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:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
61,243 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.
1. the airbag is keep blinking at all times. 2. load noise from exhaust manifold when start the engine and engine is cold. 3. a few weeks after a rainy day, when the weather gets hot, inside the car smell very bad as if there is a rotten or dead animal in the car.
Takata recall cvt transmission. Was coming on highway going 55 the speed drop wasn't shifting gears anymore I was down to 10 had to gonon side of road my car starts but will not move no more then 10 speed took to my Nissan dealer and they told me it was my cvt transmission that it seems that a lot of those cars go out and when they do it's very costly that we should just buy a new one I had just purchased that vehicle maybe two years before this at happen I left my Nissan it's a well family car but it sucks that the cvt transmission can cause it to go down the drain I kept my car and well shape with fluids and always maintenance on it for this to happen I still own the car because of how much I love it I want to get it fix but everywhere I go everyone tells me not to because the cost its going to take to fix it your better off buying a new one.... I just feel why should I have to buy a new car of this one was up and runing good and I didnt everything I coupd to keep up on it for the cvt to go out on me like this..... the car has a good body no rust not issues at all besides the cvt transmission I had got the car in 2017 and it went out already I paid about 7,500 for it....
On more then one occasion when driving on the freeway for about 45 min. The acceleration speed drops to about 40 mph. And when going on hills its even worse. This has been going on for some time now, but now I have a second Altima that is having very similar issues. After sitting on the side of the freeway for a hour, the car returns to normal. This can not be a normal problem, I have searched and found that a number of people have had very similar issues and in fact I received a letter stating that 2014-2018 Nissan where having acceleration issues. ( I have attached the letter) I have 2 cars now that have the same issue and I can not afford to fix them, especially if I am not 100% sure what the correction is. I have also attached copies of others that have the same issues, and you will see that some have tried to fix but get different responses on the fix. Please help!! thanks
My grandson and I were taking a 2 and 1/2 hour trip to visit family I was driving about an hour on the freeway going on an uphill and I began to hear a whining sound and my speed started to decrease from 70 then to 60 and it started to decrease more so I then got off the freeway turned off the car and waited about a half an hour I then decided that it would not be safe to continue my trip but the location that I was in was not a safe area for me and my grandson to wait for a tow truck I then decided to head back one exit down where they would be more lighting the car drove fine I was able to pick up speed with no problem but again I thought it would not be safe to continue driving so I then call the tow truck and how does tow back home what I did notice was when I accelerate the gas pedal the engine did not rev at a higher level nor did the speed increase but to my little knowledge with cars it was telling me it wasn't the transmission slipping, pressing the accelerater and not hearing your engine accelerate but car is still moving but lower speed just did not make sense to me. This could have caused an accident it was mid afternoon on a freeway that commuters often use I was lucky that the off ramp was near for me to exit.
The dashboard and steering wheel on my 2009 Nissan Altima are melting due to the high temperatures in the cabin. When the vehicle is in the sun, the top surface of the dashboard melts, and restricts the forward visibility by causing a glare on the windshield. This makes it extremely difficult to see objects that are close to the vehicle in the sun.
After driving approximately 1.5 hours on a family trip and on the interstate my car slowed all the way down to from speeds of 60 -70mph to barely not moving at all. Clearly this frighten my entire family. After resting on the side of the interstate for almost an hour the car resumed but started to repeat the same pattern. It also barely pulled up a hill. This car has done this before and the nissian dealership stated that it could need a tune up. So before going on the family vacation listed above I had a tune up and oil change done but guess what. The problem still exists.
I purchased my 2009 Nissan Altima in January of 2017.. by May 2017 I noticed as the climate changed my dash was sticky and if your finger scraped it pieces would come pff.. I noticed my dash was melting as the summer went on and it was sticky and dust or a wash cloth I used to clean it particles were sticking to the dash. When the sun is out the sun hits spots where it blinds you driving due to the dash melting..the dash should not melt in a car and its a real issue that now even though I love my car I want to get rid of it due to the dash melting.
The car only goes 20 miles of hour on hwy and it stalls if your at a red lightning or stop sign and want hardly climb hills or mountain and it smells like something burning please help me the only car I have to drive with 3 kids
Without warning our Nissan Altima 2009 would not start. Upon my research I figured out the steering wheel lock mechanism which is part of the anti-theft system is faulty. The temporary fix is to bang on the mechanism with a wrench until the car starts.
