Nissan North America has sent me a letter informing me that our vehicle is equipped with a electronic steering column lock (escl) unit that locks the steering wheel when the vehicle is parked and the ignition is turned off to help prevent theft. On some vehicles, due to a (manufacturing irregularity) that has since been corrected, the escl may malfunction after the vehicle is locked and could prevent the engine from starting. The only thing that they are willing to do is they are extending the warranty from 3 years/ 36,000 to 6 years unlimited miles. They do not know which vehicles has this defective escl. My argument is that what if myself or both of us are on a trip and whether we are one mile or 500 from out home we are stranded this could become a very dangerous situation for us or if we have sold the vehicle to another party out in no where. We do not own a sell phone. Since they cannot tell us if our vehicle is one that might have the defective escl they should be responsible for replacing the current escl in our Nissan.

- Point Pleasant, WV, USA

I just wanted to let everyone know that Nissan is finally excepting responsibility for the steering lock malfunction and is sending out letters extending the warranty on that part and reimbursing consumers for the repair of the part. If you have not yet gotten a letter you can go to www.nissanassist.com to fill out a reimbursement form or find out how to have your warranty for that part extended.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

One day at the gas station car wouldn't start. I replaced remote battery thinking that may be the problem. It didn't start right away, but eventually it did. The next day it did the same thing, so I had to get it towed to the Nissan dealer. This is a disaster for me because I purchased the car in April of 2012. The service technician told me that it was the steering lock control unit and the price for only the part would be over $700 not including the labor. The devil is a lie........

- Pleasant Grove, AL, USA

Hi, I'm [xxx] from the united arab emirates living in abu dhabi and I have a 2009 Nissan Altima which I never had any issues except this one. It started when I woke up in the morning as usual going to work and trying to start the car but it did not start, I opened the hood trying to figure out if it was from the battery but I could not find anything unusual as I already had my battery changed before 3 months ago, then I decided to call Nissan workshop and explained what happened to me and then after trying two couple things asked from the Nissan supervisor I found that the problem still exist. Later on they decided to send a towing car to me and took the car to the workshop after that they called me and told me that the cost will be around 1100 $ for replacing the steering lock assembly !!. after reading all the complaints in this site of the same problem I decided to file this complain about steering lock assembly issue hopping to recall this part from Nissan. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Greer, SC, USA

The steering lock sensor burned out as described by the service center at West covina Nissan in California. As I was researching to verify that in fact it was the steering lock sensor, I found that there were many Nissan owners that had the same problem as I, the sensor burned out at about 70K miles on the vehicle. It occurred to me that if this sensor had burned out while I was driving it could have been a disaster. I believe that this part should be recalled for the potential danger and defective part. The repair is about $750. Which I paid.

- West Covina, CA, USA

Went to walmart came out of the store to find my car would not start. Had to have it towed to Nissan dealer which was around $200 and then the part for the steering lock assembly was $700.

- Wellington, KS, USA

Steering lock failure.. had three kids in the car away from home, went to start car, nothing happened. Had to have car towed and was told steering lock needed replacement at about $1,000!!!! come-on Nissan - recall this part...

- Naugatuck, CT, USA

The electronic steering control lock malfunctioned and would not allow me to turn the vehicle off. A certified mechanic had to pull the fuel pump fuse to stop the engine. Dangerous. Could not start the vehicle after shut down. Nearly $1000 in repairs.

- Greenville, MI, USA

Steering lock assembly failure.

- Ames, IA, USA

In the early morning of March 6, 2013, I attempted to start my 2009 Nissan Altima (mileage 46027), but the car was completely dead (no crank or other sound). I noted an illuminated key symbol in the dash. I proceeded to check (1) the car battery - it was fully charged, (2) insert the key in manual slot - it would not crank/start, (3) release gear shift and manually shift to neutral - it would not crank/start, (4) use the second remote key - it would not crank/start, (5) purchase a new energizer battery for the remote key - all to no avail. Eventually the vehicle was towed to a Nissan dealership; I was advised that steering lock (replacement Nissan part number 48700-9N00B) had failed and given an initial estimate of $915 to replace the unit. Luckily. The final cost of this job was reduced to $769. After further online research, I discovered that Nissan has a voluntary service campaign bulletin (dated March 2010) to replace the same steering lock with the identical part number on the 2009 Nissan GT-R (this car's original base price was $76,840).

- Hyattsville, MD, USA

The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the start button for the ignition failed and the intelligence key warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering lock unit needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 101,000 and the current mileage was 104,000.

- Branford, CT, USA

Include my 2009 Altima 2.5sl to the growing list of steering column electrical short problems. I too had just turned off the car and 20 minutes later returned to find it would not start. Brake felt depressed when I first put my foot on it. Pushed the button and nothing happened. Tried the key in the dash slot, and nothing. Called dealer, he told me to try and jump start with cables and that didn't work. Had to have it towed to dealer. Was told it was the very common electrical steering column short, and the fix was $1100. Luckily I had purchased a service contract when I bought the car in 2011. Paid deductible of $100. This absolutely should be a Nissan recall. Dealer told me the problem is on the recall list for the 370Z, but had not made it yet for Altima. I did see through research and a friend who works for Nissan, that they changed that wiring in the model years that followed.

