Steering lock solenoid failed at 38120 miles (2120 miles outside electrical warranty) yellow "key" warning light on dash only illuminated the morning off failure. Went to leave work car would not start due to steering lock solenoid failure. Had to have vehicle flat bedded to dealership at the cost of $121.10. Thank god this didn't fail while driving. This is a well know issue within the online forums / community. I'm currently requesting a full reimbursement from nissan motor corp for the repair cost of $887.37 plus the tow bill. I have recently returned to the online forums and have read over 25 pages of failures with the nissan 370z. I also heard of this issue on nissan gtr and maxima vehicles.
2009 Nissan 370Z electrical complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 67, newest first, as owners wrote them.
On monday 9/15/14 I attempted to start my car like I had done earlier in the day without any problems. When I went to push my start button, I noticed that nothing had happened at all except the illumination of a key lock light. After checking the gas, battery, and fuses, I did not know what to do about this issue. Today is 9/17/14 and when I attempt to start my car I have to depress the start button 7-10 times before it actually starts the car. I called a nearby nissan dealership they said it probably had a steering lock failure, which is a common occurrence in the 2009-2010 370z.
This is to rectify the complaint I submitted yesterday related to the steering lock unit failing. I did have the problem (no change there) and filed complaint #10614959 after doing the initial research and reading everywhere (including here) that nissan's recall did not cover my model year (2009), being that mine is not a gtr. After I had come to terms with having to pay for this out of pocket, I called the dealer in fort lauderdale, and he (voluntarily) said that recalls are VIN specific and that mine was covered (what a relief). I also talked with nissan USA later and they told me that it is not a recall but that they have extended the warranty on that particular piece of equipment. I am not sure, but I think the difference is that if the program is an extended warranty, you have to wait until you have the issue whereas a recall you can take it in before (or after). Whichever it is, those who had this problem early on and had to pay out of pocket may want to re-check with nissan to see if they can get reimbursed. Maybe nissan extended the initial recall or offered the extended warranty long after some people had the problem and got missed in the process. If they ever sent me a note about this in the mail, I probably mistook it for junk mail and threw it out. In my case at least, nissan did right by me after I had the problem. When I called (nissan USA) and asked about the towing, the rep said the program did not specifically say either way, but they agreed to reimburse me for it. Anyway, good luck with all of this.
Same problem as everyone else is reporting about vehicle not starting because the smart key push button ignition is stuck in the lock position. I think they call it steering wheel system fail. Apparently nissan has known about this for a long time, has recalled newer models but is not willing to recall the 2009s. So the question is, how many people need to have this problem before a mandatory recall is imposed? This is ridiculous. Despite the problem being known, there is no warning on it, so people, including myself, get stranded in horrible situations. Note to nissan. I have been a repeat customer. I have had 1 maxima, 2 altimas and now a z. I will fix this car, sell it and until/unless nissan does the right thing and issues a recall on this, I will never look at another nissan again.
Engine power cuts out randomly. Error code p0011 given. All mechanical components associated with code p0011 per nissan have been replaced. Problem still persists. Apparently, this is not an uncommon problem with the early 2009 370z. To date, nissan has not issued a recall for this problem.
Attempted to start my 370z this morning, key light would come on, and the lock light came on the push button start. But no response. After some research, it appears that the steering wheel lock mechanism is stuck halfway so the steering wheel turns but nothing is indicating to the ecu that it is unlocked. Nissan had issued a recall for the same part on 2009 gt-r's (ntb10-025 p0309) but not on 370z's. It became such an issue that in 2011/2012 nissan stopped installing the device on the 370z model. More and more 370z owners are becoming stranded because of this defect and it should be recalled and replaced.
I drove my 2009 nissan 370z to work in the morning and when I went to start my car at lunch... Nothing. It was just dead. All of the lights worked, alarm, power seats, name it. But when you went to start, nothing. Turns out the steering wheel lock broke. The fact that this is such a common occurrence, a simple 30 second internet search can diagnose the problem, frustrates me. How come it was taken care of in the more expensive models (the gtr's), but it wasn't recalled for the 2009/10 370z's? They've replaced the problem part in the 2012's, but that doesn't excuse the fact that they've left thousands of people stranded and have done nothing about it. I lucked out because I bought an extended warranty, but what about the people who have to pay out of pocket? The cost for the repairs is over a $1000, with the part itself in the hundreds. This is ridiculous and needs to be addressed.
Steering wheel lock unit failed in lock position disabling vehicle. Out of warranty replacement required. Research indicated that this part is based on a faulty design that has subsequently been removed from later model years. Look at all the complaints - this is clearly a faulty part and nissan should recall all vehicles with this part. The car had to be towed and the cost to repair was close to $1,000.00. I will not consider another nissan purchase unless this issue is addressed.
