2009 Nissan Altima

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

OUR ALTIMA HAS FAILED TO RECOGNIZE OUR INTELLIGENT KEYS AND WILL NOT START. THE DOORS WILL LOCK AND UNLOCK. THE ALARM WILL SOUND AND THE TRUNK WILL OPEN BUT THE CAR WILL NOT START. I'M BEING TOLD THIS IS DUE TO A FAULTY STEERING LOCK MECHANISM THAT HAS BEEN RECALLED IN SOME NISSAN MODELS BUT NOT THE ALTIMA. THE PART ITSELF IS $500 AND THE LABOR WILL TAKE IT TO ALMOST $1000 OR MORE. THIS IS COMPLETELY ABSURD. WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THIS HAPPENED TO MY WIFE AND INFANT DAUGHTER ON THE WRONG SIDE OF TOWN. WHAT IF THIS PART HAD FAILED WHEN WE WERE IN THE MOUNTAINS OR OFF THE BEATEN PATH. IF A PART IS GOING TO BE RECALLED IN ONE MODEL, IT NEEDS TO BE RECALLED IN ALL MODELS. THIS IS EXTREMELY UNSAFE AND TO KNOW THAT NISSAN IS AWARE OF THIS ISSUE IS UNACCEPTABLE. WE ALSO OWN A MURANO THAT USES AN ACTUAL KEY TO START --- I'M CONSIDERING REPLACING BOTH AFTER LEARNING ABOUT THIS. I HOPE SOMEONE WILL RESPOND TO THIS. *TR

MY WIFE WENT OUT TO GO TO LUNCH AND THE CAR WOULD NOT START. THE ONLY THING ON THE DISPLAY WAS A YELLOW INDICATOR LIGHT THAT LOOKED LIKE A KEY. WE CALLED NISSAN DEALERSHIP AND AFTER EXPLAINING THE PROBLEM THEY SAID HAVE IT TOWED AS THE STEERING LOCK CONTROL MODULE IS BAD. WE HAD IT TOWED AND REPAIRED COST 667.00 PLUS TOWING. IF NISSAN KNOWS THAT THIS IS A ISSUE POTENTIAL TO ALL 08 AND 09 ALTIMAS, THEY SHOULD DO A RECALL. IF THIS HAD BEEN AN EMERGENCY AND DRIVING THE CAR WHAT THEN OR IF YOU NEEDED TO IT FOR AN EMERGENCY DEPARTURE? WRONG WAY TO DO BUSINESS! *TR

AFTER OUR FIRST REAL FREEZE OF THE WINTER (LOW 20'S), THE CAR WAS LOCKED UP FOR NO REASON. PRESSING THE PUSH BUTTON IGNITION, INSERTING THE FOB INTO THE KEY HOLDER, NOTHING WILL START THE CAR. THE BRAKE PEDAL IS HEAVY, NO LIGHTS COMES UP ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL AND THE STEERING WHEEL IS TOTALLY LOCKED OUT. HAD TO GET THE ALTIMA TOWED INTO A LOCAL DEALERSHIP AND COME TO FIND OUT IT'S A STEERING WHEEL LOCK OUT CONTROL UNIT THAT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. CAR JUST CAME OFF THE 36MONTH WARRANTY IN SEPTEMBER'12 AND I AM NOW TURNING IN THE 39MONTH LEASE AND NOW A $1K REPAIR. THANKS NISSAN... ALSO, HAD THE NISSAN ORIGINAL BATTERY REPLACED TWICE! ORIGINAL BATTERY ONLY HAS AN 18MONTH PRORATED WARRANTY! NOT SURE IF IT ALL RELATES SOMEHOW. THIS STEERING WHEEL LOCK CONTROL SHOULD BE A MANUFACTURER'S RESPONSIBILITY TO KEEP IT FOR THE LIFE OF THE CAR. *TR

