Vehicle would not start. Keylight flashed. Car needed to be towed in heavy rain from my work in an unsafe area and towed to my house and dealership. Car has faulty electronic steering column lock. Nissan will not honor extended warranty even though this was a known issue to nissan. I was told by nissan consumer affairs that the extended warranty was never advertised to consumers and was not a recall but the extended repair warranty was available until april 25 2016. I find this unacceptable and I'm unsafe also putting my family at risk. Nissan consumer affairs have assigned a case number to me. Case number is [xxx]. Please help me. Thank you. * information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
2009 Nissan Altima electrical complaints
Page 4 of 17: complaints 71 to 100 of 466, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I was at a gas station in a unsafe area (high crime) and my car would not start back up. My car went into "lock mode", after research the steering lock can malfunction on the 2009 nissan altima. Looks like the warranty used to be 8 years and it was changed to 6 years. This would have been the 8th year for me. I was terrified being stuck with no ride. It took me an hour to find someone to pick me up. I had to leave the car overnight. If this is a common issue why was the warranty shortened? Or why is there not a lifetime warranty on this part? Being stranded for an issue that is the manufacturers fault is unacceptable. I have never been more scared in my life than I was last night. I sat in my car waiting for a tow. I am a female and I had multiple men approach my car. Terrified. Unsafe. This problem could have been much much worse but it needs to be addressed and under warranty.
Owner of a 09 nissan altima 2.5 s. My whole family got stuck with the car that didnt start at all, there's a key logo in the dash panel showing so I went to find some solutions online and found that im lost because it wont start again until fix by a dealer. No fun at all because I found that I might have to pay out of my pocket and this been a old problem that I never was mentioned by my service dealer. Nissan needs to do something about it.
Steering lock defective, known problem by nissan since 2009, refused to recall the cars involved. I just spent $923.00 to fix my '09 with 91k miles on it. Car left me stranded in a safe spot, fortunately. After I parked, walked away for a few minutes, tried to restart, nothiing but the two key lights in the dash, horn, overhead lights and alarm. Steering wheel would not lock. This needs to be an active recall and owners reimbursed for the work involved!!!
The intelligent key system failed rendering the car completely inoperable. I drove the car which operated perfectly with no warning lights, turned it off and next time I got into the car to start it and drive away. The intelligent key (pushbutton start) did not recognize that the key was in the car so the car would not start. The steering wheel was locked so could not be steered, could not be pushed due to the car being locked in park. No accessories functioned inside the car. The remote functions on the key fob all worked, door locks, trunk release, panic button, but the ignition system was a complete fail. There is no bypass for the average consumer. While it is certainly inconvenient, it could also be dangerous if the car was to have been shut off in a remote area, in sever cold or beside a busy highway. The vehicle was stationary point of failure, parked on a side street. I was fortunate that I was at a relatives home as the temperature was -3 with a wind chill of -15. Nissan realized that the steering lock mechanism was faulty and originally offered a free replacement for this part which is estimated to cost between $500-$900, but from what I have read they have rescinded that offer as of january of 2016.
The steering lock mechanism failed suddenly. I drove to the grocery store and parked in the parking lot. When I got back in my car to leave, the car didn't start. It didn't recognize the key fob and did not allow me to use the override system. The steering lock warning light came on. I had it towed to the nissan dealership service center. The nissan dealership service team informed me the steering lock mechanism had failed. After doing research, I found this is an ongoing problem with this make and model. Nissan extended the warranty for this part but it had expired. This is an ongoing issue with this year, make and model and nissan should be forced to recall this part and reimburse people who had to have it repaired after the extended warranty expired.
We have a defects in the electronic steering column lock (escl) which has disable the push-button ignition on nissan altima 2009 sl. It can happened anytime which put a persons life in danger if you get stuck on or to f the road. Based on my research I have read numerous cases where very same situation had caused by faulty electronic steering column lock (escl). The only option we have right now to get your car towed to deal ship and pay well over $1100. Even though this nissan fault for choosing to use the faulty part. This is absolutely unfair on their part. Please advice us as what can we do to have nissan to accept the responsibility and replace this faulty part replaced.
