2009 Nissan Altima

IT WAS THE FIRST CHILL IN CHICAGO AND THE CAR WAS PARKED IN THE STREET. WHEN I TRIED TO START THE CAR IT WOULD ONLY LIGHT UP THE INTELLIGENT KEY WARNING LIGHT IN THE DASH INDICATING AN ISSUE WITH THE INTELLIGENT KEY-LESS SYSTEM. UPON FURTHER RESEARCH (A SIMPLE GOOGLE SEARCH "NISSAN ALTIMA INTELLIGENT KEY WARNING LIGHT ISSUES") INDICATED THAT IS A VERY COMMON ISSUE WITH ALTIMAS AND IS RELATED TO THE "STEERING LOCK" MECHANISM. I HAD TO TOW THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP AND A QUICK CALL TO THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT QUICKLY CONFIRMED THAT THIS WAS SOMETHING THEY SERVICE FREQUENTLY. THE DEALER HIMSELF INDICATED THAT THE LAST PART IN THEIR INVENTORY WAS JUST FITTED IN ANOTHER CAR. THIS IS USED CERTIFIED NISSAN ALTIMA AND THE EXTENDED WARRANTY DID NOT COVER THE REPAIR. THE TOTAL COST OF THE REPAIR WAS $1299.30. *TR

WENT TO GO START MY CAR AND THE INTELLIGENT KEY INDICATOR LIGHT CAME ON. COULDN'T EVEN USE THE BACK UP METHOD TO START THE CAR. HAD TO GET IT TOWED TO THE DEALER. COULDN'T DO ANYTHING WITH THE CAR AND WAS LEFT IN AN ABANDONED LOT. NOT A VERY SAFE PLACE TO BE STUCK. ALSO, THERE WASN'T A WARNING PRIOR TO THIS. FROM THE SOUNDS OF IT THERE ARE MANY OTHERS THAT HAVE HAD THIS ISSUE AT RIGHT AROUND THE SAME MILEAGE MARK. I THINK IT'S TIME FOR NISSAN TO CONSIDER A RECALL. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS. I HAVE MY CAR AT THE DEALER NOW AND FROM THE SOUNDS OF IT WILL BE IN FOR A REPAIR OF AROUND 1,000 OR MORE. WILL NOT BE BUYING A NISSAN AGAIN UNLESS THE DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. *TR

WAS OUT SHOPPING AT COSTCO, CAME OUT OF STORE AND CAR WOULD NOT START. INTELLIGENT KEY INDICATOR LIGHT WAS DISPLAYING ON THE DASH. THE BRAKE PEDAL WOULD NOT DEPRESS AND PUSH BUTTON WOULD NOT START THE CAR. TRIED TO MANUALLY OVERRIDE BY INSERTING THE KEY FOB IN THE SLOT - STILL WOULD NOT START. AS I WAS STRANDED HAD TO CALL HUSBAND TO COME GET ME. HAD HIM BRING OTHER KEY FOB, STILL WOULD NOT WORK. HAD TO HAVE THE VEHICLE TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP AS CAR IS COMPLETELY DISABLED AND WILL NOT RUN. *TR