- Bel Air, MD, USA

Drove vehicle this morning, got out the car for 5 minutes, vehicle would not start, key light were on, towed to dealer, steering lock unit needs to be replaced. I have viewed online that there are many complaints to this same vehicle.

- Branford, CT, USA

Our push button start immediately stopped working as we were at a gas station. The back-up method as described in the owner's manual would not work. We had vehicle towed to dealership. "lock steering" piece malfunctioned and cost $981 to fix. There are hundreds of identical complaints but Nissan has yet to issue a recall (forums.nicoclub.com/intelligent-key-issue-will-not-start-T550340.html ).

- Lebanon, TN, USA

I drove my car this morning without a problem. I turned it off. When I went to restart the car would not recognize my key.I tried over and over I even changed the batteries in the remote to no avail. I had to have the car towed. I read several complaints from other Nissan owners that its a steering lock. I am also being told that this is a very expensive item this does not appear to be a wear and tear item. It appears to be more of a manufacture defect.

- Bronx, NY, USA

I left work on February 6th and went to drive home, but my car would not start. My car is push button start and it did detect my key as I was able to unlock my car. When I pushed down on the brake to start my car it was very hard to push. My car would not start and a key warning light came on. The local Nissan dealership came to my work and had to disengage the steering wheel lock control unit in order to drive it back to their shop. They said that the car was unsafe to drive, except back to the dealership. They determined that it was a failed steering lock. This is an anti theft component of the car. My estimate was $662. The part was on back order at that time and they did not know when it would be in. Nissan did not offer me a rental car and I was without a car for a week. The part came in a week later and the car was fixed that day. My bill was $662.03. This steering wheel lock defect is a safety hazard as it could have happened while driving the car. There is no guarantee that it will not happen again either. After doing some research I found that Nissan changed this part of the Altima when making the 2010 models. I noticed a lot of people with the same issue after researching. This malfunction should be looked into further by Nissan and in my opinion it needs to be a recall. It's understandable when normal wear and tear issues happen to your car, but an issue like this is a defect and needs to be paid for by Nissan. My car is of course out of warranty at this time. Below is a website that I came across when doing research and found a lot of other people with the same issue:

- Carey, OH, USA

My husband called me to let me know the car would not turn on when he got out of work. I was currently training across the state so was unable to assist I told him to call the car insurance if getting a jump or changing the key fob batteries didn't work. $85 later and a tow I was told the steering wheel control lock unit needed to be replaced and the part is on national back order and when it did come back in stock the part is going to cost me $1200!!!! I will never buy another Nissan again and the last 5 cars I have purchased have been a Nissan.

- Jensen Beach, FL, USA

Drove my car to location, turned car off, returned to car 5 minutes later would not start. Thought it was battery, fuse, or dead key fob battery. Called dealership service manager stated other people have had same issue. He instructed me to turn steering wheel and push ignition button...didn't work. On my dash panel I noticed the key light symbol was lit up, when I tried to start car with the keyfob that didn't work either. Had to have car towed and at dealership to change the steering lock. It malfunctioned and cannot be repaired needs to be replaced. Part has been ordered and should be replaced on 03/21/2013. Estimate is $914.

- Napoleonville, LA, USA

On 3/13/2013 I drove my vehicle to work at approximately 8:55am and parked everything in car was fully operational and functioned properly. At 6:30pm I approached my vehicle unlocked the door using my key fob, entered the vehicle and proceeded to press the ignition button and nothing happens. After switching on the headlights and noticing no power issues I noticed a flashing indicator light in the dash that said no key present. After being the only car left in the dark secluded parking lot I started off on a journey to purchase a battery for the key fob and it did not solve the phenomenon. I had the vehicle towed to the nearest dealership which is about 60 miles away from my home. The dealer after investigating for a matter of minutes were quickly able to diagnose the problem which was a steering lock module that was very costly. Upon further research, I found that there are a great number of Altima's and other Nissan vehicle that are infected with the same defective steering lock devices that causes you to randomly be stranded in secluded areas without prior notice. This I find highly unethical for Nissan to be totally aware of such defective equipment and not have any concern for the welfare of it's customers nor their children. Im hoping that the NHTSA can protect consumers from bullies like Nissan and help us get the recall we deserve. All we want is a reliable product that can perform the way it was intended to perform. So let's do what is necessary to hold Nissan up to the american standard of putting out quality reliable products and not ripping off consumers.

- Powder Springs, GA, USA

As with dozens of other complaints online, when I attempted to start my 2009 Nissan Altima (which had been sitting with its engine off for no more than five minutes), the key illuminated on the dashboard, the steering and brakes felt unresponsive, and the car would not start. Late, cold, and rainy the night of the incident, the car was towed to the dealership the next morning. The dealership diagnosed the problem as a failed steering lock unit--a result that is unsurprising to anyone who types those symptoms into a google search. For the small fee of $900, my car was back on the road two days after the incident. Given the frequency with which this appears to be happening to other owners, there is little doubt that this a manufacturing defect that presents a significant risk of injury should the car not start in a remote area or in the path of traffic.

- Kennett Square, PA, USA