2009 Nissan Altima

OUR PUSH BUTTON START IMMEDIATELY STOPPED WORKING AS WE WERE AT A GAS STATION. THE BACK-UP METHOD AS DESCRIBED IN THE OWNER'S MANUAL WOULD NOT WORK. WE HAD VEHICLE TOWED TO DEALERSHIP. "LOCK STEERING" PIECE MALFUNCTIONED AND COST $981 TO FIX. THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF IDENTICAL COMPLAINTS BUT NISSAN HAS YET TO ISSUE A RECALL (HTTP://WWW.ARFC.ORG/COMPLAINTS/2009/NISSAN/ALTIMA/STEERING/PROBLEM.ASPX HTTP://FORUMS.NICOCLUB.COM/INTELLIGENT-KEY-ISSUE-WILL-NOT-START-T550340.HTML HTTP://WWW.CARPROBLEMZOO.COM/NISSAN/ALTIMA/STEERING-PROBLEMS.PHP). *TR

I DROVE MY CAR THIS MORNING WITHOUT A PROBLEM. I TURNED IT OFF. WHEN I WENT TO RESTART THE CAR WOULD NOT RECOGNIZE MY KEY.I TRIED OVER AND OVER I EVEN CHANGED THE BATTERIES IN THE REMOTE TO NO AVAIL. I HAD TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED. I READ SEVERAL COMPLAINTS FROM OTHER NISSAN OWNERS THAT ITS A STEERING LOCK. I AM ALSO BEING TOLD THAT THIS IS A VERY EXPENSIVE ITEM THIS DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE A WEAR AND TEAR ITEM. IT APPEARS TO BE MORE OF A MANUFACTURE DEFECT. *TR

I LEFT WORK ON FEBRUARY 6TH AND WENT TO DRIVE HOME, BUT MY CAR WOULD NOT START. MY CAR IS PUSH BUTTON START AND IT DID DETECT MY KEY AS I WAS ABLE TO UNLOCK MY CAR. WHEN I PUSHED DOWN ON THE BRAKE TO START MY CAR IT WAS VERY HARD TO PUSH. MY CAR WOULD NOT START AND A KEY WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. THE LOCAL NISSAN DEALERSHIP CAME TO MY WORK AND HAD TO DISENGAGE THE STEERING WHEEL LOCK CONTROL UNIT IN ORDER TO DRIVE IT BACK TO THEIR SHOP. THEY SAID THAT THE CAR WAS UNSAFE TO DRIVE, EXCEPT BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP. THEY DETERMINED THAT IT WAS A FAILED STEERING LOCK. THIS IS AN ANTI THEFT COMPONENT OF THE CAR. MY ESTIMATE WAS $662.00. THE PART WAS ON BACK ORDER AT THAT TIME AND THEY DID NOT KNOW WHEN IT WOULD BE IN. NISSAN DID NOT OFFER ME A RENTAL CAR AND I WAS WITHOUT A CAR FOR A WEEK. THE PART CAME IN A WEEK LATER AND THE CAR WAS FIXED THAT DAY. MY BILL WAS $662.03. THIS STEERING WHEEL LOCK DEFECT IS A SAFETY HAZARD AS IT COULD HAVE HAPPENED WHILE DRIVING THE CAR. THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT IT WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN EITHER. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH I FOUND THAT NISSAN CHANGED THIS PART OF THE ALTIMA WHEN MAKING THE 2010 MODELS. I NOTICED A LOT OF PEOPLE WITH THE SAME ISSUE AFTER RESEARCHING. THIS MALFUNCTION SHOULD BE LOOKED INTO FURTHER BY NISSAN AND IN MY OPINION IT NEEDS TO BE A RECALL. IT'S UNDERSTANDABLE WHEN NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR ISSUES HAPPEN TO YOUR CAR, BUT AN ISSUE LIKE THIS IS A DEFECT AND NEEDS TO BE PAID FOR BY NISSAN. MY CAR IS OF COURSE OUT OF WARRANTY AT THIS TIME. BELOW IS A WEBSITE THAT I CAME ACROSS WHEN DOING RESEARCH AND FOUND A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE WITH THE SAME ISSUE: HTTP://WWW.ARFC.ORG/COMPLAINTS/2009/NISSAN/ALTIMA/STEERING/PROBLEM.ASPX. *TR

