general problems of the 2009 Nissan Altima - part 2

My steering wheel is locked and won't stop locking every so often. Lots of Nissan 09 Altimas have had recalls for that part but mine does not.

On the day before thanksgiving, after walking out of target, I unlocked my car and found my car would not start with the key fob. My steering wheel was locked and my car would not start. I was a female stranded alone in a target parking lot. After about an hour of trying to get my car to start, a woman with literally a baby on her hip offered to use jumper cables. Then a man came to help when he saw her helping me. It was not a battery issue, so the jumper cables did not help. I went into the store and replaced my key fob battery just in case. It was not a key fob issue. Two hours later, my car had to be towed to a Nissan dealership. They ran a diagnostic and confirmed it was a steering lock issue. Meanwhile, I'm researching on the internet that this is a known and recurring issue with 2009 Nissan Altimas. However, since my VIN number was not under the recall, it was not covered. It is the day before thanksgiving, my only family is out of town, and they want to charge over $400 for a known issue that is not being recalled or taken care of. I am forced to pay or I don't have a drivable car or a way to spend time with family for the holiday. I was put under immense financial and emotional stress due to this situation.

I was trying to leave work after having no previous problems with my car starting and it would not recognize the key. I am the only one working in the home and it is approaching christmas. I now have no car to get back and forth to work due to the steering lock being faulty. It seems like this is a very common problem. I seen that several other Nissan models for 2009 were recalled for the exact same part number. How were all models that have this part not included in the recall???.

Tl the contact owns a 2009 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the vehicle did not start and was towed to the rusty wallace Nissan (865-687-6111, located at 4515 clinton hwy, knoxville, TN 37912). The dealer diagnosed that the steering lock needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that there was no recall. The vehicle was repaired at the owner's expense. The contact stated that the same part was replaced in 2014 by the same dealer. The failure mileage was unknown.

There's a loud crunching and cracking noise when turning the vehicle steering wheel left and right. I was backing out of my driveway when I heard this. I also found loose ball bearings on the driver's side under the wheel. In the past couple years the top rung of the spring has broken off on both sides. Upper front strut insulator recall 09 v 35800.

My car was driving perfectly the night before this happened. As soon as I woke up the following morning my car wouldn't start up and a yellow key light was lit up. I've changed my key fob batteries, my car battery, and other things I could do. However I couldn't get bypassed around my steering wheel lock which I believe could posibly be defective. Seeing how my car won't even enter accessory mode at all and none of the electrocial components work apart from the interior and exterior lights.

My 2009 Nissan Altima coupe will not start and is blinking key on dash board, changed battery in remote control, still won't start. The electronic steering colum lock is defective car will not start after changing battery and fuses disconnecting battery and changing a relay fuse.

The car will not start. I had the car towed and the dealership said that it will cost hundreds of dollars to fix it. The steering wheel control module needs to be replaced. It appears that many people have had this same problem. It is not safe. The car was parked and turned on, but would not start.

My car would not start at lunch today. I had it towed to the dealership. Faulty steering lock. The car won't start/drive at all due to this. It costs a small fortune to have replaced. There is no recall on this but there should be. Dealership sees this a lot.

Had the electronic steering control lock replaced January of 2019 for the second time. Replace in 2013 also. Servuce campaign has been issued for this problem but told not my specific model Altima. All modes use the same part. Car wont start when it fails and can occur any time. Worried it will fail in a dangerous part of town. When part failed I was out of state and luckily in a parking lot. Why is tis part covered by a service campaign but only certain models that use the same part?.

"steering lock" which causes me to be unable to start their vehicles. This defect happened without warning and without cause.

The 2009 Nissan Altima has a defective "steering lock" which causes owners to be unable to start their vehicles. This defect can affect owners of the 2009 Nissan Altima without warning and without cause. When this issue occurs the only way to resolve the issue is to have the car towed to a Nissan dealership to have the faulty steering lock replaced. The car cannot be started at all. Thus, owners of the 2009 Nissan Altima continuously find themselves stuck in very inconveniant circumstances with no ability to drive their car. This can be very dangerous for drivers who are in remote or dangerous areas. This same occurance happen to follow me this week when at work. My car would not start and after swapping remote keys plus looking at online forums, I realized this is something that happened to other owners of this year/make/model. The streering lock was swapped in 2010 by Nissan. Hopefully this can help a large group because I'm about to spend money on repariing my vehicle and this could cost approx more than 500. 00 in parts alone. My car is still not starting after 4 days of not being able to turn it on.

