2009 Nissan Altima

I HAD DRIVEN THE CAR FROM HOME TO THE GAS STATION APPROX. 5 MILES FROM HOME. I TURNED THE CAR OFF, FILLED THE CAR WITH GAS AND UPON STARTING THE CAR TO LEAVE THE CAR WOULDN'T START. A RED KEY LIGHT CAME ON IN DASH.CAR USED TO BE TOWED TO DEALERSHIP. IT WAS THERE THAT IT WAS FOUND TO BE A STEERING LOCK MALFUNCTION. THAT COST ME A TOTAL OF 1000.61. 402.50 IN LABOR AND 538.81 IN PARTS PLUS TAX AND MISC. THE PATS WAS ON BACK ORDER. I JUST GOT MY CAR BACK AFTER A WEEK BECAUSE THE PART WAS OVERNIGHTED. OTHERWISE THEY ESTIMATED ME GETTING MY CAR BACK AFTER THE 8TH OF FEB. WHEN ASKED ABOUT A RECALL I WAS TOLD IT WAS UNKNOWN BUT ALSO THAT THIS PART WAS UNUSUAL FOR BACKORDER. *TR

CAR WAS FOUND TO NOT START. BATTERY HAD POWER, NO OTHER OBVIOUS ISSUES. CAR WAS INOPERABLE FOR THE WEEKEND. TOWED VEHICLE TO NISSAN DEALERSHIP. BATTERY TESTED LOW AND WAS LATER REPLACED. HOWEVER, THE STEERING LOCK WAS FOUND TO BE DEFECTIVE AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. BATTERY REPLACEMENT IS UNDERSTANDABLE BEING THAT THE CAR IS MORE THAN 3 YEARS OLD. LOCK STEERING MECHANISM HOWEVER RESULTED IN THE CAR BEING INOPERABLE. PARTS FOR THE LOCK STEERING MECHANISM TOTALED $534.19 PLUS LABOR WHICH TOTALED $282.88. TOTAL BILL WITH NEW BATTERY WAS $1,037.64. CONSIDERING ALL FAILURES LISTED ON THIS PAGE OF THIS SAME PART, A RECALL SHOULD BE CONSIDERED. NISSAN APPARENTLY HAS RECALLED OTHER STEERING LOCKS SIMILAR TO THIS ON GTR MODELS. *TR

THE NISSAN INTELLIGENT KEY WARNING LIGHT CAME ON AND WE WERE UNABLE TO START THE CAR. A NEW BATTERY WAS PLACED IN THE CAR LAST FALL AND THE KEY FOB BATTERIES WERE REPLACED JULY 2012. I SEARCHED THE INTERNET FOR POSSIBLE PROBLEMS AND FOUND NUMEROUS REPORTS OF THE SAME SITUATION. THE PROBLEM REPORTED WAS A FAILED STEERING LOCK UNIT. I CONTACTED THE NISSAN DEALER AND THEY INDICATED WE WOULD NEED TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED TO THEIR SHOP. THEY FOUND THAT THE STEERING LOCK CONTROL MODULE DID IN FACT NEED TO BE REPLACED. THEY MENTIONED THEY HAVE HAD AT LEAST 15 INSTANCES OF THIS SAME PROBLEM AT THEIR SHOP ALONE SINCE THE WEATHER TURNED COLD THIS WINTER. WE SPECIFICALLY PURCHASED THIS CAR NEW IN 2009 SO THAT OUR TEENS WOULD HAVE A DEPENDABLE CAR TO DRIVE. WE DID NOT WANT THEM STUCK SOMEWHERE UNABLE TO GET HOME, ESPECIALLY IN THE WINTER. I CONTACTED NISSAN CONSUMER AFFAIRS AND THEY INDICATED THAT THERE IS NOT A RECALL FOR THIS STEERING LOCK. THE DEALERSHIP INSTRUCTED ME TO HOLD ONTO OUR REPAIR RECENT SHOULD IT BECOME A RECALL. *TR

