2009 Nissan Altima

MY CAR WAS PARKED IN A BUSINESS LOT WHEN THIS OCCURRED. THERE WAS NO INDICATION OF ANYTHING BEING WRONG WITH THE CAR. HOWEVER WHEN I WENT TO START THE CAR IT WOULD NOT START. IT WAS NOT AN ISSUE WITH THE KEY FOB. IT WAS AN ISSUE WITH THE STERLING LOCK SYSTEM IN THE CAR. AN ISSUE THAT NISSAN SAID WAS MADE FAULTY. SO AS A RESULT, I COULD NOT START MY CAR AND WAS STRANDED. SO I HAD TO CALL A CAB TO GET HOME AND HAVE MY CAR TOWED. I UNDERSTAND THAT THINGS GO WRONG WITH CARS AND SOMETIMES IT IS BECAUSE PEOPLE PUT OFF NECESSARY REPAIRS. HOWEVER THERE WAS NO SIGN THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN AND NISSAN KNOWS IT'S A PROBLEM WITH THE PRODUCT THEY PUT OUT. I THANK GOD I WASN'T OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE WHEN THIS HAPPENED. IT COULD HAVE BEEN A REALLY UGLY SITUATION LIKE SOME OTHER PEOPLE HAVE BEEN PUT IN.

ALL OF A SUDDEN, MY CAR WOULD NOT START THE IGNITION AFTER LOCKING IT. EVEN THE DASHBOARD LIGHTS WON'T COME UP. FORTUNATELY I WAS IN THE CITY AND COULD GET IT TOWED TO THE DEALER. IT WAS FOUND OUT THAT THE ELECTRONIC STEERING COLUMN LOCK (ESCL) HAD GONE CORRUPT. WHEN I SEARCHED ON INTERNET, IT APPEARED THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH 2009 NISSAN ALTIMA MODELS. HOWEVER THERE IS RECALL ISSUED BY THE COMPANY. I HAD TO GET THE STEERING COLUMN LOCK REPLACED AT MY OWN COST, WHICH WAS OVER $700. I WAS LUCKY THAT IT HAPPENED WITHIN CITY LIMITS. HAD I BEEN AT A REMOTE PLACE, I WOULD HAVE BEEN IN A LOT OF TROUBLE. THIS IS A CLEAR CASE OF NEGLIGENCE ON THE PART OF THE COMPANY. WHEN IT IS KNOWN THAT ESCL IS A PROBLEM FOR 2009 ALTIMA'S THEN THE COMPANY SHOULD AT LEAST GET THE PART REPLACED. UTTERLY DISAPPOINTED WITH NISSAN. IT'S CERTAIN THAT I'LL DEFINITELY NOT BE BUYING A NISSAN FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.

MY DAUGHTER 2009 NISSAN ALTIMA WHICH SHE BROUGHT FROM TURNERSVILLE NISSAN IN TURNERSVILLE NJ FEB LAST YEAR 2016 HER CAR WOULD NOT START COME FIND OUT IT WAS STEERING WHEEL LOCK DEFECT WHICH WAS RECALL FOR THAT THEY TELLING HER RECALL DATE ENDED THEY KNOW GOING CHARGE HER 900 DOLLARS FIX IT IF KNEW RECALL SHE SHOULD NOT BE CHARGED IT AT NISSAN PLACE AS OF 1 DAY AGO FOR RECALL PROBLEM AND IF NISSAN KNEW OF RECALLS WITH STEERING THEY SHOULD LET PERSON KNOW WHEN PURCHASE CAR OF ANY RECALLS SHE SHOULD NOT BE CHARGED FOR THIS AN IF SHE WAS DRIVING THAT DAY SHE COULD GOTTEN HURT WHEN CAR JUST DID NOT START AND SHOULD NOT BE A TIME FRAME ON RECALLS THEY TOLD HER SHE MISSED IT THAT WHY SHE HAVE PAY I DISAGREE. *TR

MY CAR WOULDN'T START, WITH NO WARMING OR INDICATOR. THANKFULLY, FOR MY SAFETY, IT WAS PARKED IN MY GARAGE OVERNIGHT, HOWEVER, THIS COULD BE DANGEROUS SITUATION. I LOOKED THROUGH THE MANUAL AND FOUND OUT THAT THE CAR HAS A DEFECTIVE STEERING WHEEL LOCK THAT WILL COST AROUND $1,000. THIS IS A COMMON AND KNOWN PROBLEM WHICH NISSAN IS APPARENTLY AWARE OF, SO I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE THEM RECALL THIS PART.

