3.6

definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
35,360 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2011 Nissan 370Z steering problems

steering problem

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2011 Nissan 370Z Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #22

Mar 302023

370Z

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Steering lock module failure. Same issue as in 2016 (NHTSA tracking number 10929922). Car would not start. In city park and waited 4 hours for tow truck. By myself - 74 year old female. Getting dark and dealership closed. Had the exact part malfunction in 2016 and had to have it towed. Cost $1000 to fix back then. Nissan has had issues with this but has refused to recall it except for one model. This repair cost me $1400. Not just the money or inconvenience - it's dangerous. There is no way to start this car - it has to be towed!

- Griffin, GA, USA

problem #21

Jan 252020

370Z 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 36,700 miles
The consumer owns a 2011 Nissan 370Z. The consumer stated that while attempting the start the vehicle, the engine would not turn on. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer coggins Nissan(10600 atlantic blvd, jacksonville fl) who diagnosed that the steering lock was faulty and needed to be replaced. The steering lock was replaced and the failure was remedied. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 36,700.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

problem #20

Apr 242019

370Z

  • 51,000 miles
For years, there have been widespread defects in the electronic steering column lock (escl) that disabled the push-button ignition in a wide range of Nissan and infiniti vehicles. The escl's primary job is to keep the steering wheel locked until you bring your key fob in range of the vehicle. It's meant to prevent theft. However, when the escl malfunctions (even with the fob present and working) the escl won't detect it and, therefore, won't release the wheel. When you press the start/stop button to start the car, nothing happens. However, the "intelligent key warning light" symbol comes on, indicating you have a problem. Nissan has been aware of this issue fo years and has issued a voluntary service campaign for various models. However, they have not done so for the 370Z, even though this model is experiencing the exact problem as the models included in the voluntary service campaign. This malfunction has nothing to do with general "wear & tear". this malfunction is due to a defective part and poor engineering. I am asking NHTSA to encourage Nissan to conduct a voluntary or mandatory recall to address and correct this issue at no cost to vehicle owners.

- Rochester, MI, USA

problem #19

Jan 202018

370Z

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

When my car had 22,000 miles it wouldn't start because my steering wheel locked up. I was home when this happened. Had to tow it to Nissan dealership. It just happened to me again at 55,000 miles. I was about to leave work. Had to tow it back again. Not fair to pay 1,200!!

- Arlington, TX, USA

problem #18

Jun 012017

370Z

  • 19,893 miles
The car would not start. I was stranded and had to have it towed to the dealership. They had to replace the steering lock unit stating that it was "bad". the same thing is noted on a recall issued for 2009 and 2010 Nissan 370 Z, but no recall for the 2011 even though T is the same part.

- Biloxi, MS, USA

problem #17

Feb 122016

370Z

  • 24,153 miles
Parked car in morning. Car would not start at night. Yellow indicator on dash. Problem was known issue with the steering lock anti-theft device. Prior model years recalled, only 2011 was not covered under recall. Car had to be towed. Over $1200 repair at dealership. Part was $775.

- New Rochelle, NY, USA

problem #16

Jan 282017

370Z

  • 56,500 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I was left stranded in a parking lot after my security steering lock mechanism locked the car and would not allow it to turn on or even to acc mode. Since the car locked up, I have two lights on my dash that will not turn off. I was stranded for hours and could not get an available tow truck to pick my car up. After several hours, I was able to get a family member to drive a long ways to come get me. My car is still in the parking lot and waiting to get a tow truck to pick it up! only issue with the tow, my car won't even allow the shifter to move into neutral! the tow company said they can't promise the car can even be towed if they can't safely steer it onto the flat bad truck!

- Mooresville, NC, USA

problem #15

Jan 242017

370Z

  • 27,890 miles
Steering lock failure from what I understand Nissan recalled this part for model years 2009-2010 however I have a 2011 model and it has failed at just under 28K miles. I cant start my car, the steering lock acts as a security feature (anti theft) and it has failed on my car and numerous other vehicles. I simply parked my car and when I returned I was unable to start it. I had to have it towed to a Nissan dealership which has quoted me $1060 to replace that part with what I'm afraid is just going to fail again. How I'm not protected under the pervious recall or any other warranty is beyond me. What can I do to protect myself. Why was I sold a car with a part they know is bad. Prior to purchasing my vehicle I was under the impression I was buying a model year that did not suffer these symptoms (notably because I researched this issue prior). Please advise. Thanks, dane

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #14

Dec 062016

370Z 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 45,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Nissan 370Z. The contact stated that the vehicle was unable to start due to the steering wheel being locked.the contact was unable to turn the key in the ignition. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed with a lock steering malfunction. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 45,000. The VIN was not available. Updated 02/16/17

- Martinez, GA, USA

problem #13

Dec 012016

370Z

  • miles
Car would not start. Faulty steering lock assembly. Had to be towed.

