock failed. nissan is aware that this part is defective so they increased the warranty. now that the warranty is up, i am stuck with a $1000 repair of a part that should have been recalled!

Steering lock failed. had to replace it at bommorito nissan. $1180.00. it was only 3 months out of extended warranty. since the part was defective i feel the parts and labor should have been covered. i want to be paid for cost .i was never notified of problem. i'm the second owner.

Steering lock failure, car will not start!

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 nissan altima. the contact stated that the push to start failed to operate and start the vehicle without warning. the vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the electronic steering lock column needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 70,000.

My 2009 nissan altima had its steering column lock malfunction and left my wife stranded in a blizzard. she went to work, was going to head home for the day and the car wouldn't start. so i started the process, check the batteries in both the car and the key fob. as it turns out from researching the problem that it's a steering column lock failure. this is a very common problem with 2009 and 2010 altimas. nissan has full knowledge of this issue, but fails to recall these cars. they did extended warranty on this part, but of course, this occurred after the extended warranty had expired. its a $1000 plus repair minimum and the part that they want to replace it with is faulty as well. in efforts to contact nissan consumer affairs i was treated like crap. they cant do anything for me until i have it towed(at my expense) to a certified nissan dealer(45 miles away) and have them diagnose the problem. after watching numerous videos on this issue. i'm sure that this is the issue and i have many hesitations on having the part replaced because again the new part is also faulty, and comes with no warranty. so nissan has left me with two choices. option a: have car towed, pay the labor, and replace with another faulty part($1100 at least). or option b: try to fix myself by bi-passing the part all together. unfortunately this option is going to be a temp fix and the part is riveted so access to it is difficult. not to mention affects my resale value. its almost like this was nissan's plan with designing this steering lock mechanism. its a safety hazard as my wife and countless others have been stranded alone. after watching numerous diy videos i was able to get the car home by tapping the part numerous times with a hammer. we were able to get the car home, but there it sits in the driveway useless. ive tried to start it since and guess what...nothing. the vehicle is useless.

Tried to start the vehicle to run errands and the vehicle would not start. i noticed the the key light on the dash board was on. (had never happen before) after some research i found out that a steering wheel lock failure was a common problem on this make and model.

Parked my car in a store parking lot. when i returned my car failed to start with a failure to recognize my key fob. i replaced the fob battery still won't start. it was getting dark i had to leave my car in the parking lot. returned the next day. nothing will start my car. when online to see that this is a common problem with my car. i had my car towed to the dealership. was told the extended warranty had expired 03/15. i only have 44500 miles on my car. nissan never notified me that there was a problem. it cost me $964.00 to get it fixed. and of course this all happen when my husband was out of town. why was this not a recall?

On january 19th at 6:00pm i attempted to leave work and my car would not start. i called a tow truck and jump would not help. i had to call a tow truck to tow my car home. the next day on january 20th, i had the car towed to my local nissan dealership, nissan of union city. i had the diagnostic test run and it was determined that the steering lock no longer worked. my nissan rep advised that this issue with the steering lock appears to happen in these model cars. i researched the issue online and found that this is a major issue with many people online speaking about their frustration with nissan. nissan north america is aware that this is a major issue and extended the warranty on this part. they did not mail me any information on the warranty extension which expired on 8-15-15. the warranty extension was specifically for the steering lock since nissan knew this was a huge issue. the total cost to resolve this issue and fix my car is $1000.00. i had to take out an icare plan where the total cost was broken down into payments for 6 months. i called nissan corporate to find out if they would help with the cost of this major issue and they advised me they would not. they stated they looked into this issue and the warranty was extended. since i did not bring before the warranty extension expired, in there words, nothing could be done. i contact clark howard, and they advised i file a complaint with nhtsa. thousands and thousands are having this major issue and nissan is putting all the responsibility on the consumer vs. themselves. this is an obstruction and nissan needs to be held responsible.

