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 $1,000.00 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...GRRR...

am still paying for my 2009 nissan altima. one cold saturday after work got in my car i pushed the start button the car did not start everything was on but the can did not start , i sat in threr for an hour, think of what to do. called the tow company they came and towed it to a shop to see whats the problem, they told me only nissan can fix the problem. okay towed it to nissan they told me they have to replace the streering wheel and there is no warranty the cost to fix the car is 12000. while i was there so many people came in for complaining the same thing very bad business they need to RECALL this problem my car is still there r i dont have money to fix it . please can you guys help they need to do some thing quick ,thanks very

My 2009 Nissan Altima wouldn't start, no engine crank, just nothing, pure silence. The LOCK was lit on the push button and no matter how many times the remote was clicked, it stayed in the LOCK position. Had it towed to Pep Boys but they couldn't fix it. Found a local automotive place in Setauket, NY and it took them 9 days to fix it. On the 5th day they called and said the diagnostic testing showed it was the module....it would be $1100 and I could pick it up in two days. I wasn't happy but I was content and wanted the car fixed so I said okay.

After two days, they called and said they replaced the module but it still would not start. They now said they would have to order the ignition lock mechanism from Nissan for another $750. When the car was first brought there I had a long conversation with them and said I had researched this problem, it was common with Altimas, and it was the ignition lock. My hands are tied at this point as I have to have it fixed here even though I feel they misdiagnosed the problem and they didn't need to fix the module. I also extremely upset with Nissan as they are aware of the ignition lock problems but are not helping the owners. This is my fifth Altima and definitely my last. Has anyone had a similar problem either the module and/or do you think I'm getting ripped off from the local automotive shop? Any suggestions on how to ask Nissan for a refund on the repair cost since they are aware of the problem?

Went to church on Sun. Jan 12,2016. The weather was atrocious, blowing snow falling temps. No trouble when I left the house. The car started normally as always. When I tried to start car 1 1/2 hr later, nothing absolutely nothing other than a key symbol in left hand corner of dash panel. Replaced battery in the key fob to no avail. Wife had to pick me up . When I got home researched on the internet. Saw the many reports of steering column lock module failure. Exact symptoms. Had car towed by AAA to AAA repair facility. I am now out $1042.95. The repair shop checked with Nissan for recalls or extended warranty. Nothing. The techs I talked to could not believe a fist sized module could cost $750.00, nor could I. I will pursue this with Nissan but after reading multiple posts I don't expect much. Last Nissan I will own.

I feel pretty lucky compared to some of the folks on this site. My car was at home and my mileage is higher. But im mad enough to register and put in my 2 cents worth. I have liked some of the things about the car. 30 plus miles per gallon and a 20- gallon tank good front leg room. At least i wont feel bad about when i sell it now that this is fixed. I have been stranded by timing belts in other cars but that was at least on the service to replace. This one comes out of the blue. Nissan should have sent letters if not to recall at least make people aware. And they should at least cover the labor. My part alone was 666.04 and i know they made money on that. Nissan messed up on this big time!

I been having trouble with my Nissan Altima.this is very f*cking annoying having to be a female owner stranded late night with my daughter in the car not knowing what the hell is going on with my car that does not turn on! I insert my fob key and I don't get a response still not turning on. I call the Nissan dealer to get some help they say come on in first thing in the morning. I ask how how to repaired they say close to $1,200 That's bs, someone needs to do something about this this problem is only with all 2009 Altimas and Maximas.

The key fob would unlock the door but the car wouldn't start, nothing electrical worked. The car was dead. Had it towed to the dealership. The tow truck driver said these are known to go bad. The dealer knew right away what the problem was, they even had the part in stock. (dealers only stock parts they know will be used on regular basis, this is a $650 part.)

It seems Nissan knows about this problem and had extended the warranty for this issue but I am past the expiration date. So I eat the cost. It seems this problem is dangerously close the GM issue with steering columns locking up. At least I was returning to the car while running an errand and it wasn't moving when it locked up. But I feel Nissan should eat the cost of this part since they know its inferior. It should have been a recall. So I just learned a $900 lesson that my next car will be another Honda.

I will never buy a Nissan Car again.

I had a five year 100000 mile warranty on the car and only had the manufacture recall issues with the car. During the visits that I have had in the past now that the warranty and this piece of crap ESCL extended warranty are up they cant help me. They never notified customers that this was an issue, or that it was a potential issue.

Nissan basically told there customers that if you have not had the issue, then we are going to roll the dice and say that you are not going to have the problem. I am just thankful that I was already at my office when the issue happened, and I was not on the way to the hospital. they said that they would not know if they would cover the issue until they did a system diagnostic. So of course I had to pay for them to hook up the f*cking computer so that they could tell me and the company the problem that we already know the car had. Just got off the phone with the corporate office and they share my "concern and understand my problem" as they are so well trained to say, but I'm still out $1000.00 and have to pay for the diagnostic they asked to be run, but they understand what I am going through. My family is on there third and last Nissan vehicle we will never purchase a car from them as long as I live.

For future reference if there is an "irregularity" with a Nissan manufactured part then you should probably keep the warranty going as an ongoing program, instead of this bullshit window of time that says we are in the clear after 6 years. If you had to extend it in the first place then there are clearly more issues than you are letting the consumer know about.