I STOPPED FOR LUNCH AT A FAST FOOD ESTABLISHMENT AND AT THIS POINT EVERYTHING WITH THE CAR WAS FINE. AFTER I ORDERED AND GOT BACK INTO MY CAR, I TRIED TO START IT. THE CAR WOULD NOT START. THE KEY LIGHT APPEARED ON THE DASH. AFTER CALLING THE NEAREST DEALERSHIP, THEY SUGGESTED REPLACING THE BATTERY IN THE KEYFOB. I DID REPLACE BATTERY AND PLACED THE KEYFOB IN THE ALTERNATIVE START PORT. THE CAR WOULD STILL NOT START. AFTER TRYING TO JUMP THE CAR BATTERY, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT I NEEDED TO TOW THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP. THE DEALERSHIP CONFIRMED THAT THIS PROBLEM WAS CAUSED BY THE STEERING COLUMN LOCK MECHANISM. THIS MALFUNCTIONING PART LEFT ME STRANDED IN A PARKING LOT DURING A SNOW STORM. UPON SEARCHING THE INTERNET, IT APPEARS THAT NISSAN HAS ISSUED RECALLS ON THIS PART IN OTHER VEHICLES AND HAVE STOPPED USING THIS PART IN NEW VEHICLES. THERE ARE ALSO HUNDREDS OF REPORTS OF THIS PART FAILING IN MY MODEL AND YEAR. THIS PROBLEM HAS THE POTENTIAL OF IMMOBILIZING A CAR DURING SEVERE WEATHER, LEAVING THE DRIVER AND PASSENGERS STRANDED. *TR

MY DAUGHTER AND 2 YEAR OLD WERE TRYING TO GET HOME UNDER AN ICE STORM WARNING. THE PUSH BUTTON START DID NOT OPERATE. THEY WERE STRANDED IN THE COLD UNDER A SEVERE WEATHER WARNING. NISSAN SAYS THE STEERING WHEEL LOCK CONTROLLER CAUSED THE FAILURE AND WOULD NOT COMMUNICATE WITH THE INTELLIGENT KEY FOB AND START BUTTON. THERE IS NOT A METHOD TO OVERRIDE THE PUSH BUTTON WITH A MECHANICAL KEY. THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM FOR THE 2009 ALTIMA. MY ALTIMA HAS ONLY 37,500 MILES BUT IS PAST THE 3-YEAR WARRANTY PERIOD. THE REPAIR WAS $803. THE SERVICE WRITER AT THE DEALERSHIP STATED THAT HE EXPECTS A RECALL IN THE NEAR FUTURE BECAUSE OF THE FREQUENCY WITH WHICH THEY SEE THIS FAULTY MODULE. THE PART WAS CHANGED IN 2010 BUT NISSAN REFUSES TO REPLACE THE BAD ONES IN THE 2008-2009 MODELS. *TR

ATTEMPTED TO START CAR WITH "PUSH TO START" IGNITION. CAR SENSED KEY, BUT I WAS UNABLE TO START IGNITION ALTHOUGH I STEPPED ON BRAKE WHILE PRESSING BUTTON. LIGHTS WORK IN CAR. STEERING WHEEL IS LOCKED. CAR STARTS WITH AUTOSTART USING FOB KEY, BUT WHEN TRIES TO PUT CAR IN DRIVE IT SHUTS OFF. ATTEMPTED TO PUT KEY IN SLOT AND PUSH "START" BUTTON, BUT THAT ATTEMPT WAS ALSO UNSUCCESSFUL. PREVIOUSLY CAR WAS WORKING FINE. *TR

DROPPED MY SON OFF AT SCHOOL, WHEN I RETURNED TO THE CAR, IT WOULD NOT START AT ALL. THE CAR RECOGNIZED MY KEY WAS PRESENT BUT PUSH BUTTON DID NOTHING. MANUALLY USING THE KEY SLOT WOULD NOT START THE CAR EITHER. HAD TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED AND AM BEING TOLD THAT WILL COST $800-1100 TO FIX STEERING LOCK AND THAT PARTS ARE ON BACK ORDER. DOING AN INTERNET SEARCH I HAVE FOUND LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS ON THE SAME DEFECT OVER THE PAST THREE WEEKS. THIS DID OCCUR ON A VERY COLD DAY, ABOUT 10 DEGREES AT THE TIME. *TR

AMBER 'INTELLIGENT KEY' LIGHT STARTED APPEARING ON AND OFF. FINALLY VEHICLE REFUSED TO ENGAGE STARTER AND WHIRRING NOISE INDICATING STEERING LOCK IS FUNCTIONAL NO LONGER HAPPENS. VEHICLE NEEDS TO BE TOWED AND RESEARCH INDICATES THE PROBLEM IS COMMON IN 2009 ALTIMAS AND OTHER NISSAN VEHICLES. REPAIR QUOTES ONLINE APPEAR TO BE IN THE $900 RANGE. NISSAN NEEDS TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS PROBLEM AND ISSUE A RECALL. *TR