Steering lock unit failed. "key" light indicator appeared. Car unable to start. Tow needed to dealer for out of warranty repairs. There was a voluntary recall on the same part for 2009 gtrs models (reference: ntb10-025, campaign id#: p0309. It is ridiculous that there is no recall for 370z models which uses the same defective part!!!!!!
My 2009 nissan 370z failed to start on feb 21st without any warning. The intelligent key light was on while trying to start the car by pushing the 'start' button. Tried inserting the key fob into the fob slot but the car still failed to start. After reading numerous threads related to this problem on www.the370z.com, I discovered that this is a common problem to the 370z. I was able to start the car one more time by hitting the steering lock unit. I immediately drove to the dealership where they confirmed that my steering lock unit had to be replaced. The cost was $1335.70 total for parts and labor.
Car won't start. Steering locking mechanism failed.
Steering locking unit (part: 48700-jf00a) failed. Note, there are revision models of this part 48700-jf00b, 48700-jf00c, 48700-jf00d, and 48700-jf00e -- all eventually fail. This part begins to fail as early as just a few thousand miles on the car's odometer. This is a common issue with nissan 370z 2009-2011 models. Once this happens the car is stranded as the starter is disabled. The car must then be towed to a dealership for repair. Repair costs average between $1,100 and $2,000.
As I was getting ready to leave my house for the evening, I attempted to start my car like I had done earlier in the day without any problems. When I went to push my start button, I noticed that nothing had happened at all except the illumination of a key lock light. After checking the gas, battery, and fuses, I was left wondering what I should do. After checking into the problem with various credible sources, I discovered that the steering lock unit had failed. I also found out that this is a major problem with 2009-10 models of my car. I was without a vehicle for 3 days, and was going to have to pay a good amount of money for a factory defective unit that fails at any given moment, leaving the driver ( and passengers) stranded wherever they may be. Thank goodness I was at home and my car was in the garage. There should be a recall on this particular part, seeing that nissan knows that this part is prone to failure, yet does nothing to rectify the situation except discontinue the part on newer models.
Attempted to start car using the push button. The car wouldn't start. Had aaa come out to test the battery. The battery was good. I towed to the dealership. They said it had a steering lock failure which cost $1100 to repair. It took a day to order the part. The mileage was 22,114.
Attempted to start car using the push button. The car wouldn't start. Had aaa come out to test the battery. The battery was good. I towed to the dealership. They said it had a steering lock failure which cost $1100 to repair. It took a day to order the part. The mileage was 22,114. The service tech said he saw a lot of altimas come in with this problem.
The car stop working when I tried to turn it on. I towed it to the shop and found out the steering lock and given up and this was very rare.... I searched only and found out so many people had the same issues with the same vehicle.. How is it that the car never been in any accident and now having an issue with electrical. I had stereo issues, electrical issues, and now the steering wheel issue.. They don't cover the car cause there is no recall.. How do companies get away with this.. I can not believe there is nothing that is being done about this.
I had the infamous "steering lock failure." it has yet to become a recall and recognized as a fault by nissan, yet the fix is $700+. I got in my car and attempted to turn my car on only to get 0 response, whatsoever. After running through the manual and seeing there were only two options if the "key light" stayed on, I changed the battery in the key fob. That wasn't the issue, which then meant the only option was the steering lock failure. I now have to get my car towed and cough up $700+ at random (since it chooses when it's going to die). This is absolutely ridiculous. Mind you, I was under the mileage warranty (21k, not 35) but I get screwed because the year. This will be the last nissan I ever buy.
Steering wheel lock froze. No changing of fuses, disconnecting of battery , or any other suggested "fixes" worked. Towed to nissan dealer. " highly unusual".. Hahaha found over sixty other nissan model owners same problem. Mechanism discontinued on 2012 models . Cost &1400.00 to replace. Not covered under warranty!!!
Car would not turn on. Towed to local nissan dealer & they said the steering lock assembly failed. Vehicle locked up. Costing me $1400 to repair.
Steering wheel lock assembly stopped working.