Started the vehicle at home and drove to the store, approximately 5 miles away. after shopping less than 30 minutes, went to start the vehicle and it would not start. the little key light went on so went back into the store to buy a battery for the remote as some people reported that as the problem. replaced the battery and the vehicle still would not start. called the local nissan dealer, they said it sounded like the electronic steering lock which was under an extended warranty but due to the age of our vehicle (6 years old) it was no longer covered. vehicle was towed to the nissan dealer, they replaced the lock steering at a cost of $1000. called nissan to request a reimbursement but they said it was not a safety concern, so it is not a recall only an extended warranty was issued and since it is out of warranty there is no reimbursement. i believe this is a safety concern and request it is issued as a recall. many people online are complaining about the lock steering issue.

Yesterday, after driving to lunch, my car would not start after it was parked for apps. 1 hour. there was no warning that there was any sort of malfunction about to happen. it was not recognizing my key fob inside or outside of the manual slot. the steering wheel locked up, the breaks wouldn't depress, nothing had it towed to the dealer to the tune of $125. then had the dealer run diagnostics at $75. only to find out that this was what i had expected, the steering lock. this must be replaced and will cost $946. after contacting nissan, i was told they would not be helping out in any way, despite that this is a well known and documented flaw. when asked why i wasn't contacted by then sooner, they said i should have been but had no documented history of contacting me. i am currently in the process of filing a complaint with the bbb and the ag. will never purchase from nissan again.

No star. steering lock bloqued

Car was parked so my spouse could run an errand. when he went to start up the car, the engine wouldn't turn over and the steering didn't work at all. the car could not be driven. it had to be towed to the dealer. the dealer stated that the steering lock module needed to be replaced and that it was a recurring problem in some nissans that had been addressed in more recent year models. it cost $961.33 to fix!!! the steering module alone cost $679.44. i am outraged that this "recurring problem" isn't the subject of a recall.

Daughter used car to go to work, pick my son and fourtunately did not have evening classes. when she went to visit friend the car would not start,and it is freezing outside. lucky she was home. 3 nissians we have purchased over 10 years. very dissapointed about no recall, considering all the complaints i see posted..no more nissians for me..

Went to get gas vehicle wouldn't start. called dealer and concluded electronic steering lock was defective causing car not to start. had car towed to dealer since car out of extended warranty had to pay $933 to dealer for repair. this problem is quite common and had it fixed in a short time. this needs to be a recall. herba nissan of johnstown ny completed repair.

My car started just fine when leaving my house, i drove it to a gas station, parked at the pump, turned off engine and filled up my tank. upon restarting my vehicle, the engine never turned over, car will not start, or recognize key fob. my steering wheel locked up and the red car icon with a key inside of it was blinking "security device icon" as well as the orange "no key" warning lit up on console. even after depressing my brakes, the car did not respond. i had to call roadside assistance to tow my car, as it still will not start.

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 nissan altima. the contact stated that while at the fuel station, the vehicle failed to restart. the vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the computer box in the steering column needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the vin was not provided. the approximate failure mileage was 84,000. updated 02/18/16*lj *cn

Drove to laredo, texas to get new tires for my vehicle. when the auto technician went to move the car from the parking lot it would not start. they checked everything they could think off, battery, battery cables, alternator. they called an electronic specialist to come check the car. it seemed it was the steering lock module. no warning, nothing. i never even received a recall notice for this part. i called the nissan dealership and of course the recall had just expired. to top it off the nissan dealership wanted to charge me towing fees from the tire dealership to the nissan dealership and to fix it was going to be over a thousand dollars. i ended up paying 850.00 to repair the car somewhere else. i live in a very rural area where there are no stores, gasoline stations, etc. nearest city is laredo which is over forty miles away. at least i was at the parking lot of the tire dealership. i don't want to think if this would have happened when i am taking my elderly mother to the doctor, hospital, or for chemo treatments. i feel nissan should reimburse me for the replacement for the steering column module. for instance, never did i receive the recall notice and this was such an unexpected experience. not only was i without a vehicle for almost a week but finding someone to pick me up to take me home and then someone to take me back to pick up the car. i cannot believe that nissan didn't have the common courtesy to notify its customers of this steering column defect and the nissan dealership taking advantage of the situation.