The dash has started melting as I am from Texas, where the heat is intense in the summers. I don't always have the option to park in a garage like at work 8 hours a day in a parking lot. I had laid a file on my dash and it stuck too the dash. I thought that was very unusual. When I am driving in the evening the sun reflects off of it so bad I have to pull over sometimes. The way that they put the windshield they set the window off of the dash being the bottom or base. My windshield is leaking when it rains, cause my dash is melting and not supporting the windshield at the base.
I was about to take my daughter (a 10 yr old child) suffering from an allergic reaction to the children's hospital, when the vehicle did not turn on. My Nissan Altima 2009 (sedan) had been used without issues just the day before and I had parked it at home. It was parked and when I tried turning it on, it did not read the key, the ignition did not even notice there was a key, the steering was locked. We were left stranded unable to turn on the vehicle and go to the hospital and get treated asap. I had to get a cab with the sick child and come back from the hospital the same way. The days that followed, I also had to see her doctor and the car still did not turn on. Finally, the vehicle was towed to the dealership and they told me it has a steering lock problem and they see this often in that model(!). I looked online and was amazed to find several similar complaints! I saw Nissan is aware of this issue on this model and had a campaign but my VIN was not among the supposed vehicles under the coverage this is a major safety issue, being a woman (and even worse, a woman with a minor) I was unable to use a vehicle that is otherwise mechanically completely sound (it had just been serviced not even 2 weeks before!), this car has very few miles, it was the last thing I was expecting in a stressful situation that could have gone majorly wrong. Luckily my daughter's allergic reaction was tended to at the hospital in time because I took a car service and I don't live in a rural area, but I don't want to think about what could happen to other people or even to myself if I were to be in a remote location or in a perilous situation and not able to turn on my car and use it. I am now very wary and worried that (once corrected) this issue will again take place. This is a hazardous situation, though it does not happen while driving, it does put the owner's safety at plausible risk.
I have had the car 2-3 years now and the tires have loosened up on me while driving, the car stopped running and had to do some kind of steering column lock work, it is rusting on the drivers side floor panel, and the transmission is out of it which happen on the road at work with two of my clients. Which the clients both are diagnosed with a disability. Very frightening when you make a left turn and your car stops infront of oncoming cars. That could have been a major tradegy.if only nadsan would have fixed that transmission problem many years ago when they were made aware of the problem( malfunction) and Nissan will not budge one bit to help fix the transmission unless I pay diagnostics and a transmission bill of over $5400. Who ever heard of a transmission costing that much money? they are the worst and I will never purchase a Nissan ever again. Thanks for your consideration.
Dashboard is shiny and looks like melting. The shiny dashboard causes things to stick to it and has unknown sticky substance 'melted' on it. This causes glares and difficulty seeing out of front wind shield when driving- primarily while driving towards the sun. This has been happening for 3 years and getting worse in the Texas sun.
The dashboard in my Nissan is literally liquifying over the last 7 months. This appears to be known issue that resulted in class action lawsuit in fl against Nissan that was won for the plantiffs. There is facebook group for Nissan melting dash boards and a news station covered the story: Https://www.click2houston.com/consumer/drivers-want-sticky-dashboards-fixed I contacted Nissan, who referred me to our local dealership and they documented issue and I was ulitmately referred to cameron, a regional Nissan qa representative. I was told at tht time that nothing can be done. I did very clearly (and politely) describe the safety concern as the melting dashboard causes a horrific glare on the windshield. I do indeed understand that the car is out of warranty but given the safety hazard piece, I was hoping that Nissan would stand by thier products in this case and consider generating a recall to address the issue. Toyota had a similar issue and offered full replacement.
Dash board recall - I bought my Altima use back in 2016. I recently took it in to get it serviced and asked about what can be done about the dash board which the agent further told me that their was a claim last year for the dash board issue, but I never received any notice about the issue until I brought it in 04/13/2018. The dash board and gear shift are both sticky and causing harm when driving. Nissan nor the third party consultant never reached out by sending S mail that their parts was defective and should take the vehicle in for inspection.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- El Sobrante, CA, USA