2009 Nissan Altima: headlights failing or too dim

Filed Jul 22, 2019 · Body, Transmission · 137,000 miles · OK

I am experiencing two severe safety issues with my 2009 nissan altima coupe. 1. When I am driving on the highway, after about an hour, my transmission will not allow the car to go the speed limit or accelerate. No matter how hard I press on the gas pedal, the car will not shift, loses power and gets progressively worse the farther I drive. I had to pull off the highway for fear that someone would hit me because no matter how hard I tried to accelerate, the car would only go about 40 MPH. 2. The dashboard is literally melting causing a blinding glare when the sun (during the day) or other headlights (during the night or rain) hit it...it creates a blinding glare making it impossible to see. Both of these issues, the transmission and dash make driving extremely hazardous.

Filed May 20, 2017 · Lights, Visibility · 42,475 miles · NY

I was driving my car on regular roads about to get on a highway without any issue with all functions perfectly working. Then all of a sudden my turn signals would not activate by the toggle switch, however the hazard button would activate them. Then my headlights turned off on their own(this was at 2 am in pitch dark area and raining). I tried turning the switch all the way off then back on after pulling over, nothing worked even with turning my car off entirely then back on. My headlights wouldn't work, blinkers nor my windshield wipers. My car has never been in an accident or had any other failures. I was informed by the dealer that the issue was nothing I could have possibly done as an operator. It was something that went wrong at the factory when the car was built. I am only writing this because this is a huge concern as I had to find my way home with only my hazard lights blinking every other second. It was very dangerous. The dealer stated that the part that failed was a "body control module is $919.35, part, labor" which is an insane amount of money for 1 part. However it is so expensive because once replaced the entire car and key fobs need to be reprogrammed by nissan and only a authorized nissan dealer can acquire said programming tools/software. Sure my car is a 2009 however the dealer said this is very uncommon to randomly short out in general but especially while driving because of how dangerous the effects can be even with the age of the vehicle. I love my car but adding this kind of technology that controls all these functions without a fail safe is an awful method of production. After this experience I felt the need to share it with the nissan owner community.

Filed Jan 23, 2017 · Electrical, Steering · 69,500 miles · MD

My nissan altima 2.5 s coupe was functioning normally with no issues whatsoever until 3 mornings ago when I was at home and leaving for work. I opened my car door with the push-button key and turned on the headlights without issues. When I pushed the start/ignition button next to the steering wheel on my parked car, there was absolutely no response from the vehicle. The engine did not turnover or make any noise suggesting it was attempting to. I had driven this car 8 hours prior and saw no lights on the dashboard or abnormal noises indicating that there was an impending issue. After doing my own research on the problem and having the car evaluated at a nissan dealership, I discovered that I was not alone in having this occur, as there had been other nissans and infinitis from that year that have had the exact same issue with the escl (electronic steering column lock) unit. Numerous people have been in the same situation as me at different times of the day/night and locations. This poses a significant safety risk to people who operate this car. There is absolutely no warning that there is an issue with the steering column and can happen anywhere, at any time, and in any weather. Luckily I was in a safe area at the time when it happened to me, but I fear for anyone else that has this occur in an unsafe location or in unsafe weather conditions. I believe that nissan should be held responsible for the problematic car part, regardless of when the car was purchased, that has obviously given several people issues and can leave people stranded somewhere without any warning.

Filed Jan 12, 2017 · Electrical · 91,000 miles · OK

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!!!

Filed Oct 15, 2016 · Steering · 57,000 miles · MD

Car will not start due to escl issues headlight turn on door locks and unlock , red and yellow key icon flashes

Filed Jul 23, 2015 · Body, Lights · FL

1. The dashboard totally melted creating a blinding glare while driving. It is completely sticky to touch, which is great if I wanted a permanent and highly effective bug trap. The glare it creates on the windshield is so blinding that I've almost hit pedestrians crossing the street on several different occasions. The dealership where I purchased the car only offered to replace it at a ridiculous cost that I cannot afford as a school teacher. It was only 2 years old, however old enough to not be under warranty. My major concern is having an accident or hitting someone crossing the street. Will nissan cover damages then? 2. Headlights: plastic headlight is completely covered in film creating a visibility hazard at night. Restoration processes did not work. Again after only 2 years they had a film over the lenses. Now they are worse. As a school teacher with a limited income I depend on my car lasting. I cannot even sell the car in these conditions for a decent price. Nissan is not holding up to the standards it should; especially safety standards. Let's hope myself or someone else does not wind up as another statistic. Let this be on records as a safety hazard complaint for the manufacturer and others who share the same occurrences. If pictures are needed, I have plenty. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my car! However, this is completely unacceptable and I am concerned for not only my safety but the safety of those around me, and all because of the manufacturer slacking in their safety standards division. Please help?