- Muscle Shoals, AL, USA

problem #12

Apr 122016

370Z

  • 33,387 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Had to go get emergency cough medication for spouse at 2:30am. After leaving walgreen, was unable to start my car. The key fob has enough battery power but the engine ignition stayed on "lock" and could not detect key fob. After trying to an hour to "google" and "youtube" and tried everything I could find to fix the issue but with no luck. Had to contact spouse to pick me up at 3:00am. Towed to a mechanic because after contacting 3 different Nissan dealers and calling the Nissan Consumer Affairs, learned that there was no recall on this case. However, been reading plenty of forum on the same thing for other Nissan 370zs on this very same incident. The mechanic diagnosed the steering module was malfunctioning and replaced the unit after $1,431.46. + $28 towing fee. I was fortunate that I was in a safe neighborhood although it was in the middle of the night. But I feel that this steering lock malfunction is too common to Nissan dealers and their Consumer Affairs to not look in to. Mileage on vehicle is 33,387.

- Rosemead, CA, USA

problem #11

Jan 032016

370Z

  • 50,906 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Nissan 370Z. While driving 5 mph turning into a parking lot, the vehicle suddenly stalled without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the power steering failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,906.

- Brookshere, TX, USA

problem #10

Jan 042016

370Z

  • 38,000 miles
Nissan has a well documented problem with the electronic steering lock unit (eslu) on several models, but specifically the 2009 - 2011 370Z models. The eslu is touted by Nissan as a security feature;however, when it fails, you cannot start the car. That makes this a safety issue. I parked my car over the weekend and then it would not start. The vehicle was stationary. Nissan claims the latest revision of the part, 48700-jf00D, fixes the failure, but that exact part failed on my 2011 Nissan 370Z. I had to pay out of pocket (my year model and VIN were not included in the recall) to fix the problem.

- Plano, TX, USA

problem #9

Jul 032015

370Z

  • 56,000 miles
Takata recall. I first occurred a problem with the Z on my wedding day. My clutch dropped to the floor and we couldn't get the car in gear. We were put in the middle of the mountains with no way to call a tow truck so we did our best to make it to the closest Nissan dealer. On the way we came to a four way red light and couldn't shift to a low enough gear to get to car to slow down, a semi was traveling about 60 mph right at us, we swerved into the emergency on and the truck to barely missed us. After that my husband found out from a mechanic that he should bleed the clutch so he did and the clutch was normal again. Besides that the car has had only one other occurrence with the clutch. I am petrified to drive my car after that situation but I have no choice considering I spend most of my paycheck just to pay for the one thing that will probably send me to my grave. This is a very serious problem and should be fixed! now to mention this morning... I woke up to go to work and went to start my car when my car wouldn't start due to a steering lock malfunction and will probably end up having to take it to a dealership if my research doesn't work out as planned. The brake light comes on when I push the clutch... the traction control light comes on and stays on for long periods. This car is going to hurt someone bad! worried about the people drinking and driving? you should be worried about the people driving a Nissan 370Z !!!! so frustrated!

- Batavia, OH, USA

problem #8

Jun 032015

370Z

  • 58,000 miles
First incident happened at around 37,000 miles, the car would not start and the push button lights up the lock light but seconds later started working. On June 3rd 2015, after driving to my job to pick up tools to head to the airport I park the car, came back to a car that would not start, the car recognizes the key but locks me out from starting the car. The car had random won't start, I brought this up to the Nissan dealers about ongoing issues with other owners of the same car. Now my car does not start and I am hearing that this is a going issue with the steering wheel lock/intelligent key. I am unable to move the car and will have to tow it to the dealer that denied issues with the inelligent key system locking owners from starting their cars. I want to bring this up so that way we speak out since there are so many people having issues but not enough post it so that a recall can be made for Nissan to fix this for owners affected.