WHILE DRIVING MY NISSAN 2009 ALTIMA TODAY THE WARNING LIGHT (YELLOW KEY) CAME ON AFTER HITTING A POT HOLE, WHEN I HAD TO PRESS ON MY BRAKES TO STOP AT A RED LIGHT THE CAR KILLED AND THE RED CAR WARNING LIGHT STARTED FLASHING , WHEN THE CAR CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP I PUT IT IN PARK AND TRIED TO DEPRESS THE START BUTTON. NOTHING HAPPENED, THE CAR WAS NOT RECOGNIZING THE INTELLIGENT KEY. THE YELLOW KEY WARNING LIGHT MEANS THE STEERING MECHANISM IS FAILING SO THE INTELLIGENT KEY WON'T WORK. SO HERE I WAS SITTING IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC WITH A CAR THAT WON'T START AND I CANNOT GET OUT OF PARK TO PUT IN NEUTRAL TO PUSH OUT OF THE TRAFFIC. I HAD TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED. AFTER MUCH RESEARCH I AM FINDING THIS IS AN ISSUE KNOWN BY NISSAN THEY NO LONGER PUT THIS PART IN THE 2010 HAVE DONE RECALLS FOR THIS ON OTHER MODELS AND YEARS BUT NOT THIS ONE. THIS IS A SAFETYY ISSUE AND SHOULD BE A RECALL ARE THEY WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO GET HURT BEFORE THEY ISSUE A RECALL? *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 NISSAN ALTIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE KEY-LESS ENTRY SYSTEM FAILED AND THE VEHICLE COULD NOT BE STARTED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHERE A DIAGNOSTIC WAS PERFORMED. THE FAILURE WAS LOCATED AT THE STEERING LOCK SYSTEM AND THE CONTACT WAS ADVISED THAT THE KEY-LESS COMPUTER NEEDED TO BE REPROGRAMMED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START AFTER MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS, THE DASH READ " NO KEY". EVEN THOUGH HE TRIED THE SPARE KEY AND TRIED TO JUMP START THE BATTERY, ALL ATTEMPTS FAILED. THE DEALER INFORMED THE CONSUMER IT WAS NOT A WEAR AND TEAR PROBLEM, AND IT WAS NOTHING THAT HE DID OR DIDN'T DO TO CREATE THE PROBLEM. UPDATED 03/14/13 ...UPDATED 04-03-13 *BF UPDATED 04/12/2013 *JS

HAVE HAD THIS CAR FOR 2+ YEARS NOW, LIVED IN ARIZONA AND FLORIDA. I NOW LIVE IN MARYLAND. THIS MORNING WAS SLIGHTLY COLDER THAN NORMAL, WITH SLEET COMING IN LAST NIGHT. MY WIFE ATTEMPTED TO START THE CAR THIS MORNING WHILE I WAS AWAY AT WORK AND COULD NOT GET IT TO START. LOOKING AT THE DASH INDICATORS, IT SHOWED THE ORANGE INTELLIGENT KEY LIGHT ON, AND WHEN I TRIED TO START THE CAR, THE IGNITION BUTTON WOULD NOT SWITCH OUT OF LOCK. TRIED TO GET THE CAR INTO NEUTRAL, BUT BRAKES APPEAR TO BE FIRM IN PLACE AND WILL NOT UNLOCK THE SHIFTER OUT OF PARK. LOOKED ONLINE FOR A FEW SOLUTIONS, BUT NONE HAVE WORKED SO FAR (UNHOOKING BATTERY, MOVING THE STEERING COLUMN). CALLED THE NISSAN DEALERSHIP NEAR HERE AND THEY WANT ME TO TOW IT IN BEFORE THEY CAN EVEN GUESS AT THE CAUSE (WHICH I WOULD HAVE NO ISSUE WITH IF THIS WAS AN UNCOMMON THING, BUT THERE ARE NUMEROUS REPORTS OF THIS ONLINE, MOST POINTING TO THE SAME THING: A SHODDY PART THAT I NEED TO PAY $500 PLUS LABOR TO REPLACE ). EVENTUALLY THIS WILL HAVE TO GET FIXED, BUT WHAT IS MOST DISHEARTENING IS THE FACT THAT THIS COULD HAVE HAPPENED ANYWHERE AND LEFT MY WIFE STRANDED FOR SOME TIME. I JUST LUCKED OUT AND IT WAS SITTING AT HOME. MILEAGE IS ~21K. *TR