Parked car while getting lunch, tried to restart car afterwards and ignition wouldn't cycle (wont go to acc or on, stays at lock). Indicator light implied keyfob needed to be inserted into the slot. After doing so, still would not start. Replaced keyfob battery, jumped the car; none worked. Eventually had to be towed to local dealer. Steering lock unit was determined to have failed. Unlike most reported failures, this one failed with the steering wheel unlocked (mechanism never engaged), however it would still not start. Parts came in at $719 and labor at $259. Had I been made aware of these costs before the work was done, as I requested in a voicemail left for the dealer, I would never have agreed and would have done it myself. Although this event may not occur while the vehicle is in motion, posing an immediate and apparent safety issue, it did result in being stranded in 10degree winter weather. Fortunately, this occurred in the middle of the day with people in the vicinity to help and a cell phone charged. Had it happened 12hrs later and with a dead cellphone, it would pose a considerable safety issue in sub10 degree weather. This is a well known issue, known by nissan, and seems to have been addressed for the gt-r's under ntb10-025 issued 3/18/10. Yet, for some reason, it has not yet been corrected for the 370z. According to service department at dealership where this work was performed, there were too many instances of this occurrence in their system to begin counting them all when I requested that information for reporting purposes. For others information, exact part number on the sticker of the replaced unit is as follows: 48700 9n00a-b1-01 t 4601101c e08 m01 31.03.09.
After I drove car for 5 minutes, I parked the car for 40 minutes. When I tried to start the car, nothing happened. The car has a push button start and when I pressed it, nothing happened. No sound, no starter noise. Nothing. I tried putting the key in the dash. Still nothing. I got the car towed to the nissan dealer and was told the locking system had failed. $1300 to fix it. I was told that when the system fails, the car will not start. This is an extremely dangerous car. It will leave your stranded anywhere and at any time. Many 350z & 370z owners have complained about this safety issue but nothing has been done to fix it. A recall should be forced on nissan!
Steering wheel lock has failed, rendering car unable to be started.
My car will not start due to the well-known yellow key light problem. I had it towed to the shop and I am afraid that the repair bill will be very expensive. Please make a recall for this obvious defect. It is very cold right now and could have been a real danger due to the cold weather.
Drove to 7/11 to get gas. Turned the car off. When I got back in the car to leave the car would not start. There was an amber key on the dashboard. There have been a major number of complaints filed for this same reason. The immobilizer locked out the wheel shaft which locked out the key faub. Since the car thinks it has been stolen the car will do nothing. No nissan dealership is open on a sunday and they are knowingly doing nothing about the issue. I never received any notices that there could have been an issue in the 3 years I've had my car. There has been a huge number of complaints on blogs which I discovered today after attempting to get my car started again.
I parked to get gas and when I went to start my vehicle, it did nothing. Checked battery and everything else to my knowledge then had it towed to my local dealership. The dealership diagnosed the problem as the "steering wheel lock has gone bad." towing cost was $65 and total cost of repair was $1198.50. My warranty ended in october of 2012, so this was paid out of pocket. I was without a vehicle for 4 days. It happened without warning and I was stranded at the gas station. If your steering lock control unit is a "reva" or "revb", it is jut a matter of time before yours fails. Nissan needs to do something about this like they did with the nissan gtr.
The vehicle in question, failed to start after a routine stop. A faulty steering lock control unit (slcu)resulting in the steering wheel failing to disengage from the locked position thus preventing the push button ignition system from starting the engine. The vehicle was able to be put in neutral, but only after accessing a compartmented shift lock switch. Unfortunately, with the steering wheel being locked, the vehicle could only be pushed forward or back and not turned. This proved to be a problem as the tow truck driver was forced to "drag" the vehicle to a better position in order to be loaded onto the flat bed. The dealership confirmed that the slcu was the single point of failure and acknowledged that this was a known issue in the 2009 and 2010 model years. Nissan failed to cover the repair costs because of the age of the vehicle, despise having under 20k miles.
I have a 2009 nissan 370z that after 3 days sitting in my garage wouldn't start without warning because the steering wheel lock failed. I was lucky that the issue didn't happen while I was out of town. The car had absolutely no power and had to be towed to the nissan dealership. The bill to have it fixed was $1051.01 with labor. I have a case open with nissan to try to get it covered since this part is out of warranty.
This is a very common problem found in 2009 and 2010 nissan 370z vehicles. The steering locking unit fails at a premature rate and the car will suddenly not start without warning. This happened to me in a valet parking structure without any warning or indication. Many, many individuals are being cheated without a recall on this highly defective unit. The dealership is looking to charge $1,200 for a replacement. Nissan has already ordered a recall for their nissan gtr's for the same exact issue, but for some reason refuse to acknowledge the same problem of the same part with their 370z line. Please the federal safety agency, listen to the hundreds of individuals with the same problem and order a recall and reimbursement for the 370z steering locking unit failures. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
I parked the car in the lot and lock it. When I came back to drive away at 2:00 am where is nobody around I couldn't start the car and I had key warning indicator flashing on the dashboard. I found out later that is my steering wheel lock module failed like another couple of hundreds other 370z. Nissan need to recall it.
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