Steering Anti-theft Device problems of the 2009 Nissan Maxima

The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Maxima. The contact received notification of an undisclosed recall. The contact stated that while the vehicle was off, the push to start button was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to start. The immobilizer warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the key fob and the steering lock needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.

The steering lock system (an anti-theft device) failed. It locked my steering wheel and disabled the start button on the car. The car was stationary; I was stranded in a parking lot away from home with a car that would not start. Nissan is aware of the problem and had issued a TSB, but no recall. Nor was I notified of the potential problem as an owner.

Came out to my car; car wouldn't start. Push start/stop button in "lock" mode; key light indicator flashed; anti-theft light in "steady" mode. Called niss. Roadside asst. To be told that it would be $82 for towing to the nearest dealership after only wanting help with battery testing. I put the towing on hold. Called the nearest niss. Dealership directly. Was told that it may be the key fob batteries. My daughter and I walked home for close asst. To drive to niss. For new key fob batteries. Returned back to my car to test the key fob with no luck. Doors lcked/unlcked, windows let down; didn't let back up; it was raining! used my own jumper cables for battery testing. Not the battery! lights worked. My battery was brand new and recently purchased. Contacted my ins. For overnight tow to Nissan. Researched on the issue and came to the steering column unit failing often. Nissan ext. Warranty is 6 yrs/unl. Mileage; was relieved. Nissan worked on my car from 7:21a to 3:40p. Told me the steering column unit was out of warranty last yr. Only had the car for 5yrs! took Nissan 5hrs for a diagnostics on my car saying my battery was dead; need to swap it out with theirs to run the test. My battery was brand new! 1hr. Later, diagnosed as faulty steering column module. Contacted niss. Consumer affairs and escalated to regional. Niss. Gave me a price of $1071 to fix. Told Nissan I would try to fix the module myself and have it towed to where I originally bought my battery due to existing warranty. However, towing was too expensive and fixing it myself would prb not work. Spoke with service mgr. Who said they could charge me for swapping out batteries but will only charge me $1027. 98. Total ripoff and Nissan lied about my battery results. Took it to my orig. Shop; ran the battery; was in good condition and fully charged! want a full refund; should be a recall!!!! lost a customer!!!!.