Filed Nov 16, 2014 · Body, Lights · FL

1. Dashboard totally melted creating a blinding glare while driving. It is completely sticky to the touch. The glare is so blinding almost hit a pedestrian crossing the street. . The dealership where I purchased the car only offered to replace it at a ridiculous cost I cannot afford as a school teacher. It was only 2 years old, however, old enough not to be under warranty. My major concern is having an accident or hitting someone crossing a street if I get hit with the glare. Will nissan cover damages then? 2. Headlights: plastic headlight is completely covered in film creating a visibility hazard at nighttime. Restoration processes did not work. Again after only 2 years they had a film over the lenses. Now they are worse. As a school teacher with a limited income I depended on my car lasting. I cannot even sell the car in these conditions for a decent value. Nissan is not holding up to the standards it should; especially safety standards. Let's hope myself or someone else does not wind up as another statistic. Let this be on records as a safety hazard complaint for the manufacturer and others who share the same occurrence. If pictures are needed I have plenty.

Filed Aug 18, 2014 · Airbags, Body · 71,000 miles · FL

Help, a melting and shiny sticky dash on my 2009 altima generates a tremendous glare on the windshield and prevents me from clearly viewing the highway in front during the day. It also distors the viewing during the night due to the on-comming vehicles headlights. It is highly serious and dangerous driving safety hazard problem that could/will "it is just a timing issue" cause an accident, the dash can't be clean and is melting. It is also minimazing the value of the vehicle. Please advise if there is solution or recall from nissan to fix this problem.

Filed May 19, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · 60,412 miles · GA

Car doors unlocked normally , the dash showed a yellow key light blinking , no response to pushing the ignition button. Car locks and unlocks with the remote . Headlights worked battery was charged full. Exited the door , locked the car , unlocked the car , entered in - held the remote close to the ignition button. The dashboard still showed yellow key light blinking . Pushed ignition button no response. Upon googling there was a suggestion to removed negative from battery wait for a 5 minutes , reconnect and try . Same results after connecting the battery. One article suggested to move the adjustable steering up and down vigorously . I released the steering button underneath the steering and moved the steering up and down. Pushed the ignition button and the engine started. Drove to the dealer who refused to do correct the problem stating that at the time the dealer inspected the vehicle everything was fine. He did not want to see the video I captured showing the yellow key light blinking.

Filed Jan 4, 2014 · Electrical · 83,000 miles · AL

Drove my car early this am with no problem. When I returned about 3 hours later it would not start. The brake was very hard. The interior lights works, horn, and headlights. However only the key fob indicator and push brake indicator lights in dash. Dealer said it was a bad fob. I had it towed to nissan and the fob was not bad. Now they say it's the main computer. They will not be able to do any more research until monday. I am seeing a lot of this same problem in here. I am very nervous.

Filed Oct 28, 2013 · Electrical · DC

When I got into the car there were no lights illuminated on the instrument panel except for the intelligent key and security indicator lights. I attempted to start the car but it would not even start to turn over. I noticed all of the locks and headlights still worked so I knew it was not an electrical issue my 2009 nissan altima would not start due to key error message. After my research come to find out this has been happening to lots of altima owners. I got in my car after a short stop and the key message was on and nothing. It would not start. My windows were down and they would not go up. I tried everything. Disconnected my batter, did the neutral thing. Shook steering wheel. Etc...of course it happens on a sunday when everything is closed.

Filed Apr 22, 2013 · Airbags · 39,700 miles · AZ · crash · 1 injury

I was traveling westbound on the interstate when a chevrolet silverado truck cut into my lane and stopped abruptly. I did not have time to react and rear-ended the vehicle. My car ended up under his bumper with major front end damage. My bumper was dragging when I pulled to the side, both headlights were broken, the hood was damaged, and the radiator and transmission were leaking. The grill was smashed in and was behind the front bumper. I was traveling at least 40 miles per hour. I bought the car brand new in 2009 and it had less than 40,000 miles on it. This is the first accident I have ever been in. The other vehicle left the scene of the accident. I was taken to the hospital for head and neck injuries. The airbags did not deploy. The police, fire, and tow truck driver all said the airbags should have deployed.