MY HUSBAND CALLED ME TO LET ME KNOW THE CAR WOULD NOT TURN ON WHEN HE GOT OUT OF WORK. I WAS CURRENTLY TRAINING ACROSS THE STATE SO WAS UNABLE TO ASSIST I TOLD HIM TO CALL THE CAR INSURANCE IF GETTING A JUMP OR CHANGING THE KEY FOB BATTERIES DIDN'T WORK. $85 LATER AND A TOW I WAS TOLD THE STEERING WHEEL CONTROL LOCK UNIT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AND THE PART IS ON NATIONAL BACK ORDER AND WHEN IT DID COME BACK IN STOCK THE PART IS GOING TO COST ME $1200!!!! I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER NISSAN AGAIN AND THE LAST 5 CARS I HAVE PURCHASED HAVE BEEN A NISSAN. *TR

DROVE MY CAR TO LOCATION, TURNED CAR OFF, RETURNED TO CAR 5 MINUTES LATER WOULD NOT START. THOUGHT IT WAS BATTERY, FUSE, OR DEAD KEY FOB BATTERY. CALLED DEALERSHIP SERVICE MANAGER STATED OTHER PEOPLE HAVE HAD SAME ISSUE. HE INSTRUCTED ME TO TURN STEERING WHEEL AND PUSH IGNITION BUTTON...DIDN'T WORK. ON MY DASH PANEL I NOTICED THE KEY LIGHT SYMBOL WAS LIT UP, WHEN I TRIED TO START CAR WITH THE KEYFOB THAT DIDN'T WORK EITHER. HAD TO HAVE CAR TOWED AND AT DEALERSHIP TO CHANGE THE STEERING LOCK. IT MALFUNCTIONED AND CANNOT BE REPAIRED NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. PART HAS BEEN ORDERED AND SHOULD BE REPLACED ON 03/21/2013. ESTIMATE IS 914.00. *TR

ON 3/13/2013 I DROVE MY VEHICLE TO WORK AT APPROXIMATELY 8:55AM AND PARKED EVERYTHING IN CAR WAS FULLY OPERATIONAL AND FUNCTIONED PROPERLY. AT 6:30PM I APPROACHED MY VEHICLE UNLOCKED THE DOOR USING MY KEY FOB, ENTERED THE VEHICLE AND PROCEEDED TO PRESS THE IGNITION BUTTON AND NOTHING HAPPENS. AFTER SWITCHING ON THE HEADLIGHTS AND NOTICING NO POWER ISSUES I NOTICED A FLASHING INDICATOR LIGHT IN THE DASH THAT SAID NO KEY PRESENT. AFTER BEING THE ONLY CAR LEFT IN THE DARK SECLUDED PARKING LOT I STARTED OFF ON A JOURNEY TO PURCHASE A BATTERY FOR THE KEY FOB AND IT DID NOT SOLVE THE PHENOMENON. I HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO THE NEAREST DEALERSHIP WHICH IS ABOUT 60 MILES AWAY FROM MY HOME. THE DEALER AFTER INVESTIGATING FOR A MATTER OF MINUTES WERE QUICKLY ABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM WHICH WAS A STEERING LOCK MODULE THAT WAS VERY COSTLY. UPON FURTHER RESEARCH, I FOUND THAT THERE ARE A GREAT NUMBER OF ALTIMA'S AND OTHER NISSAN VEHICLE THAT ARE INFECTED WITH THE SAME DEFECTIVE STEERING LOCK DEVICES THAT CAUSES YOU TO RANDOMLY BE STRANDED IN SECLUDED AREAS WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE. THIS I FIND HIGHLY UNETHICAL FOR NISSAN TO BE TOTALLY AWARE OF SUCH DEFECTIVE EQUIPMENT AND NOT HAVE ANY CONCERN FOR THE WELFARE OF IT'S CUSTOMERS NOR THEIR CHILDREN. IM HOPING THAT THE NHTSA CAN PROTECT CONSUMERS FROM BULLIES LIKE NISSAN AND HELP US GET THE RECALL WE DESERVE. ALL WE WANT IS A RELIABLE PRODUCT THAT CAN PERFORM THE WAY IT WAS INTENDED TO PERFORM. SO LET'S DO WHAT IS NECESSARY TO HOLD NISSAN UP TO THE AMERICAN STANDARD OF PUTTING OUT QUALITY RELIABLE PRODUCTS AND NOT RIPPING OFF CONSUMERS. *TR

