2009 Nissan Altima Hybrid: won't start

Filed Mar 28, 2017 · Steering · 92,278 miles · NJ

In 2013, I was stranded at work late at night due to a faulty steering wheel lock. I got into my car and went to start it and the key light was lit on the dash and my car wouldn't start. The car had to be towed to the nearest dealership the next day to replace the steering wheel lock. Thankfully, I was stranded in a safe place especially since I'm a single female. It's now 2017, and I find myself in the same situation. Thankfully, I noticed the issue early while it's still daytime. I'm now waiting for my car to be towed to a dealership to address a faulty steering wheel lock. I'm concerned that the steering wheel lock only has a life span of 4 years since this is the second time I have to address this issue. Is it normal for a part to just malfunction after only 4 years? Will I have to worry about being stranded again 4 years from now for the third time? My car is serviced regularly and taken care of so I won't be stranded. It's troubling that regardless of the fact that my car is serviced and taken care of, I can be stranded anywhere.

Filed Feb 5, 2017 · Steering · 99,000 miles · CA

Car was parked on busy city road and would not start. Steering wheel lock did not work.

Filed Nov 26, 2016 · Steering · 90,150 miles · OR

For some unknown reason my car would not start on thanksgiving. It only showed a key. I went to nissan the next day to get a new battery for my key fob. And had to get it towed. They said it was a steering column lock and it was over $900. Never heard of such a thing and at such a ridiculous expense. Apparently this is common for this model and I'm hoping for reimbursement as I didn't know about it before 1/1/16. I'm glad we weren't on an out of town trip that day.

Filed Apr 11, 2016 · Electrical · 101,000 miles · OR

The nissan altimas and maximas have a faulty electronic steering lock (factory part #48700-9n00b & 48700-9n00a). Which will fail and your car will not start. This should been recalled because it is a very common issue which renders the car non-drivable. Also this part was only on the 07-11 altimas and 09-10 maximas. All this part is a little lock actuator that moves up and down and unlocks the steering wheel, then informs to vehicle to start the car. So if this fails when you push the start button on the vehicle the car will not start. Nissan knows that it is an common issue, even their service techs informed me it is a issue. Unfortunately they would rather charge the customer $680 for the part another couple hundred dollars in labor. This roughly a $1000 repair and instead of nissan taking responsibility for a faulty part, they are passing the cost over to their consumers.

Filed Feb 4, 2016 · Steering · 127,000 miles · CT

Takata recal the car was at a gas station when I returned to it, it would not start. It sarts with a fob. Inserted the fob at key location and would not start. Mechanic try starting through the battery. Would not start. The steering column was the issue. The warrenty for this part was for 6 years. I never recieved notification for the warrenty. Nissan america said it was my responsiblity to look it up on line. The repair cost me $1263.58. I was only asking for the part price which was $898.63. Why would a part be on warrenty for 6 years and then break down 9 months later and they are not responsible for the part failure.

Filed Jan 22, 2016 · 92,000 miles · SC

Car wouldn't start due to a faulty steering wheel lock switch. This has been a continuing problem on altimas and other models. Nissan failed to report problem to its customers.

Filed May 4, 2015 · Electrical, Steering · 108,885 miles · NJ

I was 50 miles away from home, when I go to start my car it will not start at all! My key would lock and unlock my car but it wouldn't turn on. Initially I thought it was the key, I had my sister drop off my spare to see if that was the case, it wasn't. Come to find out the escl seems to be faulty and is preventing the car from starting up. Right now I'm waiting on the dealer to tell me what's going on, beware nissan knows all about this but is refusing to do a recall!

Filed Nov 28, 2013 · Steering · 101,000 miles · TX

On the morning of 11-28-2013 I entered my vehicle to leave work and proceeded to turn it on, however it would not start. There was an amber colored light on the dash of a car and key and the vehicle stayed in lock mode. After several attempts to start the vehicle, jumping the battery to make sure it was charged and changing the fob battery it still wouldn't work. After some research and speaking with the dealership about the problem it was determined that the steering lock assembly had malfunctioned and would need to be replaced. My car at this point is completely useless. After researching this issue I found that this is a very common problem with the 2008-2010 nissan altima's and the part was actually removed from the vehicle specifications in 2010. This is a safety concern because there is no way to move the vehicle once it malfunctions other than towing it. All that it takes for the malfunction to occur is the vehicle to be turned off. I had no notice that there was a problem. It simply would not start. With the number of complaints regarding this part and the number of people who have been stranded due to this faulty mechanism , the manufacturer needs to answer to something. Numerous complaints regarding this malfunction can be found at this link http://www.faqs.org/car/nissan-altima-2009/steering/#b.

Filed Mar 12, 2013 · Steering · 75,181 miles · NY

Drove to work on mon 3/11/13. When going out at lunchtime to run errands, car would not start and didn't start until repaired by nissan service. Repair shop knew instantly what the problem was and why. I'm a single parent in a 1-car home and this issue causes me/my school-aged children both need and financial hardships. Over 132 folks had same problem as found on about automobile complaints website alone. This doesn't factor in the number of consumers who have also experienced this problem and didn't write about it publicly. This should be a recall issue. Nissan service replaced "steering lock control unit". Total cost to me was $700.41.

Filed Mar 5, 2013 · Steering · 65,000 miles · RI

Returned to my vehicle after work at 5pm, and car wouldn't start. Ignition button was lit, with 'lock' light illuminated, and 'key' light was illuminated in the hud. Researched in owners manual, which referred to the steering lock unit, and told me to contact dealer. Interior lights worked, but little else. Had aaa tow me the next day to local dealer; service advisor stated the steering lock control unit had failed and needed to be replaced (part# 487009n00b). This appears to be a common issue with nissan altimas, circa 2007-2009, based on consumer complaints, but nissan will not warranty the part nor issue recall. Total cost was $800 . I will be contacting nissan consumer help to see about recourse.

Filed Feb 26, 2013 · Electrical · 44,000 miles · WA

My wife went to start her 2009 altima hybrid with the intelligent key system. Nothing happened, the key indicator on the left of the instrument panel was lit. She tried the key in the in dash slot and still nothing. Batteries were good in both key fob's we tried, car battery was good also. It turned out to be the steering lock motor and switch. You could hear the steering lock work but evidently it never contacted the switch to show it was unlocked so the car would not start or even go into accessory mode. Parts and labor were $923 ($550 for the part, the rest labor) towing was another $100. Nissan would not help out even though I read in nissan forums that it's been a recall item on a different model and that they didn't use the same system in newer cars.

Filed Feb 13, 2013 · Electrical, Steering · 68,000 miles · PA

Car operated normally in the morning, able to start and drove perfectly fine to the office. When I went to start my car to go get lunch, the car would not start and the intelligent key light flashed. I called the local dealership and was told the fob must have somehow un-synced. Aaa towed to dealership, was then told that my steering control lock had failed and needed to be replaced. Due to high demand from the part (indicating a significant current failure rate) the part would not be available for almost a week. I then went home and googled the issue, found http://www.arfc.org/complaints/2009/nissan/altima/?q=&page=24 where hundreds of complaints about this particular part failing over the past year were being reported. What if I wasn't at the office? I could have been stranded anywhere, in the middle of winter. This poses a serious health risk. Beyond that, the total cost of repair was almost $800.