Anti-theft Controller Problems of Nissan Maxima

When I tried to start the vehicle, it was unresponsive and the anit-theft button was illuminated on the instrument panel, though there was nothing that should have prompted this (I was doing yard and no one was near vehicle). The brake pedal was stiff and the wheel was not movable. Neither the actual key or the Smart key fob would start the vehicle. I attempted to reset the Smart key fob as per the owner's manual (see anit-theft section) numerous times and it did not work. Ultimately, the vehicle's battery died that night (unsure if there was a drain coming from somewhere as a result of this anti-theft light) and aaa came to jump start it the following morning. After jumping the car the tech ran a diagnostic on the battery and alternator which both came back acceptable (though the voltage was obviously low in the battery - just needed to be driven and recharged). The fact that I had my key and was unable to start my vehicle while following the guidance of my owner's manual was disconcerting and concerning. I have a wife and 2 young daughters and we are a one car family. Had there been an emergency, this could be a serious issue. This is my first day on the NHTSA site and after researching similar year Maxima's, the problem seems widespread and there is seemingly no action being taken by either NHTSA or Nissan. Please advise on reasoning as to why, with numerous complaints across a number of model years and models, there has not been any action by NHTSA and/or Nissan. Thanks very much.

See all problems of the 2010 Nissan Maxima 🔎.

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!!!!.

See all problems of the 2009 Nissan Maxima 🔎.

Got into my vehicle to leave for work, brake was hard to push, steering wheel locked in position that it was in, push button start would not work. Tried both keyfobs with no change in status. Light on the dash that I hadn't seen before (a key with a rectangular box around it) changed batteries in both fobs with still no change. Was late for work and had to have my vehicle towed out of my own garage. After researching found that the steering wheel lock would not disengage, which in turn triggered the anti-theft security system and my car would not recognize my own keyfobs. There's no other way to start the vehicle, no general override switch or button of any kind. I had a vehicle that I could not use.

I had driven my car to church, everything was fine. After chruch, I got in my car and it wouldn't start. Nothing would work. The keyless remote would unlock the doors but when pushing the start button nothing happened. The auxiliary didn't even work. I had to have the car towed to a mechanic. After running diagnostics on the car, I was told the car had to go to the Nissan dealership due to Nissan doesn't release all coding. Another tow bill to have the car taken to local Nissan dealership. Diagnostics ran on the car and it was the "electronic steerling wheel lock". This is part of the security/anti-theft mechanism that is located in the steering column. It had to be replaced at owner's expense. This is known defect in 2009-2010 Nissan altima, Maxima and 370z. The owners have no warning before this happens. You are total stranded at that spot. After googling this problem, I have found multiple complaints and that Nissan is not accepting responsibility. This part is now been "redesigned" so that this isn't happening.

The anti theft steering wheel lock switch failed. The car will not start. Car was towed to a Nissan dealer for repair. Nissan has extended the warranty for the same defect in model year 2009 Maximas and altimas. But they say the problem does not exist in 2010 models. Obviously it does.

No activation of the ignition system. After following all trouble shooting advice in the car's manual, I towed the car to dealer where they flagged an issue with the steering lock control unit (part# 487009n00b) and it needed to be replaced. This is all part of the vehicle anti-theft immobilizer system. The cost to replace this unit was $1041. 17. I feel this is a serious safety flaw in the 2010 Nissan Maxima. This was a fully functioning car (except for anti-theft circuit glitch) that left me stranded in a situation where my car could have been towed by the city. Nissan promotes how safe, reliable and economical their cars are, but the anti-theft system can disable the vehicle leaving driver stranded with only one option, which is, to be towed to a dealer because of ant-theft system glitches. This is particularly dangerous especially to female drivers. I feel that Nissan should come up with an override code or device that will allow a driver to escape from potentially dangerous situations that were created by Nissan's vehicle immobilizer system. Especially when the car is fully functional except for an anti-theft immobilizing circuit falsely telling that the vehicle is not ready to start when it is. I believe this is a serious safety flaw in their vehicle security system.

Consumer cannot start vehicle with key, the key will not turn ignition switch, . Consumer contacted dealer, and dealer had to recode key.

See all problems of the 1999 Nissan Maxima 🔎.

When leaving the grocery store my car would not start. The failure resulted in my walking home and loss of income. The car was towed to a shop and was diagnosed as ignition system immoblized because of the anti-theft system. Apparently, the key code has a problem and all keys and car need to be reprogrammed. Now, car has to be towed to the dealership as only Nissan can fix. And Nissan is charging me for their defectiveness!! so, end result count on two towing bills, mechanic charge, Nissan dealership charge and delivery of car back to shop. Nissan is aware of this problem and has not issued a recall even though it is quite common. Now how am I supposed to account for when my car will not start again? does not strike me as a dependable car. And, I do not have a cell phone, so what time of night will I be walking home next time?.

Went into our locked garage, and car wouldn't start. Local repair guy said the computer had locked out our keys, thinking that car was being stolen. He said that many people are encountering this. . . So it was towed to Nissan. Nissan confirmed the nats system had locked out the keys, and charged us money to re-program the computer and our origional keys. . . Nothing was replaced, but now it works! this is crazy! extended warranty from Nissan did not cover it either. We pay because their computer program has a glitch?.

Car cranks but will not start/catch. Security indicator light is illuminated indicating vehicle immobilizer system is malfunctioning. Appparently the ignition key has deprogrammed and needs to be reprogrammed.

Head lights were stolen from the vehicle. Damage was done to the electrical system, hood and bumper because thief knew that there was no motion sensor alarm. The brackets holding each $724 light is made of plastic and can easily be snapped/broken. The anti-theft kit doesn't do anything because it doesn't fix the issue that the lights can still be removed by breaking the bracket without opening the hood. The horn wiring was also removed because of its easy accessibility through the grill.

See all problems of the 2002 Nissan Maxima 🔎.

Consumer could get inside of vehicle with key, but could not start vehicle through ignition switch. Electronic devise would not read key, and computer had lost the combination. Dealer reprogrammed the key.