One morning while on my way to work, my car would not start. a yellow key light came on in the dash that i had never seen before. the steering wheel wasn't completely locked until trying to start it several times. the car stayed in the lock position and would not switch over to accessory mode or start at all. i quickly found several complaints online with the similar problem. i was able to pull a video up on youtube that showed me how to temporary fix this issue. we removed the case off from under the wheel, used a wrench or sturdy metal object and located the steering lock itself and slowly tapped on it. sure enough, we were able to get my car started after a few taps. it worked fine for several months. after discovering this problem i found a website that showed this part was not on recall but did have an extended warranty. unfortunately, my steering lock went out 3 weeks after the extended warranty. go figure.... after several months without the issue, the car locked up again on while i went to head home from work. i was able to do the same tap and get it started to get myself home and it worked a few weeks. now, my car is currently stuck at my work until i can afford a tow and the repairs at the dealership which will cost me $950-$1,200. i've called other local mechanics to see if they could get me a better deal and unfortunately most of them do not have the proper tools/equipment to completely repair the problem. once they replace the steering lock the car will need to be reprogrammed which only a nissan dealer can do supposedly. it's pretty awful nissan isn't doing more to help people out in this situation when there is case after case with the same stories.

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 nissan altima. when attempting to start the vehicle, the ignition failed without warning. the vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering lock unit failed and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 57,000. updated 04/06/16*lj *cn

While at my location, i turned my 2008 altima off. when trying to start the car it would not restart. it only dispaced the key symbol. and had the word lock on the push start part. i undid the battery and let it sit for about an hour. still nothing. i called the nissan dealership and they stated that it would cost about $1100 plus towing expenses. i've only had this car since the end of 2013. its now parked where i left it in my mother's yard due to it not wanting to budge or start.

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 nissan altima. after starting the vehicle, the steering wheel seized. the contact had to place the vehicle in neutral and restart the vehicle, but the failure recurred. the vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering wheel lock system needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 81,487.

I went out to start my car and it wouldn't start. luckily it was in my parking spot. it kept showing a yellow box with a key inside of it. the push start button kept showing the word lock. i thought it wouldn't start because it was really cold outside so i went back in the house for about an hour and tried to start it back up. it still didn't start up. i got the vehicle towed to the dealership and one of the guys there told me that the warranty expired do i would have to pay $950 plus tax. it is really upsetting that nissan isn't doing anything to help with this problem.

Defective electronic steering column lock widespread defects in the electronic steering column lock (escl) can disable the push-button ignition. the escl's primary job is to keep the steering wheel locked until you bring your key fob in range of the vehicle. it's meant to prevent theft. once the escl detects the your key fob, it unlocks the steering wheel and lets you go. even with the fob present and working, the escl won't detect it and, therefore, won't release it's iron grip on the wheel. this defect can affect owners of the 2009 nissan altima without warning and without cause. when this issue occurs the only way to resolve the issue is to have the car towed to a nissan dealership to have the faulty steering lock replaced. the car cannot be started at all. the problem can be quite expensive to fix. a new escl will set you back about $1100 and it takes a couple hours of expensive-mechanic-work to replace. that's not to mention the cost of a tow truck, or the safety issue of being completely stranded where your cars to stop working. this can be very dangerous for drivers who are in remote or dangerous areas. i personally was attending a prenatal doctors appointment when i left to find my car would not start nor go in neutral, i was stuck for 4 hours waiting on a tow truck 30 20 miles away from my home so this was very scary for me. i had to pay $50 thanks to triple a to have my car towed- i had to rent a car for two weeks while i tried working with nissan to pay for the repairs only to be told my extended warranty expired feb. 2015 (this occurred january 2016). the dealership wants $1100 to repair only a few weeks after christmas. why the decision for a extended warranty verses a recall i fail to understand. i think this needs to be recalled one for the simple fact it comes with no warning, so hopefully your not in a bad area of town. ...updated 01/25/16 *bf

On jan 2 2016 i was left stranded in a parking lot when my 2009 altima failed to turn back on. my fob battery was changed and still no luck. i towed it to dealership for a diagnostics and was told my steering lock unit needed to be replaced $1450 and i do not qualify for any recalls or extended warranties. this is extremely upsetting and timing sucks after the holidays.