- Hallandale Beach, FL, USA

problem #7

Apr 062015

370Z

  • 60,000 miles
Yesterday afternoon, after leaving work to my car within the parking lot, my vehicle did not start. I assumed it was due to a low battery within the intelligent key for the push to start ignition, so I replaced the battery at a local wal-mart. Upon returning to the car, I had the same problem. The key was able to lock and unlock the doors to the car, however when I pushed in the clutch and brake per usual followed by the start button, nothing took place. The indicator remained on the 'lock' position and failed to move over to the 'on' position to start the car. No sounds took place at all as if it was even trying to start. As a result, I left the car overnight and had it towed to the local dealership. They informed me a few hours later that my steering lock unit had 'failed'. I mentioned that I had seen this problem reported on numerous car blogs (NHTSA #10051829), however they mentioned since I was beyond my extended warranty, that I would have to pay roughly $1,250 for the part and labor. It is currently being serviced, however I wanted this incident logged as I have seen a number of 370Z owners recommend this route. Extremely disappointed with Nissan's coverage and handling of this situation.

- Santa Monica, CA, USA

problem #6

Jan 292015

370Z 6-cyl

  • 47,000 miles
The Nissan steering lock unit (slu) failed. Once the unit fails, it will not recognize the key and the car cannot be started. This unit (48700jfood) was a solution to the problems of failure in the 2009 and 2010 370Z which had their warranty extended (part number 48700jfooa; 48700jfoob; 48700jfooc). Nissan would not warranty this unit for me.

- West Jordan, UT, USA

problem #5

Jan 062015

370Z 6-cyl

  • 31,400 miles
My car wouldn't start. There is a solid light with key on dashboard would remain lit. I tried all methods to power on the car, but failed. Had to get the car towed to the Nissan dealership where I was told that the car requires a "steering lock actuator" replacement and cost runs to approximately $1150. My car is outside of the 3 year warranty period and hence it cannot be covered under warranty. It seems to be a known issue upon looking up on the internet. There should be a recall on this vehicle for this part as it is malfunctioning more than usual.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #4

Dec 092014

370Z 6-cyl

  • 23,000 miles
Key indicator light came on about a week prior to the incident. Made 2 phone calls to local Nissan dealerships (one in portland or and one in vancouver, wa) both dealerships claimed they had no idea what was going on but I should bring it in for a diagnostic test which ran around $118 just to look at. Since nothing appeared wrong with my car I waited because the "key" light would go off. It came back on the day I had the incident and left me stranded on my lunch hour with no power to start my car. I again called Nissan and they were not sure what the problem was. I had to have my car towed to the nearest Nissan dealership which ran a diagnostic test. I then received a phone call that afternoon to say it was my steering lock assembly and the part was expensive to replace. I was told the labor would not be much since it was an easy fix. So this problem turned out to the a $1,200 fix. I decided to go online to see if I can find this part any cheaper. I then ran across many websites and blogs with Nissan owners having the exact same problem with car from 2009 to 2011. Apparently this is not something Nissan was unaware of. The service rep at the dealership said she has seen other 370Z's with this same problem and just had one towed to the service center 2 weeks ago. I find it hard to believe that with this may cases being reported and blogged about online why Nissan is not doing something about this. This can be a very dangerous situation if left stranded in a car that will not start. When you try to be proactive Nissan service centers claim they are unaware of the issue. Something needs to be done and quickly. This will be the last Nissan ever purchased if not resolved and reimbursed for expense.

- Camas, WA, USA

problem #3

Mar 292014

370Z 6-cyl

  • 39,000 miles
Drove my car to the store that was approximately 2 miles away from my home. On the way there, the car was operating in good working condition, as usual. The key indicator light on the dashboard lit up but then quickly disappeared. After going into the store, I got back into my car and tried to start it up with the push start button, but nothing happened. Since the key indicator light had gone off previously, I though the battery on my key was running out, so I inserted it in the key port, which indicated the key still had power to in. I tried to start the car again but nothing happened. The car was completely dead. I then called a family member to bring my spare key to see if that worked, but the same results happened. I then called a tow truck, who almost wasn't able to move my car onto the truck because it was completely locked up, and towed my car to the Nissan dealer. It was there that they told me that the steering lock went out and could not function without it.

- Rancho Cucamonga, CA, USA

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