This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
I purchased my first Nissan, a 2009 370Z, in 2018. I went to start my car and it would not start, after reading various forums on the internet I found the issue with the 370Z is well documented to the escl (electronic steering column lock) issue. There is no warning to this occurring; I drove my car to the store and then home, an hour later went to start to the car and it would not start. The only lead I had was the intelligent key warning light, that when referenced in the owner's manual states this will lock the steering column and prevent the car from starting. This is usually triggered from an unregistered key but my keys were registered and had worked with the car from the time I bought it. The car has had this module changed out for parts are dated, and the current module is dated from 2012, after the car was released in 2009. I am not faced with replacing this part to get my 370Z to start, I have to have the car towed to the Nissan shop and was told it will be about $1100 to fix. It is well documented that the escl that Nissan uses is malfunctioning. The internet is full of stories of people stranded. Nissan claims to have fixed this issue but clearly they have not. Currently Nissan is recalling the 2009 Altima due to a defective escl and repair them for free. However, if you had bought a 2009 370Z, the same year as the Altima, you must pay for the defect. The escl that has to be installed is part # 48700-9N00B, which is the sixth (6) part number for the escl.
My vehicle is equipped with an electronic steering column lock (escl) that locks the steering wheel when the vehicle is parked and turned off to help prevent theft. On some vehicles, due to a manufacturing irregularity, the escl may malfunction after the vehicle has been locked and could prevent the engine from starting. This condition, should it occur, will only occur when attempting to start the vehicle, which happened with my Nissan 370Z yesterday. Thank god I wasn;T stranded in the middle of nowhere. And luckily this did not happen in the middle of an intersection or other busy road. I have read that Nissan has already recalled this part for their 2009-10 Nissan Altima, Altima coupe, Altima hybrid, and maxima vehicles but have not read about including their 2009-10 Nissan 370Z models. Multiple 370Z forums confirm that the 2009-10 370Z models have the same issues as the recalled Nissan models. This needs to be corrected. 2009-10 Nissan 370Z customers shouldn't have to pay for the new part and labor just like Nissan Altima, Altima coupe, Altima hybrid, and maxima customers don't have to.
I purchased my first Nissan, a 2009 370Z, in 2009. As of today the car has had four (4) electronic steering column locks (escl) installed. The escl that Nissan uses is defective, which results in leaving their customers stranded. This, in my opinion is unconscionable. The latest failure of the escl left me stranded out of town. I have no faith that the fourth escl will be any better than the previous three that Nissan has installed. It is well documented that the escl that Nissan uses is malfunctioning. The internet is full of stories of people stranded in unsafe areas due to this defective part. Nissan claims to have fixed this issue but clearly they have not. My car would have no problems starting, however the escl that Nissan have installed will not allow it to start. Nissan will not allow my car to start unless I pay them to install a defective part. So I had to pay them. Currently Nissan is recalling the 2009 Altima due to a defective escl and repair them for free. However, if you had bought a 2009 370Z, the same year as the Altima, you must pay them, again and again and again. This makes no sense. The fourth (4) escl that was installed is part # 48700-9N00B, which is the sixth (6) part number for the escl. I can attest to the fact that all previous versions of this part are complete failures. Nissan will tell you that they have now got the part to work. They have been completely wrong on all five previous attempts. It is time for the nhsta to get involved and declare this a safety issue. Whenever you turn your car off, you never know if it will restart. When you fill your gas tank up, you have to decide if you should turn it off and then block the fuel pump for an hour while waiting on a tow truck, or let it run and risk a fire. I wrote Nissan a letter about this issue, waited three (3) months, and they never replied!!
I got into my stationary vehicle and when I push the start button it remained in the lock position. The steering lock sensor light was on and it won't change into the acc or on position. This is the second time it has happened to me, first time the dealership had to fix it.
Service campaign bulletin no. Ntb13-014 was issued on 3/7/2013. My car experienced the problem described in the recall notice and the Nissan dealer replaced the defective part on 12/2/2013 at no charge. In November, 2017, my car experienced the exact same problem. It was repaired at the same Nissan dealer, performing the replacement of the exact same part, on 11/17/2017 at a cost to me of $1,153.40. Nissan has refused to cover the replaced (defective) part stating: 1) they complied with the recall campaign by replacing the initial failed part with a second (defective) part, and 2) the second (defective) part was beyond its 12 month warranty. In both cases, the defective part disabled the vehicle from starting, thus creating the need to have it towed to the dealer. Because the exact same part failed that was subject to the service recall campaign, creating the necessity for a second replacement, I believe it should have also been subject to the service recall campaign. The replaced part failed at approximately the same interval as the first failed part, both of which was well beyond a 12 month in-service period.
