2009 Nissan 370Z: steering wheel locks up

Filed Dec 15, 2025 · Steering · 176,000 miles · FL

The contact owns a 2009 Nissan 370Z. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the steering wheel locked up, and the contact was unable to start the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the residence, where a mobile mechanic diagnosed the vehicle with steering module failure. The contact called the dealer to schedule an appointment, and the dealer informed the contact that the vehicle could not be repaired under Nissan Voluntary Service Campaign Number: P3208; free of charge, because the vehicle had already been previously repaired under the Voluntary Service Campaign. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact the vehicle history did not display the completion of Nissan Voluntary Service Campaign Number: P3208, and the contact was referred to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 176,000.

Filed Mar 4, 2019 · Steering · 129,200 miles · TX

I got into my stationary vehicle and when I push the start button it remained in the lock position. The steering lock sensor light was on and it won't change into the acc or on position. This is the second time it has happened to me, first time the dealership had to fix it.

Filed Feb 20, 2018 · Electrical · 43,480 miles · AZ

The steering column lock device has been failing daily.I bought this car in march of 2014 and I have all of the paperwork that shows the previous owner took it to autonation nissan chandler and under recall p3208 it was supposedly fixed in 2013. I didn't even own the car til 2014!the ntb13-014 also was on the invoice. It says they replaced the steering wheel lock unit- I have spent over $20k on my z ( not including the price of the car, and I can't even get larry h miller nissan to take care of it. They want $1500. I just don't understand how larry h miller nissan knew about this and new the dates it was 'fixed' at the other dealership, and failed to notify me when I brought it to their attention.I have all my invoices for work done,and a nissan w 44,000 miles has had endless problems -please help. I am disabled, and this is a huge financial burden for me,I really had a lot of confidence in nissan taking care of their customers - it seems that isn't the case- on june 27 I got into a small accident and it ended up costing geico $14,850.35 - when they brought it back the fuel management system had gotten loose since it's located underneath the passenger side in the gas tank and is a typical problem with 370 z's and they wanted me to pay for it also the car is riding a lot lower to the ground than it ever was the black bumper guard at the very bottom is all scraped up and that never happened before so either the front shocks or struts are lower than before. I love my z and I've put over $40,000 into it and now I can't get people to do what they're supposed to do because they 'don't want to' the people who fix your car's know about all of these consistent problems & they should fix them and it seems like they don't want to fix problems that arise with the same model.I had to have my insurance adjuster call just to get the fuel pump fixed. Nissan wanted me to pay for it

Filed Dec 7, 2016 · Electrical, Steering · 63,000 miles · CA

The electric steering wheel lock mechanism has failed bad. There has been a recall on the part, but nissan refuses to acknowledge it. Many complaints have been addressed on this issue.

Filed Jul 17, 2015 · Electrical · 58,000 miles · GA

My 370z will start up fine sometimes but most times I have to it the start button 7-10 times before it cranks. When I push the button all lights on dash come and it makes clicking sounds but just won't start the vehicle. I had my steering lock mechanism replaced 6 months ago because there was a recall but the problem still persist. I have taken it to the dealership but no one can give me a solid answer.

Filed Jan 25, 2015 · Electrical, Steering · 38,120 miles · NY

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.

Filed Sep 17, 2014 · Electrical · 45,000 miles · GA

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.

Filed Jul 22, 2014 · Electrical · 24,874 miles · FL

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.

Filed Nov 5, 2013 · Steering · TX

Infamous steering lock problem. Went to start car and got the yellow key symbol and push start button light showed lock. Had to pay $170 to have it towed to nissan.

Filed Oct 25, 2013 · Electrical, Steering · 50,000 miles · MO

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.

Filed Mar 23, 2013 · Electrical, Steering · 65,000 miles · VA

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.

Filed Mar 12, 2013 · Electrical · 64,950 miles · FL

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.