ENTERED VEHICLE, STEPPED ON THE BRAKE PEDAL, YELLOW "STEP ON BRAKE PEDAL" LIT UP, PUSHED START BUTTON, THE "ACC" LIT, AND IT WENT TO "START" AND NOTHING HAPPENED! ALL THE DASH LIGHTS TURNED ON BUT NO STARTER ENGAGEMENT OR NOISE. I TRIED IT SEVERAL TIMES AND NOTHING HAPPENED. I CALLED AAA FOR A TOW. WHEN TOW TRUCK DRIVER CAME, I GOT INTO THE CAR AND IT STARTED! I WENT TO THE DEALER AND A CRACKED BATTERY WAS FOUND AND REPLACED. IN THE LAST MONTH THE CAR HAS NOT STARTED SEVERAL TIMES. MY WIFE HAS GOTTEN IN AN OUT OF THE CAR SEVERAL TIMES AND IT WOULD FINALLY STARTED. TODAY,I WENT TO THE DEALER AND EXPLAINED THE SITUATION AND ASKED IF THERE WAS A SERVICE BULLETIN CONCERNING THIS ISSUE. THE SERVICE WRITER STATED THAT THERE WASN'T. HE DID SAY THAT THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH (P/N 25320-AX00C) HAS BEEN A PROBLEM ON SOME VEHICLES. I HAD THEM CHECK IT AND IT WAS BAD. I HAD TO PAY $127.18! HAVING THIS PART FAILING IN UNDER 23,000 MILES IS VERY POOR. I HAVE HAD NISSAN VEHICLES WITH OVER 100,000 MILES AND NOT HAD A BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH FAILURE! THIS HAS LEFT MY WIFE STUCK SEVERAL TIMES AND VERY UPSET. *TR

ON A RECENT COLD MORNING I GOT INTO MY 2009 NISSAN ALTIMA, AT 7:00 AM AND DROVE SON TO SCHOOL. CAME HOME AND PARKED VEHICLE. GOT BACK IN CAR AT 3:00 PM AND CAR WOULD NOT START. THE CAR HAD BEEN FINE THAT MORNING. PUSH START WOULD NOT GET OUT OF "LOCK" POSITION. HEADLIGHTS, INSIDE LIGHTS, BRAKE LIGHTS ALL WORKED. STEERING WHEEL WAS NOT LOCKED. WOULD NOT GET OUT OF "PARK". BATTERY WAS TESTED AND NOT THE PROBLEM. FUSES WERE CHECKED AND BRAKE SWITCH CHECKED AND NOT THE PROBLEM. LOOKED ON INTERNET AND FOUND MULTIPLE INCIDENTS WHERE STEERING LOCK MECHANISM WAS FAULTY ON 2009 NISSAN ALTIMA, AND WAS NOT ENGAGING AND THEREFORE THE CAR WOULD NOT START AND WAS LOCKED BY IMMOBILIZER. THE ONLY OPTION IS A $500.00 PLUS PART FROM NISSAN AND ANOTHER $500-600.00 TO INSTALL. CAR WAS TOWED TO DEALERSHIP AT COST OF $109.00 TO ME, AND THE ESTIMATE FROM THE DEALER TO FIX THE NOW DIAGNOSED STEERING LOCK MALFUNCTION WAS $1,100.00 MAKING THIS A TOTAL COST OF $1,209.00 ON A VEHICLE THAT HAS LESS THAN $60,000 MILES. I LOOKED ON THE INTERNET AND FOUND THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION BY ANOTHER DISSATISFIED CUSTOMER : 1. NISSAN DID A RECALL ON THEIR MORE EXPENSIVE MODEL NISSAN GTRS WAS RECALLED, PART NUMBER 48700-JF00A OR 48700-JF00B, BEING REPLACED BY 48700-JF00C AND CALLED CAMPAIGN ID P0309. 2. SAME PART NUMBER IS FAILING FOR NISSAN 370ZS AS WELL, SAME YEARS AND SAME PART NUMBER 48700-JF00A OR 48700-JF00B, YET THEY ARE NOT BEING RECALLED. 3. THIS PROBLEM IS ALSO OCCURRING IN NISSAN MAXIMAS AND NISSAN MURANOS HOWEVER I COULD NOT FIND THE PART NUMBER. 4. IN ALL MODELS OF NISSAN THIS PART WAS REMOVED IN MID 2010 DUE TO CONSISTENT FAILURE. THERE SHOULD BE A MAKE-WIDE RECALL FOR ALL MODELS FOR THIS PART, NOT JUST THE GTR BECAUSE IT'S THE MOST EXPENSIVE OF THEM. CALL 1-800-NISSAN 1 AND COMPLAIN, I AM... *TR