THE ELECTRONIC STEERING COLUMN LOCK MALFUNCTIONED, LEAVING THE CAR ENTIRELY INCAPABLE OF STARTING. THE CAR HAD BEEN SHUT OFF WHILE I WAS AT WORK, SNOW HAD STARTED TO FALL AND IT DIPPED INTO FREEZING TEMPERATURES. I WENT TO LEAVE WORK LATE AT NIGHT ONLY TO FIND I COULD NOT START THE CAR DESPITE MY BEST EFFORTS. THE KEY FOB ALLOWED ME TO UNLOCK AND LOCK MY DOORS, AND THERE WAS POWER TO THE CAR AS THE INTERIOR LIGHTS POWERED ON, BUT THE CAR WOULDN'T RECOGNIZE THAT I HAD A KEY (AND A SPARE KEY) PRESENT. INSERTING IT IN THE KEY SLOT DID NOTHING. IT WOULDN'T EVEN ATTEMPT TO START IF I PUSHED THE "START" BUTTON. NISSAN QUOTED AROUND $1100 TO REPAIR THE CAR ONCE I MANAGED TO GET AHOLD OF SOMEONE AT THEIR SERVICE DEPARTMENT. NOT HAVING $1100, I REPAIRED IT BY BANGING ON THE ESCL WITH A WRENCH UNTIL THE ESCL DISENGAGED, WHICH ALLOWED ME TO POWER THE CAR TO THE "ON" POSITION, STARTED THE CAR, AND PULLED THE FUSE FOR THE ESCL TO PREVENT IT FROM ENGAGING AGAIN IN THE FUTURE. IT HAS STARTED UP EVERY TIME SINCE I'VE DISABLED THIS PART, BUT IT TOOK SOME MAJOR RESEARCH ON MY PART TO FIND A WORKAROUND. THIS PART NEEDS TO BE FULLY RECALLED, IN MY OPINION, ESPECIALLY WITH THIS BEING A PROPRIETARY NISSAN PART AND SAFETY HAZARD. HAD I NOT HAD A COWORKER WAIT BEHIND WITH ME TO GIVE ME A SLOW AND SLIPPERY RIDE HOME (TOW TRUCKS HAD 3 HOUR WAITS THAT NIGHT DUE TO ICE), I'D HAVE FOUND MYSELF FROZEN, AND THEN WHO KNOWS WHAT BEING THAT ALL BUSINESS SHUT DOWN OVER THE WEEKEND. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE. *TR

I WAS READY TO GO HOME AT THE LIGHTRAIL STATION AND I COULD NOT GET THE CAR TO START. IT WAS LATE AT NIGHT AND COLD, PLUS THE STATION IS IN A NOT-SO-SAFE PLACE. I HAD TO CALL MY WIFE TO COME WITH OUR 5 WEEK OLD INFANT IN HER CAR TO GET AAA. THE AAA GUY COULD NOT FIND WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS. THEN WE TOWED THE CAR TO THE DEALER. AND WE HAD TO WAIT FOR THE NEXT DAY TO FIND OUT THAT THE STEERING LOCK WAS BAD. AND IT WAS A KNOWN ISSUE TO NISSAN AND THEY DID NOT ISSUE A RECALL. INSTEAD NISSAN EXTENDED THE WARRANTY FOR ESCL. UNFORTUNATELY, IT WAS PAST THE WARRANTY EXTENSION. AND I HAD TO PAY OVER $1100 TO FIX SOME DEFETIVE PART. SHAME ON NISSAN. NOW THERE WILL BE LESS DIAPER FOR MY BABY AND DEFINITELY WON'T BE A NISSAN CUSTOMER AGAIN.

INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). I AM WRITING ON BEHALF OF MY 80 YEAR OLD PARENTS. THIS 2009 ALTIMA IS THEIR ONLY VEHICLE AND SOURCE OF TRANSPORTATION. AT WORK LAST WEEK, MY MOTHER WAS HEADED HOME TO CHECK ON MY FATHER WHO HAS RECENTLY HAD A STROKE. HER VEHICLE WOULD NOT START. AFTER CONVERSATIONS WITH DEALERS WHO ARE 75+ MILES AWAY, WE DETERMINED THAT HER STEERING WHEEL LOCK MECHANISM HAD FAILED. THIS RENDERED THE CAR UNDRIVEABLE AND IT HAD TO BE TOWED TO A DEALER WHERE THIS PART WAS REPLACED FOR $1055, (NOT INCLUDING TOWING FEE, $327). THIS IS THE SAME PART THAT NISSAN HAD ISSUED AN "EXTENDED WARRANTY" ON FOR 6 YEARS WITH FREE REPLACEMENT AND UNLIMITED MILEAGE RESTRICTION. NEEDLESS TO SAY, THEY HAVE YET BEEN UNCOMPROMISING THAT THIS IS NOW AN OUT OF WARRANTY REPAIR. STILL YET, THEY HAVE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THIS IS A KNOWN PART FOR FAILURE AND NEVER CONTACTED MY PARENTS REGARDING THIS POSSIBLE ISSUE. THIS CAR HAD 43,989 MILES ON IT WHEN THIS EVENT TOOK PLACE. MY CONCERN IS THAT THIS ISN'T JUST A WORN OUT CUSHION ON A SEAT THAT COULD EASILY BE OVERLOOKED IF FAILURE OCCURRED. INSTEAD, THIS RENDERS THE VEHICLE UN-OPERABLE AND COULD HAVE HAPPENED AT A TIME OF GREATER NEED. IF THE PART HAS BEEN KNOWN TO BE DEFECTIVE AND WAS DISCONTINUED ON THE NEXT GENERATION OF THE ALTIMA, WHY WAS IT NOT RECALLED? THE EXTENDED WARRANTY WAS A BANDAID ON A LARGE WOUND. PERHAPS THE LOW NUMBER OF MILES NEVER LET THIS CAR BE CYCLED AS OFTEN IN ORDER FOR THE FAILURE TO OCCUR PRIOR TO THE 6 YEAR CUTOFF. STILL YET, A BILL OF NEARLY $1400 HAS BEEN GENERATED FOR TWO SENIOR ADULTS WHO LIVE ON A FIXED INCOME, BUT DO STILL RELY ON THEIR VEHICLE. AT THE VERY LEAST, THEY SHOULD COVER THEIR EXPENSES. IT HAS BEEN AN INCONVENIENCE, BUT COULD HAVE OCCURRED DURING A TIME OF MEDICAL NEED FOR THEM. PLEASE HELP, IF POSSIBLE. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, [XXX] C/O [XXX] *DL

THE CAR FAILED TO START DUE TO A STEERING WHEEL LOCK MECHANISM FAILURE AND THE CAR HAD TO BE TOWED AND THE STEERING WHEEL LOCK MECHANISM REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY AT THE TIME OF THIS FAILURE, HOWEVER THESE UNITS SHOULD BE FAIRLY RELIABLE AND SHOULD NOT BE FAILING. IT APPEARS THAT THE UNIT USED IN THESE CARS HAS A PARTICULAR DESIGN FLAW THAT CAUSES THESE UNITS TO FAIL AND NISSAN HAS MANY COMPLAINTS AGAINST THE FAILURE OF THESE UNITS. MY BIGGER QUESTION IS TO WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THESE UNITS FAIL WHILE DRIVING THE CAR. IS IT POSSIBLE THAT PEOPLE ARE DRIVING AROUND IN DEATH TRAPS THAT MAY LOCK THEIR STEERING WHILE DRIVING? I HAD THE UNIT REPLACED AND CONTACTED NISSAN AND WAS NOT ABLE TO GET A STRAIGHT ANSWER ON IF THESE UNITS ARE SAFE, IF THE REPLACEMENT IS SAFE, IF THE REPLACEMENT CONTAINS THE SAME DEFECT AS THE ORIGINAL UNIT. NISSAN HAD EXTENDED THE WARRANTY ON THIS UNIT, BUT OBVIOUSLY IT HAS NOT BEEN LONG ENOUGH, OR THE REPLACEMENT UNITS ARE FAILING AS WELL. SUCH A SIMPLE UNIT THAT OBVIOUSLY HAS A WEARING DESIGN FLAW THAT MAY POTENTIALLY LEAD TO LOSS OF CONTROL OF A VEHICLE IF IT DOES NOT FAIL SAFE. DOES IT FAIL SAFE?

OWNER OF A 09 NISSAN ALTIMA 2.5 S. MY WHOLE FAMILY GOT STUCK WITH THE CAR THAT DIDNT START AT ALL, THERE'S A KEY LOGO IN THE DASH PANEL SHOWING SO I WENT TO FIND SOME SOLUTIONS ONLINE AND FOUND THAT IM LOST BECAUSE IT WONT START AGAIN UNTIL FIX BY A DEALER. NO FUN AT ALL BECAUSE I FOUND THAT I MIGHT HAVE TO PAY OUT OF MY POCKET AND THIS BEEN A OLD PROBLEM THAT I NEVER WAS MENTIONED BY MY SERVICE DEALER. NISSAN NEEDS TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.