Nissan altima 2009 has a defective steering lock system. Suddenly this evening after work when I get back to the car, it just did not start. This is a dangerous situation if it would have happened any remote place and I would have been stranded. I see there have been several people complained about this on the internet but nissan has not recalled this car. Please investigate and take appropriate steps. They should either replace the defective part of just replace the car.
Takata recall, defect steering lock unit, unable to start engine! After parked nissan 2009 altima at a shopping mall, "nokey" light is on, car can be lock and unlock through remote control key, but no display information visible at the dash board, wheel is locked and unable to switch gear. Nothing can be done to the car!
Electronic steering column lock (escl); this was a covered warranty replacement until january of this year. I was not aware of any recall or that this might have even been an issue. I was parked out near a lake and had to call my friends to pick me up and have my car towed. This is not a small issue, if someone was unable to start their car in a freezing situation they could die. Or if I was needing to get a family member to the hospital I would be unable to.
Steering wheel lock /ignition , car not able to start using key fob , total steering and brake lock . Got off work and could not start car , was running fine prior to work 7am
The power lock steering keeps on locking the start system and car can`t start .
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 nissan altima. The contact stated that the vehicle would not start and the intelligent key warning sensor illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the ignition lock/smart key lock needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer informed the contact that the extended warranty expired. The failure mileage was 60,000.
3 times in the last 2 weeks my wife has been stranded in sub freezing temperature due to the electronic steering column lock (escl) not unlocking. Each time the car has been stopped and does not restart. Having read multiple reports nissan extended the warranty on the part and even removed it from 2010 models however I am out of luck since the extended warranty has expired. This defective part should be part of a national recall and consumers should be reimbursed for fixes and towing cost. Currently nissan will not fix the issue until it is occurring which means you have to wait to be stranded some where and have it towed to a nissan dealership to be fixed which is absolutely insane. I am lucky that me and my wife are handy and have been able to restart the card by literally hammering on the escl until it unlocked. If we had kids or were in the middle of an emergency this would be gathering national news attention on how nissan knew about a defective piece and (even replacing it in the next years model). I would appreciate anyone's help if bringing awareness of nissan's negligence.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 nissan altima. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start and the steering wheel locked. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering column had to be replaced and reprogrammed. The manufacturer was notified. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 45,000.
My car will not start this is the 3rd time this has happens in 2012 they changed my car battery and in 2013 it wouldn't start after work and I towed it to the dealership and they changed the steering and break lock mechanism and now 2016 my car won't start and it is the electronic steering column lock and now there is no warranty, so it is costing me about $900 to 1,000 to fix a problem that should not be happening or that should have a life time warranty.
Instrument panel does not light up and car will not start, it doesn't crank, not even a click form the starter, the steering wheel does not lock. Seems to be the electronic steering column lock (escl) as I googled for similar complaints of other owners. Nissan extended the warranty to 6 years on this issue, however cause they know this is a safety issue with this car. They should extend the warranty for a well known defect indefinitely. If this happens in the middle of nowhere is a very serious life and death issue. Http://web.archive.org/web/20150219214832/http://www.nissanassist.com/web/escl_warranty_extension/programdetails.php?menu=61
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 nissan altima. While attempting to start the vehicle, the intelligent key malfunction indicator illuminated and the engine would not start. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 100,000.
I drove to work everything was fine went out on break to start my car and can't do anything windows are lowered and it started to rain the steering lock has went out and leaves you know way of doing anything with the car now I have to miss work to get vehicle put in to a dealership I see many others with the same problems
Went to work car, will not start when I went to leave work. Standard for a couple of hours. No warning it was going bad.
When leaving to go home from an event for my kids, the car would not and could not start. The key lock symbol (red) and lock symbol (yellow) were lit on the dashboard. I did some research and found that the it was the steering column lock which many has been complaining about. This should be considered a recall with all the problems.
