2009 Nissan Altima Hybrid

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.

I WAS ON MY WAY TO PICKUP MY WIFE AND THE FOR SONE REASON THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME LOCKED . I THOUGHT THAT IT WAS A MISTAKE OR SOMETHING GOT STUCK IN THE CAR. I PRESS ON THE BUTTON TO START ,NOTHING AND TRY TO TURNED THE STEERING WHEEL ,STILL NOTHING. I GOT OUT OF THE CAR AND BACK IN ,NOTHING ,SO I DID THIS FOR 30 MINUTES UNTIL FINALLY GAVE UP. I HAD TO RUSH TO GET OUR OTHER CAR TO PICK HER UP. LUCKILY, TRAFFIC WAS OKAY. I HAVE CONTACTED NISSAN TO SEE IF THEY CAN DO ANYTHING ,STILL WAITING TO HEAR FROM THEM. I CONTACTED THEM AT THIS SAME DAY. THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY IN THE PARKING LOT OF OUR APARTMENT.

MY DAUGHTER STOPPED AT A LOCAL COFFEE SHOP BEFORE GOING TO WORK ONE MORNING. WHEN SHE RETURNED TO HER 2009 NISSAN ALTIMA HYBRID SHE OPENED THE DOOR REMOTELY WITH THE KEY FOB AND TRIED TO START THE CAR AND THE ENGINE DID NOT RESPOND. THE STEERING COLUMN HAD LOCKED AND A YELLOW KEY LOCK LIGHT HAD COME ON THE DISPLAY. READING THE OWNERS MANUAL, SHE THOUGHT THE PROBLEM MIGHT BE WITH THE KEY FOB BATTERY. LUCKILY, I WAS STILL AT HOME AND WAS ABLE TO BRING A SPARE FOB TO HER. USING THE SPARE,THOUGH,HAD THE SAME RESULT: NO IGNITION. WE CALLED AAA AND HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE DEALER. THE DEALERSHIP "CONFIRMED, CHECKED AND FOUND THE STEERING LOCK IS FAULTY, REMOVED AND REPLACED. CLEARED ALL CODES AND REPROGRAMMED BOTH KEYS". PARTS REPLACED WERE 1 48700-JF00D LOCK STEERING AND 2 48703-06F0A SCREW-STEERING LOCK, LIGHTENING MY WALLET BY $948.33. THREE DAYS LATER WE WERE ABLE TO PICK UP A DRIVABLE VEHICLE WITH A FUNCTIONING STEERING COLUMN. DURING THE TIME WE WERE WITHOUT THIS CAR WE WERE ABLE TO DO SOME INTERNET RESEARCH ON THIS ISSUE AND FOUND OUT THAT IT IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH 2007-2011 ALTIMAS WITH AVERAGE MILEAGE AROUND 80,000, ( THIS ONE HAD 83,909) THAT NISSAN ACKNOWLEDGES DOES EXIST,AND YET THEY WILL NOT ISSUE A RECALL. FROM OUR SEARCHES OF MANY WEB SITES (INCLUDING SAFERCAR.GOV) WE WERE ABLE TO DETERMINE THAT THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN FREQUENTLY REPORTED, YET STILL THERE HAVE BEEN NO STEPS TAKEN TOWARD RECTIFYING THE PROBLEM. AS AN ALTIMA OWNER I AM LEFT WONDERING WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN IN ORDER FOR NISSAN TO FINALLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS IS A LEGITIMATE SAFETY ISSUE THAT COULD HAPPEN AT ANY TIME AND ANY PLACE.

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.

2009 ALTIMAS APPEARED TO HAVE A KNOWN ISSUE REGARDING THE STEERING LOCK COLUMN. NISSAN DID NOT ISSUE A RECALL, BUT INSTEAD OFFERED TO REPLACE THE STEERING LOCK ONLY ONCE THE VEHICLE BROKE DOWN, WITH THIS OFFER EXPIRING JAN 1ST 2016 APPARENTLY. MY CAR HAS ONLY 55,000 MILES ON IT, AND IN MARCH 2016 STARTED EXPERIENCING THIS ISSUE. CAR WOULD JUST BE UNABLE TO START AT ALL. I HAVE SPENT MONEY HAVING TO GET THE CAR TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP, AND NOW IT WILL COST ME $1325.00 TO REPLACE THE STEERING LOCK. SINCE THIS WAS A KNOWN ISSUE THAT NISSAN KNEW ABOUT, THE REPLACEMENT COVERAGE PERIOD SHOULD BE EXTENDED INDEFINITELY, OR A RECALL NEEDS TO BE ISSUED.

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.

ELECTRONIC STEERING COLUMN LOCK IS A KNOWN DEFECTIVE PART THAT IS NOT TREATED AS SAFETY ISSUE SINCE IT SEEMS TO OCCUR ONLY BEFORE STARTING SEQUENCE. HOWEVER, IF CAR STALLS OR ATTEMPT TO RESTART IN TRAFFIC SITUATION THERE IS POTENTIAL DANGER. NISSAN MODIFIED WARRANTY TO 72 MONTHS ON THIS PART BUT DID NOT NOTIFY OWNERS OF ISSUE. WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED AND PART REPLACED.... IN OUR CASE IT HAPPENED WHILE GETTING SERVICED -- AND EVEN REPLACEMENT FAILED AND HAD TO BE REPLACED....

THE STEERING LOCK ASSEMBLY SEIZED UP WHILE THE CAR WAS PARKED, SO THE ENGINE STARTER WAS PREVENTED FROM TURNING ON AND THE STEERING AND TRANSMISSION REMAINED LOCKED. THIS HAPPENED IN THE DEAD OF WINTER AND AT NEAR-ZERO TEMPERATURES, REQUIRING A TOW TO A DEALER AND A $1200 REPAIR, WHICH NISSAN LATER REDUCED TO $450. I ACCEPTED THIS ON CONDITION IT WOULD NOT CONSTITUTE A SETTLEMENT. THIS IS A DEFECT THAT TURNS UP IN ALL ALTIMAS BUILT DURING SEVERAL MONTHS IN 2008, WHICH THEY HAVE ACKNOWLEDGED. THEY OFFERED A 72-MONTH WARRANTY AFTER MANUFACTURE (NOT A RECALL, THOUGH CUSTOMERS CLAMORED FOR IT) JUST FOR THIS ITEM, BUT UNFORTUNATELY THE DEFECT TENDS TO SURFACE AFTER THIS PERIOD. MY CAR MISSED THE WINDOW BY 22 DAYS. MANY SIMILAR CASES HAVE BEEN REPORTED SINCE, AND NONE HAVE BEEN COVERED. HAD THE UNIT FAILED WHILE THE CAR WAS RUNNING, IT IS LIKELY THAT THE STEERING WHEEL AND THE TRANSMISSION WOULD HAVE FAILED TO LOCK UPON TURNING OFF THE IGNITION, LEADING TO A HAZARDOUS SITUATION. BEING IN THE COLD FOR HOURS WAS HAZARDOUS ON ITS OWN, ANYWAY, BUT I SURVIVED IT.