CarComplaints.com Notes: You don't want to get 2009 and 2010 Altima owners started about their cars. That is, unless, you know how to start their cars.
These vehicles can suddenly become impossible to start thanks to a faulty electronic steering column lock (ESCL). Nissan dealers will gladly replace it, but that will run you $1000.
More info & videos about the Nissan ESCL defect are available over at NissanProblems.com.
It's one of the many reasons this car was named CarTalk's Turd of the Week and given our Beware of this Clunker badge. Two dubious honors.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
70,167 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.
Drove car to blaney elementary school in elgin SC. After leaving school got in car pushed brake and pushed start button and got nothing! yellow key light was on. Had vehicle towed to Nissan dealership. Was told today that the electronic steering column lock needs to be replaced and the cost is $1208!!!! googled the problem and see that thousands of other Nissan owners are having the same problem! Nissan needs to step up and issue a recall on this now! I will never buy another Nissan again!
The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the steering wheel seized and the key warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 127,000.
Turned off my car to get gas when I went to restart it wouldn't turn on. Had the car towed to dealership to get diagnostics completed as recommend from Nissan. I see this as a major safety issue as I'm a single woman stranded in a bad part of the city waiting helplessly for a tow truck. Then had to ride along with a stranger (tow truck driver) to the dealership. Results came back as steering lock unit needed to be replaced. Filed a case with Nissan to have this covered as they put out an extended warranty for this part. The case was denied because they said the warranty expired in March '15. I now have to pay $1008.21 that other customers didn't B/C their issue fell within the warranty time. It makes no sense that some customers are being covered while other are not B/C their issues happened earlier. Nissan has clearly recognized this part as an issue and are now not treating all customer's fairly. They said that I should have received something in the mail about this and it was all over their website. Well, I didn't get anything in the mail & I'm not sure if most people are looking into how their car is going to breakdown in the future so I was never aware of this until it happened.
Tried to start my car one day and it would not start. The car was located in front of my children's school. After getting a diagnosis from the dealer I was told it was the electronic steering column lock. I was later told that it was an extended warranty issued for the part because tons of people are having the problem but the warranty ran out June 29, 2015. How would I know that the part was defective if they do T contact me? now they want to charge me $1100
Beware to anybody who drives a 2009 or 2010 Nissan Altima. For no reason whatsoever, it will decide to not start and strand you - severe issue. It's escl (electronic steering column lock: Your car acts like it was broken into and / or stolen), which is clearly a manufacturing problem which they refuse to put on the recall list, even though it's listed on NHTSA's service bulletin (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). After researching this issue, there are thousands of complaints of same issue for consumers, some Nissan service centers paid for it under lifetime warranty of the car, some did not. Very inconsistent! the same item for murano was listed on the recall list, yet not Altima. Nissan extended the warranty on this specific issue to 6 years for Altima, conveniently mine expired 2 months ago (no notification of issue and / or extended warranty). It will cost me almost $1,000 to repair their defect (which I'm grudgingly paying as I need my car and they know it)! time for a class action stance (maybe morgan & morgan), so tired of the little guy being screwed by these big companies! I loved this car until Sunday, I now feel very unsure of its reliability, not to mention the money pit it may become...grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...
- Bonita Springs, FL, USA
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My 2009 Nissan Altima had a defective electronic steering lock unit that rendered the vehicle unsafe and unreliable for my wife as driver and her passengers. She had to get stranded and have it towed before the third dealer we saw about the problem could diagnose the root cause. She was in an unsafe location three hours from where I was located when the part malfunctioned and feared for her safety. The service advisor said this model has had several issues in its history with this particular part to the point that Nissan extend the original warranty until April of 2015 - all according to a service advisor at the third dealership I went to. When malfunctioning, this unit renders the vehicle absolutely motionless and presents an immediate unsafe and hazardous situation to the driver and all passengers. The dealer suggested I contact Nissan Consumer Affairs which I did and spoke with a representative in franklin, Tennessee, who denied my request for reimbursement of the cost of the part. I did not request total reimbursement and thought we could work this out in good faith, but to no avail and my gesture was dismissed. Nissan knows this part is defective and even extended the original warranty. According to the service advisor, there have been problems with this part and it should be recalled nationwide on all applicable vehicles. This may be the reason why Nissan extended the original warranty on this particular part because they knew it was defective and problematic. I believe that Nissan should replace the part on the Altima models affected at no charge to the owner because they know and are aware that the component part is has a history of being defective, unsafe, and unreliable.