Steering lock module keeps lock and I am unable to drive my car.

On December 2, 2013 steering wheel locked and car wouldn't start it was stationary. Vehicle towed to dealership and was told that an internal failure was found in the steering lock control unit. They replaced the steering lock control unit and reprogrammed keys no charge due to a recall and under warranty. 5 years later, Nov 30, 2018 steering wheel locked again and car wouldn't start also stationary, again towed to dealership and was told it was battery issues, once battery was replaced I was then told that it was same situation as before(steering lock control unit) and I would be charged for repair. I feel this is a manufacturer issue and should be reviewed for an extended recall in the steering system because this can be dangerous and cause vehicle to someday shut down in traffic at a light or on the road causing an accident. Don't understand that if it was replaced due to recall, then it should have been corrected with no further issues. Also don't think I should be charged for something that was originally repaired and to happen again a few years later. Called Nissan manufacturer office on Friday November 30, 2018 and was told there is nothing they can do. I feel there is a defect in the steering system for my make/model vehicle. I have a copy of my invoice repairs and will submit if needed.

Car will not start because of steering lock system will not come unlock no warning nothing.

I was about to take my daughter (a 10 yr old child) suffering from an allergic reaction to the children's hospital, when the vehicle did not turn on. My Nissan Altima 2009 (sedan) had been used without issues just the day before and I had parked it at home. It was parked and when I tried turning it on, it did not read the key, the ignition did not even notice there was a key, the steering was locked. We were left stranded unable to turn on the vehicle and go to the hospital and get treated ASAP. I had to get a cab with the sick child and come back from the hospital the same way. The days that followed, I also had to see her doctor and the car still did not turn on. Finally, the vehicle was towed to the dealership and they told me it has a steering lock problem and they see this often in that model(!). I looked online and was amazed to find several similar complaints! I saw Nissan is aware of this issue on this model and had a campaign but my VIN was not among the supposed vehicles under the coverage this is a major safety issue, being a woman (and even worse, a woman with a minor) I was unable to use a vehicle that is otherwise mechanically completely sound (it had just been serviced not even 2 weeks before!), this car has very few miles, it was the last thing I was expecting in a stressful situation that could have gone majorly wrong. Luckily my daughter's allergic reaction was tended to at the hospital in time because I took a car service and I don't live in a rural area, but I don't want to think about what could happen to other people or even to myself if I were to be in a remote location or in a perilous situation and not able to turn on my car and use it. I am now very wary and worried that (once corrected) this issue will again take place. This is a hazardous situation, though it does not happen while driving, it does put the owner's safety at plausible risk.

My wife and two young daughters were stranded for a time due to a sudden issue with the steering lock mechanism. This suddenly made the car inoperable and left them out in 102� texas summer heat. After much research this seems to be a fairly common and known issue. We bought our car from a dealership in 2014 and we not made aware of this issue or any potential warranty extension. This is a $500 part (excluding labor and towing fees) that can and has stranded people with little to no notice. How is this acceptable?.

Steering wheel lock. The only way to start my car at this point is to bang on it with a hammer to get started.

Steering wheel lock won't allow me to turn car on.

Steering lock mechainism. Car wont start.

Steering wheel locked.

My car wouldn't start. The escl box locked up for 3 days! now I have to pay $150 to have it fixed per my warranty company. I haven't had the car 60 whole days, and it's been in the shop 4 times with very little success and a lot of frustration and time lost! please call me. Will you pay for the $150 warranty fee? I had it towed to carmax norcross Monday morning. It's Wednesday. I've been without a car for 5 days now!!! staci taylor 770-695-2295 sincerelystaci@yahoo. Com.