STEERING LOCK THAT ENGAGES THE ENGINE MALFUNCTIONED WHEN I TRIED TO START THE CAR. THE CAR WOULD NOT RECOGNIZE THE INTELLIGENT KEY, AFTER WATCHING A UTUBE VIDEO I WIGGLED AROUND THE STEERING WHEEL NOT GENTLY AND THE INTELLIGENT KEY WAS THEN RECOGNIZED AND I WAS ABLE TO START THE CAR. NOW WHILE DRIVING THE WARNING LIGHT FOR THE INTELLIGENT KEY STAYS ON. THIS SEEMS TO BE AN ISSUE WITH NISSAN ALTIMAS 2007-2009 IS THERE A RECALL ON THIS? *TR

WHEN I ENTERED MY CAR I NOTICED THAT THE PUSH BRAKE LIGHT WASN'T ON LIKE IT NORMALLY IS FOR THE INTELLIGENT KEY START. I PUSHED DOWN ON THE BRAKE AND IT FELT VERY STIFF. A YELLOW KEY LIGHT KEPT FLASHING AND EVERYTIME I WOULD TRY AND START THE CAR IT WOULD STAY IN LOCK AND WOULDN'T EVEN TRY TO START. I DIDN'T HEAR THE IGNITION, NOTHING. I TRIED TO CHECK THE BATTERY, I USED A DIFFERENT KEY, I PUT THE KEY IN THE SLOT AND NOTHING WORKED. I WAS STRANDED. THE CAR WAS WORKING FINE AND HAD NO PREVIOUS INDICATORS THAT SOMETHING COULD GO WRONG. AS I SEARCHED ONLINE FOR A FIX I FOUND MANY PEOPLE WHO HAD THE SAME PROBLEM AND HAD TO PAY A HUGE AMOUNT OF MONEY TO GET IT FIXED. NISSAN PROMOTES HOW SAFE, RELIABLE AND ECONOMICAL THEIR CARS ARE, BUT THE ANTI-THEFT SYSTEM OF THE STEERING WHEEL LOCK CAN DISABLE THE VEHICLE LEAVING A DRIVER STRANDED WITH ONLY ONE OPTION, WHICH IS, TO BE TOWED TO A DEALER. THIS A SERIOUS SAFETY FLAW IN THE 2009 NISSAN ALTIMA. NISSAN WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A REPUTABLE COMPANY. HOWEVER, WITH THESE TYPES OF MALFUNCTIONS, AND NO SUPPORT FOR THEIR CUSTOMERS, I FEEL VERY UNSATISFIED AND UNSAFE WITH MY PURCHASE. NISSAN NEEDS TO PROVIDE A RECALL AND FIX THESE SENSOR ISSUES. *TR

UPON ATTEMPTING TO START THE CAR, IGNITION WOULD NOT CHANGE FROM "LOCK" TO "ACC" OR "ON". INTELLIGENT KEY WARNING LAMP WAS LIT STEADY ON DASH. STEERING WHEEL COLUMN WAS NOT LOCKED. ALL POWER AND OTHER FUNCTIONS WORKED (LIGHTS, DOOR LOCKS, ETC). BATTERY IS FINE. INDEPENDENT TESTING FOUND STEERING LOCK CONTROL MODULE PART 48700-9N00B FAULTY. SIMILAR/SAME PART ON NISSAN GTRS WAS RECALLED, PART NUMBER 48700-JF00A OR 48700-JF00B, BEING REPLACED BY 48700-JF00C 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. THIS PROBLEM IS ALSO OCCURRING IN NISSAN MAXIMAS AND NISSAN MURANOS HOWEVER I COULD NOT FIND THE PART NUMBER. IN ALL MODELS OF NISSAN THIS PART WAS REMOVED IN MID 2010 DUE TO CONSISTENT FAILURE. THE PART COSTS APPROXIMATELY $500 FROM NISSAN, IS USUALLY OUT OF STOCK AND BACK ORDERED, AND ALSO COSTS ANOTHER $400-$500 TO BE INSTALLED AT A DEALER. 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. *TR