2009 Nissan Cube: won't start

Filed May 3, 2025 · Steering · CA

2009 Cube would not start. Steering wheel locked prevented me from starting the car. Called AAA and they tried to jump start and still would not start. AAA towed my car to Capital Nissan in San Jose and they confirmed it was the Steering Lock Unit. Replaced and charged me 1363.46. After researching online there was a recall (not my Cube and I don't know why) back in 2011. I also found that "recalls never expired". I feel because this incident happened at a later time the Steering Lock Unit became defective. I've noticed the warning light on my dashboard for awhile but it was off and on and have been taking my car for maintenance over the years at Premier Nissan (now called Capitol Nissan in San Jose) and thought maybe the tech would find the problem. I feel because it was defective and recalled I shouldn't have to pay for parts and labor. Also on my Invoice they wrote down the mileage as 140000 and that is not true. My Cube has 138000.

Filed Aug 9, 2019 · Electrical, Steering · 98,000 miles · OH

The antitheft lock malfunctioned. Now the car wont start.

Filed Feb 13, 2019 · Electrical, Engine · 86,000 miles · NC

Vehicle was parked in a downtown parking garage while my wife was at work. She came out of work after dark, with no access back into a banking building, and the car would not start. After calling me and trying a couple things, we called our roadside assistance and I got in my car to drive 45 minutes there. My wife had to wait in the locked car, alone, until myself and the tow truck arrived. This was an unsafe situation. We had it towed to a dealer and found out the next day that the escl (electronic steering control lock) had failed, which prevents the car from starting. After spending $650 to have it repaired, I did some investigation and found that this is a very common problem not just on the nissan cube, but with altimas, maximas, 370z and infiniti vehicles. After our repair, nissan had extended the warranty on the part, but we were past the mileage and they would not reimburse us. They still have an open service campaign for the altimas and maximas, but not the cube or other affected vehicles. This is a sever safety concern. My wife was alone in a dark parking ramp for almost an hour in the inner city. Imagine if this happened to others after nissan has acknowledged it as a problem, and someone gets mugged or killed while in an unsafe area and cant get their car started. Nissan should issue a 100% recall on all affected vehicles and provide reimbursement for owners who have already paid for the repair.

Filed Feb 19, 2018 · Electrical · 77,000 miles · MN

Engine will not start after turning off. Car cannot be moved because shifter will not come out of park and vehicle will not move. Steering column;

Filed Oct 19, 2017 · Electrical · 135,000 miles · GA

Car would not start. Electronic steering column lock.

Filed Dec 27, 2016 · Electrical, Steering · 140,000 miles · MD

Car will not start. Sitting on a residential street. Electronic steering control lock defect.

Filed Aug 15, 2016 · Steering · 85,866 miles · VA

Escl failed for 3rd time. Drove the car, parked it for 15 minutes and it would not start when I came back out. This will make the 3rd escl installed in my car by nissan since I bought it new in july 2009. The 2nd escl was replaced under warranty on november 2011 at 22912 miles. The 3rd one cost me $892.09 plus $140 to tow it to the dealership. It took nissan warranty 2 weeks to tell me that they would reimburse me for the cost of the part only. Dealing with the warranty people was more frustrating than going to the dmv. I would rather have a root canal without novacaine than deal with them again. Talk about making you want to just walk away and not buy another nissan. I love my car but nissan's customer service for faulty parts sucks. The escl has issues that still aren't resolved. Nissan said it was normal wear and tear. That is bull- normal wear and tear is replacing brakes, tires and exhaust. I just replaced my tires last year and my brakes and muffler are still in good shape and original from when I bought the car. They should leave the escl off going forward. It does nothing for you if it leaves you stranded.

Filed Oct 22, 2015 · Steering · 130,000 miles · CA

Escl (electric steering column lock) needs to repaired on my '09 cube. I shut my car off after driving it for 10 minutes and it would not start again.

Filed Mar 10, 2015 · Brakes, Engine · MD

My wife's 2009 nissan cube has had intermittent issues with the vehicle shutting off. It has happened a few times in rush hour traffic on the highway to and from work and most recently in a parking lot (luckily) it locked up completely. Most times she describes it like it is stalling, where she is able to move off to the side of the road and is able to restart the car after a minute or two. A few times however after coming to a complete stop, everything locked up. Car wouldn't start, steering wheel locked, brake pedal wouldn't even budge. After a minute, it started right back up. When we took it to the dealer, they could find nothing wrong and just ended up costing us "diagnostic fees". Reading through other complaints on here about this same exact issue, I find it hard to believe that nissan is not aware of something of this magnitude. Searching the web returns no type of help whatsoever. How are we supposed to just accept a vehicle that randomly shuts off, the results of which could be fatal? There has to be something that can be done.

Filed Jul 30, 2014 · Engine · 66,739 miles · MD

Monday, july 8, 2013 I as driving home 95n interstate from north carolina with the A/C and cruise control on. The car immediately start slowing down at the of speed 65 MPH. I immediately moved to the right lane for exit. The car shut down and would not start. I was in fredericksburg, va heading to my home in new carrollton, md. I had to call aaa to tow me (home) to my dealership of services passport nissan in marlow heights. I have documentation for this call. The nissan service department stated they could not find anything wrong with the car after keeping it for day (have receipts for rental car). I explained in detail with great frustration, fear and concern what happen. I was alone this happen at night (dark on the highway). It happen again within a week of that call for service (three separate incidents) department I needed to get the car them immediately when it happen. If the car shutdown and must be towed that is impossible to get there when it occur. I called nissan regional office and marlow heights managers to get "no help or satisfaction". At the time of this shutdown my car was still under nissan's warranty. I am still riding with no A/C today. It is scary to ride a car that cost me thousands of dollars with no A/C and not knowing what the problem is. Please help and provide me some guidance. I want my car repaired. Thank you for your assistance and advice. Riding with no A/C still one year later.

Filed Jun 13, 2014 · Electrical, Steering · 46,894 miles · AR

The electronic steering wheel lock failed car wont start . The part was replaced in july 2011 on a recall the new part failed in june 2014 nissan would not replace a 2ed time under recall, with much begging they paid for part I paid for labor. This left my wife stranded in a less than ideal spot nissan extended the warranty on this same part on 2009 nissan altima but not on cube.

Filed Feb 17, 2014 · Electrical, Steering · 79,000 miles · IL

The vehicle would not start after it was working properly, but once parked and off tried to turn the vehicle on and it would not start. It is a problem with the escl which was part of the manufacturing irregularity, which was confirmed by nissan dealership service center, and will not fix under warranty.