The car doesnt start because the car's starting system is faulty. It is called electronic steering column lock (escl) failure. Only nissan dealers can fix this issue and they charge exorbitant amount of money for replacing a small part and for labor. This is not caused by a user error but because of a defect with this model itself. There are many such complains online and happens to people randomly. This is a severe health and life hazard. Me and my wife were about to leave for remote places when this issue happened and if that would have happened, we would have been in a huge mess! Nissan does not even have the courtesy to reimburse the full repair amount. I didn't even ask for the hotel and trip cancellation reimbursement but still they are not ready to budge. I escalated it to three levels but to no effect. This is sad. There must be a recall on this model. My car just has 60k miles on it and I feel cheated to have to pay $1100 for nissan's fault just for the repair, let alone additional expenses I had to incur to book hotel last minute for two days and incur charges for the hotel stays for the rest of my trip. My honeymoon trip was screwed up because of nissan and they are saying they can only reimburse me for the part which is only half the cost. I will sell this car as soon as I can and will never ever buy a nissan car again. But, I would like to see this car recalled asap before it leads to someone's death.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 nissan altima. The contact stated that the push to start feature failed to start the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering lock mechanism failed and would need to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 78,000. ..updated 03/29/17 *bf updated 08/03/2017
The date was 12/7/2016. My 2009 nissan altima failed to start at the end of my shift at work. After some research I found that what I had was a faulty escl. I found that this is a very common problem for this model car. The car fails to even turn on the to the acc mode. Nissan knows that this is a problem and extended the warranty for only 72 months and has refused to make a recall since it involves a parked car. The temperature for today was 26 degrees and had I been somewhere far from home where my father couldn't pick me up then I'd be stranded in the cold to freeze. This is also a safety concern because the car may fail to start in an unsafe neighborhood or other unsafe conditions. Nissan needs to either recall or extend their warranty on the escl.
The escl died today, at night here in maine. Searching the for this problem, it seems that this is a known issue with nissan, which did nothing to prevent my teenager from being stranded, at night. I see the part is on amazon for only $400, and takes about 30 minutes to install. Why does a dealer want $1000 for a repair of this sort? This is crazy - considering that nissan even extended the warranty on this part to 6 years - I just missed the deadline.
I got in my car the other day to run to the store and the cars push button ignition would not start the car, the llght on the dash suggests that the steering wheel is not locked, but it is locked. Vehicle is parked in my driveway
My wife was driving her 2009 nissan altima and parked. When leaving to go home, the car would not and could not start. The key lock symbol (red) and lock symbol (yellow) were lit on the dashboard. I did some research and found that the it was the steering column lock which many has been complaining about. I took it to the nissan dealer and the part would be $600.00. Attached is the printout of the warranty. This had me and my wife stranded on one of the coldest day of the year. They wouldn't consider fixing it unless it was a standard repair. This is crazy!!! It's the holidays and now this is happening. Good grief!!!
Was driving altima running great got ne tires service done. Went to a friends house when I came back to start the altima wouldn't start. I tried everything changing batteries in car, remote batteries changed. I finally came across this video and explain everything that was happening and said nissan is aware of this issue but doesn't want to put a recall on it. It's believe it's a major safety problem what would have happen driving down the highway in their vehicle automatically stop and locked the strain will basin only one direction I would cause a major car pile up with myself and possibly many others because it is faulty part nissan has put in. I have work in the car business for 10 years and I have never seen a manufacture do what they're doing right now. They have put me and my family in major jeopardy.
Electronic steering control lock failed, leaving me stranded on the side of the road, apparently a common problem with 09 nissan, contacted nissan and opened a case, they called back and refused to help, with anything. What a joke nissan is turning out to be. There are literally thousands of posts on this problem, and nissan gives an unlimited mileage replacement that ended in 2014, I offered to pay for the labor if they would replace the part, obviously they have no interest in my future business.
Electronic steering column lock (escl) failed and was sticks and stranded. I am a full time student as well as working full time. Had to get my 09 altima towed to the dealship and lost out on work and made my daily life a financial hardship. It is going to cost me $1100 just for the part and labor. This is a known issue with 2009 altima's and needs to be recalled until nissan fixes the issue. This is very dangerous situation to be in, if I was camping and had no cell phone service my life could seriously be in danger. Please issue a recall for this part.
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