- Lenoir City, TN, USA
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Car wouldnt start had to get it towed, known problem of the steering wheel mechanism lock has to be replaced. Nissan is paying for Altima and maximas to get replaced but not 370Z that has the same problem. Over $1200 to repair for a known defect
The electric steering wheel lock mechanism has failed bad. There has been a recall on the part, but Nissan refuses to acknowledge it. Many complaints have been addressed on this issue.
The contact owns a 2009 Nissan 370Z. The contact stated that the dealer indicated that they repaired the vehicle for a manufacturer's recall on the steering column lock system on July 19, 2013. On January 13, 2016, the contact stated that the steering wheel was tight, seized, and was unable to be turned. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnostic testing to determine the cause of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 59,000.
Steering lock solenoid failed at 38120 miles (2120 miles outside electrical warranty) yellow "key" warning light on dash only illuminated the morning off failure. Went to leave work car would not start due to steering lock solenoid failure. Had to have vehicle flat bedded to dealership at the cost of $121.10. Thank god this didn't fail while driving. This is a well know issue within the online forums / community. I'm currently requesting a full reimbursement from Nissan motor Corp for the repair cost of $887.37 plus the tow bill. I have recently returned to the online forums and have read over 25 pages of failures with the Nissan 370Z. I also heard of this issue on Nissan gtr and maxima vehicles.
Infamous steering lock problem. Went to start car and got the yellow key symbol and push start button light showed lock. Had to pay $170 to have it towed to Nissan.
Attempted to start my 370Z this morning, key light would come on, and the lock light came on the push button start. But no response. After some research, it appears that the steering wheel lock mechanism is stuck halfway so the steering wheel turns but nothing is indicating to the ECU that it is unlocked. Nissan had issued a recall for the same part on 2009 GT-R's (ntb10-025 P0309) but not on 370Z's. it became such an issue that in 2011/2012 Nissan stopped installing the device on the 370Z model. More and more 370Z owners are becoming stranded because of this defect and it should be recalled and replaced.
I drove my 2009 Nissan 370Z to work in the morning and when I went to start my car at lunch... nothing. It was just dead. All of the lights worked, alarm, power seats, name it. But when you went to start, nothing. Turns out the steering wheel lock broke. The fact that this is such a common occurrence, a simple 30 second internet search can diagnose the problem, frustrates me. How come it was taken care of in the more expensive models (the gtr's), but it wasn't recalled for the 2009/10 370Z's" they've replaced the problem part in the 2012's, but that doesn't excuse the fact that they've left thousands of people stranded and have done nothing about it. I lucked out because I bought an extended warranty, but what about the people who have to pay out of pocket" the cost for the repairs is over a $1000, with the part itself in the hundreds. This is ridiculous and needs to be addressed.
My 2009 Nissan 370Z failed to start on Feb 21st without any warning. The intelligent key light was on while trying to start the car by pushing the 'start' button. Tried inserting the key fob into the fob slot but the car still failed to start. After reading numerous threads related to this problem on www.the370Z.com, I discovered that this is a common problem to the 370Z. I was able to start the car one more time by hitting the steering lock unit. I immediately drove to the dealership where they confirmed that my steering lock unit had to be replaced. The cost was $1335.70 total for parts and labor.
Steering wheel lock unit failed in lock position disabling vehicle. Out of warranty replacement required. Research indicated that this part is based on a faulty design that has subsequently been removed from later model years but due to this defect and frequent failure rate I expect to have to replace it annually at a cost of over $500 per incident. The vehicle is completely disabled when this part fails requiring the vehicle to be towed to a service station at owner's expense. This part is clearly a faulty design and should be recalled by the manufacturer and replaced with a design that doesn't fail annually or eliminated.
The steering wheel lock failed. When this fails it causes the car not to start or allow it to go into accessory mode, so even the windows cannot be rolled up or down when this happens, the car is basically dead. This is a known defect, Nissan has taken the steering wheel locks out of the mid 2011 models and later due to there failure. Researching online has shown this happening to numerous people, so much so that there are many ways people are disabling this lock so they are not left stranded. From what I read it was over oiled at the factory and is a defective part. This same part was failing in the Nissan's gtr model, and was recalled, but there was never a recall issued for the 370Z.
My steering column lock failed leaving me stranded. I had to have my car towed to he dealership. Total cost to repair $1,243. Nissan refused to pay for the repair.
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- Salt Lake City, UT, USA