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.
Nissan Cube steering lock-up problems
24 of the 217 owner complaints about the Nissan Cube describe steering wheel locks up, most of them for the 2009 model year.
- owner complaints
- 24
- worst model year
- 2009
- typical repair cost reported
- $814
- typical mileage
- 60,000
By model year
Often reported together
Won't start 5Engine failure 5Stalling 1Battery drain 1No deployment 1ABS 1
What owners say
The steering lock has failed, and the start button no longer works on the vehicle because the "plunger" has failed within the steering electrical box.
Power steering lock assembly is defective. Vehicle happened to be stationary at the time, locks the car from starting using the start button, car wont even turn over, dealer states part must be replaced. This exact same problem was addressed by a ntsb recall for 2009 - 2010 altimas and one other model but not the cube krom
The steering lock column unit in my 2009 nissan cube failed, disabling the car from starting, and putting me at risk as I was stuck in a location away from my home, and unable to start my car. My car was parked on a city street. I could unlock and lock the vehicle, but I could not start the car using my intelligent key. It was towed to a nissan dealership in newport, ri where I am being charged $814.00 in parts and labor to replace a part that nissan has acknowledged is faulty not only in the cube, but also in the altima. When I called nissan consumer affairs, they said there is no current recall campaign and due to the age of the car there was nothing they will do. Consumer affairs case number is 31941337.
Steering wheel does not lock. Dash lights come on, key is recognized, but sometimes engine does not start due to dead battery. Failure seems to be steering lock mechanism in unlocked position at all times causing battery to drain. Battery replaced 2 times in 9 months.alternator checks out good. Tired of being stranded!!!!car was stationary when incidents occur. Happening every other day for past 2 months.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 nissan cube. While parked, the vehicle failed to start without warning. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering wheel lock failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.
The steering lock column in my 2009 nissan cube failed, disabling the car from starting, and putting me in a safety risk as I was stuck in a location away from my home, and unable to start my vehicle. It was not a battery issue- the lights worked, I could unlock and lock the vehicle, but I could not start the car using my intelligent key. It was towed to a nissan dealership where I am being charged nearly $1,000 in parts and labor to replace a part that nissan has acknowledged is faulty. Despite an expired extended warranty that was placed on that part, nissan has no recall on the part and owners everywhere are experiencing the same issue.
My car starts when it feels like it. I've been stranded at the store after dropping off a child at sports practice, stranded in my own garage unable to take my child to school or get to work. It appears to be the steering lock mechanism issue that abounds in the 2010 cube. Sometimes it starts and sometimes it doesn't. I now have to phone a friend and tell them I'm leaving and where I'm going in case I get stranded and can't make it back!
I recently had my steering lock mechanism go out on my 2010 nissan cube and leave me stranded. I had my vehicle towed because it would no longer start thinking it was a safety issue. =$$ no other dealerships would look at it because it was what seemed an electrical issue, I had to take it to nissan dealership to diagnose this problem. I was quoted $950 for it to get fixed. Upon doing research I realized this same part was recalled on the 2009s. I also found many other complaints about this same issue and how nissan was not taking care of their customers. I took my issue to nissan corporate to get it resolved but they said at this time they could not take responsibility for it because there were "revisions" done to this part. Obviously it is still a problem. It also was said that they could not help with any financial assistance. Very disappointed with nissan and will never buy from they again, further recommend their business or customer service. Clearly they do not have any. Do not buy nissan anything. They will not take responsibility for recalled parts and do the right thing.
Electronic steering column lock (escl) was malfunctioning, as diagnosed by a nissan dealer. The car was parked on the side of the road, and it would not start, no engine, or into acc mode because the escl did not sense the brake pedal being pressed or the wheel in locked position. Pushing the brake pedal too start the car did nothing, and engine start button did not work but a solid amber key icon on the dash board would come up and disappear. The car had to be towed to the dealership. Did some research, and it turns out that nissan had problems w 2009 same escl part = steering lock part# on my unit - we have photos -487001fa0b manufacture date 09-30-09 the same as the only cube model year recalled.- from 2009-2010 including cube 2009 and altima/maxima 2010 which seemed to share the same escl part used my cube 2010 which is not part of the recall. Dealer wants over 800.00 too fix a know defect. There are many resources online (facebook, youtube, web forums) where people driving models other than altima and maxima experience the exact same problem, yet altima and maxima owners get warranty extensions and everyone else gets saddled with a $800 repair bill or more. Nissan should be held accountable for every model affected by this problem, not just two models and just one model year when the 2010's have the same issue and part . Our cube has 47,000 miles -
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Nissan Cube steering lock-up
Which Nissan Cube years have steering wheel locks up problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2009 (13 complaints), 2010 (10 complaints) and 2013 (1 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix steering wheel locks up on the Nissan Cube?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $814 (median of 8 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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