Nissan was a car I really trust, but from now my opinion changed. I bought my new Nissan in 2009 from a Nissan dealer. After four years of use (2013) the Nissan release an extended warranty for a en electronic piece that should never fail (the famous escl). My car stop working due to this issue, it couldn't turn on because was locked by the faulty electronic piece. I use the extended warranty to fix the problem, ok everybody happy, four years later 2017, same problem, same piece, same issue (faulty escl) cost: $1,100. 00 called Nissan, I submitted all the necessary documentation (insurance card, bill to replace the defective, ) I contacted Nissan about this they don't to take any responsibility because piece has already been changed by another defective (that should never fail) escl piece that last 4 years. I really think very dissapointed how Nissan treat its customers. This is my third car I buy through Nissan, I am really reconsidering my next car to get a different car brand. Nissan faulty pieces should not be re-used to fix issues momentarily.

The car steering locks up and you can't start the car.

The key fob for the 2009 Nissan Altima works to lock and unlock the car doors, but it the dashboard lights up with the key symbol indicating an error. I went to go start my vehicle maybe an hour after I had just used it to get home and the vehicle will not start at all. When the push to start button is pushed, nothing happens. It is essentially like the car does not sense the key. The problem has to do with the steering lock on the vehicles and is a costly repair that appears to be fairly common.

Escl has gone out twice now. First time Nissan repair at their cost. This time they won't replace at their expense. This is very dangerous and Nissan knows that this is a defect on their part. I had to pay towing charge and replace escl for the second time!! $1000 fix.

Won't start eslc steering wheel lock defective. Purchased car then stopped at gas station turned off car won't start again. Showed yellow key flashings light on dash.

Took vehichle hunting. When I returned to car found that vehicle would not start. No cell phone coverage. Had to flag down a car to find a ride back to where I could get cell coverage and call wife for a ride home. After much research I found that the steering colum lock was the culprit. Also found out that I was not alone with this problem. How could this be a secret, if that many people have been affected and Nissan did not do a full recall. Shame on them some needs to make this a full recall. What if this would have happened to my wife or kids ????.

Electronic steering lock control has failed twice. Nissan has replaced at no charge once, and has a service campaign for all 2009. However, the 3 year old replacement failed with no warning and left me stranded and had to have car towed.

Car will not start and key lock is on as well as the red light with the car flashing inside of the car. I looked the problem up and it stated something about it being a steering mechanism. I was parked in a restaurant got out to get my food and came back to the car and car wouldn't start.

Vehicle would not start after being shut down in parking lot. Dash display showed a key light but information console did not state the problem. Occupants in vehicle were mother and 3 year old daughter in 90+ degree heat. Could not operate air conditioning and had to have car towed to residence. Upon inspection, found steering wheel lock malfunctioned. Solution: disable malfunctioning unit compromising security system with possibility of steering wheel lock activating while vehicle is in motion. Extremely dangerous as vehicle may be used on hiway or in less than optimal driving conditions. Nissan should recognize that this hazard was not completely communicated to all 2009 Nissan Altima owners when the initial recall was issued that ended in January of 2017. This is an ongoing issue and should be addressed to all current owners of 2009 Nissan Altimas and corrected as soon as possible.

The steering wheel lock mechanism. I was fixed once by dealership under extended warrenty they say. They told me recalled. Now only "certain 2009 Nissan Altima" are recalled again. Mine is broke again and cost is approx $900. They said I get no assistance even paying for it because of the miles on my car. It is still their mistake and faulty part. Car is nit driveable.

My car left me stranded as I went to pick up my daughters from daycare. I had to pay to get my car towed to the dealership, my key fob would allow me to lock my doors and turn on the alarm but my car would not start. I have been looking in the complaints commentary and the majority of your complaints are for this same problem. Nissan should take responsibility for this failure. It is obvious that it has something to do with the way this model was built. The customer should not have to pay for manufacture mistakes.

I purchased a Nissan Altima 09 and haven't had any issues until 8/03/17. As I went to turn the car on a light came up on the dash board indicating that there was an issue with the steering lock. I figured it was a quick fix so I called my local dealership and they told me it's a faulty steering lock and asked for me to bring my car in. I had to call out of work to try and resolve this ongoing issue. I looked on online for possible solutions and couldn't find any but I did find that many Nissan Altima 09 owners were dealing with the same problem. I have no warranty on my car but there has to be a way to fix my car so I won't be stranded and won't have to pay 600$ for a small part. . .

The won't start due to the steering wheel won't lock so the car won't start.