AS WITH DOZENS OF OTHER COMPLAINTS ONLINE, WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO START MY 2009 NISSAN ALTIMA (WHICH HAD BEEN SITTING WITH ITS ENGINE OFF FOR NO MORE THAN FIVE MINUTES), THE KEY ILLUMINATED ON THE DASHBOARD, THE STEERING AND BRAKES FELT UNRESPONSIVE, AND THE CAR WOULD NOT START. LATE, COLD, AND RAINY THE NIGHT OF THE INCIDENT, THE CAR WAS TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP THE NEXT MORNING. THE DEALERSHIP DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS A FAILED STEERING LOCK UNIT--A RESULT THAT IS UNSURPRISING TO ANYONE WHO TYPES THOSE SYMPTOMS INTO A GOOGLE SEARCH. FOR THE SMALL FEE OF $900, MY CAR WAS BACK ON THE ROAD TWO DAYS AFTER THE INCIDENT. GIVEN THE FREQUENCY WITH WHICH THIS APPEARS TO BE HAPPENING TO OTHER OWNERS, THERE IS LITTLE DOUBT THAT THIS A MANUFACTURING DEFECT THAT PRESENTS A SIGNIFICANT RISK OF INJURY SHOULD THE CAR NOT START IN A REMOTE AREA OR IN THE PATH OF TRAFFIC. *TR

DROVE CAR TO WORK. AFTER WORK WENT OUT TO VEHICLE AND IT WOULD NOT START. AFTER EXTENSIVE RESEARCH LEARNED THIS HAS HAPPEN TO MANY NISSAN ALTIMA OWNERS. THERE IS NO WARNING. ONCE THE CAR IS TURNED OFF THE STEERING LOCK CONTROL UNIT HAS BEEN FAILING LEAVING PEOPLE STRANDED - I AM ONE OF THEM. THE PART CAN ONLY BE PURCHASED AT A NISSAN DEALER. THE COST IS $1000.00. NO WARNING. THE SAFETY ISSUE IS I LIVE IN MN. WE HAVE EXTREMELY COLD WINTER. IF I WENT ICE FISHING IN THE MIDDLE OF NO WHERE AND CAME BACK TO MY VEHICLE I WOULD HAVE BEEN STRANDED WITH NO SOURCE OF HEAT. MY ONLY HOPE WOULD BE A CELL PHONE, PROVIDING I HAVE ONE. THE SECOND PART IS A LOCAL GARAGE WOULDN'T EVEN BE ABLE TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE. IT CAN ONLY BE REPAIRED BY NISSAN. I HOPE YOU RECOGNIZE MY CONCERN. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 NISSAN ALTIMA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE PARKED, THE INTELLIGENT KEY WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE CONTACT SHUT THE ENGINE OFF AND ATTEMPTED TO RESTART THE VEHICLE BUT TO NO AVAIL. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS. THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THE STEERING UNIT WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 58,000.

2009 NISSAN ALTIMA-26,500 MILES WHEN VEHICLE WOULD NOT START. KEY LIGHT ON DASHBOARD ILLUMINATED. CAR WAS TOWED TO DEALER WHO INFORMED ME THE PROBLEM WAS A FAULTY STEERING LOCK CONTROL UNIT. COST $900 TO REPAIR WITH NO GUARANTEE NEW PART ISN'T DEFECTIVE. SEEMS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE AND KNOWN TO THE MANUFACTURER. NISSAN NEEDS TO RECALL AND REFUND EVERYONE WHO HAS PAID TO REPAIR THEIR DEFECTIVE CARS. *TR