Car was parked for 8 hours, went to start and nothing would happen, key light on dash was light. Steering wheel was not locked. Battery ok, fob working opening door locks.
Without warning the vehicle would not start after being driven an hour prior to the malfunction. The key fob indicator light comes on but the car will not start or respond to the start button. The key fob unlocks/locks the car. Upon researching the issue online, I discovered that the issue is with the electronic steering control lock that keeps the car from being stolen or started without the key fob. This is, from what I discovered, a known issue with Nissan and in my view a major safety issue. Nissan has made this a warranty extension instead of a safety recall for reasons unknown. With no way to tell when and if a steering lock will fail it is a game of chance that many Nissan owners are losing. If you are like me, and purchased your car used, it is safe to say that you will not know about the issue until its already too late. On top of that, since it is a warranty it has an expiration date. Which means that if you are unfortunate enough to no know about this and it fails there is a good chance that Nissan will not fix it for free.
Steering lock assembly failure left us completely stranded. We returned to our car and the start button did nothing. After researching the problem, I was able to return with a hammer and after striking the interlock several times, it started working. The only permanent repair for this is to pay the dealer $1,000 to replace the module. This is a safety issue because it could leave my wife stranded randomly at anytime or any place that she drives the car. Nissan has extended the warranty, but this failed 6 months after it expired... this should be a recall
The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the keyless ignition failed to start after numerous attempts. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the ignition switch would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.
The anti-theft light is on and the car is not recognizing the key. Now I can't start the car and it was parked somewhere not as safe as should be. There are plenty of complaints on this issue with no recall. The problem lies in the steering lock control unit. They are charging me over a thousand dollars to fix!
The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the steering lock mechanism failed and the driver was unable to start the engine. The contact indicated that the failure had occurred multiple times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who indicated that the steering lock mechanism would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 133,000.
The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Altima. After opening the door with the key fob, the vehicle failed to start as the key warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was towed the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the electronic steering column lock was damaged and needed replacement. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 74,000.
On 8/3/2015 I went to the grocery store drove my car perfectly well. When I was ready to go home my car would not start. My steering wheel was locked. I had to call a tow truck since the dealership was closed. Next day I call Nissan since I saw so many postings about this issue opened a claim, and they told me I would have to take the car to get a diagnosis from the dealership and call them back with the findings, because I was out of warranty as of March 3,2015. I took the car payed a tow truck again then had to pay $130 for the diagnosis only to find out they could and would do nothing! I had to pay $1007. And they claimed I was out of warranty for over 41 months. How is it that they know its a malfuntion, and they get away with no recall! I will never purchase another Nissan vehicle
I drove to walmart 5 miles from home with no problem. I came out of walmart and the car will not start. It was towed to the dealership where I was told the ignition switch was bad. I paid $900 to fix it.
My car was not starting. It was indicated as no key. I called Nissan customer care. They told that my cars warrenty expired on March 2015. My cars first registration date is November 2009. I have heared that the ecsl of Nissan Altima is having 6 years of warrenty. But I am told by the Nissan authorised dealer - pinnacle Nissan scotsdate phoenix that my warrenty expired. My car have not completed its 6 year and I am wondering how the warrently would void. I have replaced the part from my pocket as well, I am really disappointed. It would be great if Nissan can refund the cost of replacing the part. Thanks, binu.
The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Altima. While driving at 45 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician diagnosed that the steering wheel lock column failed. The vehicle was repaired. However, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 70,000. The VIN was not available.
My 2009 Nissan Altima has been failing to start daily since 07/13/2015. It takes me 20-30 minutes to get car started. Key fobs appear operational. While pressing the break & push button to start the car, the radio comes on but the car doesn't start. It makes a clicking sound & won't do anything. I have to wait a few minutes & retry several times before starting.
Car would not start and had to be towed to Nissan dealer to have faulty steering lock mechanism replaced for $1100. And of course outside warranty period all out of pocket expense on a issue that should have been taken care of by Nissan as this is obviously a manufacture issue and bad parts out in car, this same issue has happened to thousands of other 2009 Nissan Altima owners.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Columbia, SC, USA