My car was fine a day before but all of a sudden next day morning car is not starting and almost dead. But lights and car door lock and unlock and alarm were working fine. Called AAA, and got replaced battery even then no luck. Then got replaced key battery, no luck again. Finally got towed the car to the mechanic shop and they told me that car lock assembly need to be replaced and said it is a known issue for Nissan and unfortunately no recall for that. They charged me $1180 to get replaced. I feel that it should be reimbursed by Nissan as it is a known issue. For sure I will not buy a Nissan car again.

When I purchased my car from dealer in 2010, I had brought it back to dealer three times. at quirk Nissan in Quincy am, all three times they assured me there was nothing wrong. The wheel came making this really weird noise when I turned almost like... A light clicking noise and it should like it was pulling on something,,,like when your next to a ride at a fair and you hear the metal of a roller coaster ride but the noise was very faint almost dulling but it was enough that it happened every time the wheel turned.

The problem was never fixed, they kept telling me oh sometimes the wheel makes noise...well now I know it's the power wheel lock that actually has broken which prevents the car was starting, it's $1200 to fix and that was with a 15% discount!!!!!! Uuuggghhhh

I've heard this is a fairly common complaint, including an extended warranty that was issued. It cost me being stranded a work without any notice, callings for a ride, getting a tow, taking to dealership and paying almost $1,000.00 out of pocket to get it fixed. Not to mention right at Christmas time too. Why the deadline on warranty????? Never even knew about it and this just happened. Nissan should definitely reinburse me and any other persons who have had to pay for this without being reimbursed just because it happened after a deadline, why a deadline to begin with. This is not a customer fault/issue. It is Nissan's responsibility to fix it.

Like most of the other complaints, my car has worked fine for 3 years, and it worked that morning when I left my house. When I came out of 7-11, it was dead - the push button did nothing. I even tried putting the fob in the slot just in case it was a fob battery issue.

A co-worker drove up just then and I asked her if we could jump my car -- still nothing. I called my brother to come help and we tried jumping it again (with better cables and his more powerful battery) -- still nothing. BTW - at this point, my brother directed me to make sure the steering wheel was not locked so firmly that it was preventing the ignition from starting; I told him that the steering wheel had NEVER locked the entire time I have owned it. I called AAA to have them tow it home, because we thought it might be an absolutely dead battery that needed to be replaced.

We bought a brand new battery ($150) and new connections to eliminate that as a possibility, and I even replaced the battery in the key fob, just to make sure that wasn't an issue, either. Still nothing from any of the battery changes.

I finally saw the Key Ignition light and started looking for problems other than the battery. I soon discovered hundreds of complaints about this very issue. Some were able to have it fixed under warranty, others under a recall notice. I bought the car used, so there was no warranty and my VIN was not specifically named for a recall. Still others had to pay an arm and a leg (or more) to have it done. I called one dealership and you could almost hear the dollar signs rolling around in his head as we spoke.

This is ridiculous if this many people are having this problem and Nissan is not making it right for everyone.

As I was leaving the gym last night, I was unable to start my car. I was parked pretty close to the curb and my steering wheel was locked. I thought nothing of it as this has happened before but it wouldn't start so I had to have it towed to the dealer. The next day, they call and advise the electronic steering wheel column has gone out which is fairly common and to replace it is 1200 + dollars. I've looked around on the internet and saw on another site that Nissan was aware that 2009 Altima's were having an issue with the steering wheel lock and extended the warranty from 36 months or 36K miles to 72 months unlimited miles and then discontinued this March 2015. This just happened to my 2009 Nissan last night December 2015. Seems like they know they have an issue but won't issue a recall and are gouging their customers for this problem. The service technichican Ben, said that later models such as the 2013 forward aren't seeing this issue. Well I guess not if you've had time to correct it. Has anyone tried to start a class action?

Stranded in the middle of nowhere, vehicle would not start or move, windows could not be rolled up. Dealership said $900 plus tax to repair, plus the cost of the tow. Told me the part was under warranty until 8-8-15, 120 days later it fails? This is an obvious rip off.

The reliability of the Nissan product is forever spoiled, what company in their right mind would let loyal customers flounder with a car that might or might not start after you shut it off at the store, gas station or in the middle of no where. I don't know about the rest of the Nissan owners but I don't regularly put 1000 bucks in my pocket for a trip to grandmas house 4 blocks down the road just in case my car won't start. All because of a faulty part they knew about and extended the warranty until 3 months before it goes out.

This is the 3rd brand new Nissan I have purchased. This is the last Nissan I will purchase. Matter of fact I think I will trade this one in before I get screwed out of $715.13 again. And by the way, there is no warranty on electrical parts. 30 day warranty on others, so if this electric steering wheel lock fails tomorrow guess what? Yes sir time to pay 700 bucks again or you cant drive it. Time for people to quit putting up with this kind of consumer rip off. The vehicle can not reliably be operated for its intended purpose. The vehicle can not be operated reliably because of the faulty steering wheel lock. Heck I probably paid extra for the vehicle security system that keeps the car from driving!