yesterday, finally got to nissan appointment, i had figured it was the steering column lock, since that what most others were complaining about. turns out it was the brake sensor and harnass. Nissan's paper work stated that they "would replace brake sensor and "updated" harness . What's with the updated harnass, apparently the harnass that was installed in the 2009 was defective, so guess what.....have to have the new harnass changed out......Another defect in their car that customer has to pay to replace. Cost $558.00 My mechanic says no choice but to buy part except at nissan since any other parts, used, etc will be the old harness . Nissan selling this part for $350.00. NEVER have i had this much trouble with a car, and it not been fixed by the manufacturer. also have a recall, that i was never informed of my nissan, they tell me they need the car for an entire day, the entire exhaust system has to be changed out!

I had a problem with my steering wheel lock which I never knew there was a problem with it. I thought it was my intelligent key needed a battery when the car would not start. I bought a replacement battery and the car started and I took it to work when I got home and wanted to go back out the car would not start again. I got it towed to Nissan and that's when I found out it was the steering wheel lock. I had to pay over 1000 dollars because the warranty expired the end of May. I think Nissan should of covered it.

I purchased my vehicle from Diamond Valley Honda. I have only had my car for about 6 months with a 90 day warranty. My car was working absolutely fine on 9/7/2015 (Labor Day) until the evening my ignition locked. I read the manual and it stated that my key may need to be reprogrammed, but I did have a spare and when neither worked I towed my car to my dealership. A day and a half went by and they ran a diagnostic test on my car stating that the starter locked, but that they did not have the proper system in fixing my car in which they had to tow it to Nissan to be fixed. My dealership waved the diagnostic test, but wanted to charge me for towing to the Nissan dealership. I refused, because I towed my car to the place it needed to be taken to and I was not going to be charged to simply have my car taken across the street. The Nissan dealership wanted to charge me 120.00 to run another diagnostic on my car, but I explained to them that my dealership did one and told me what the problem was, but they continued to come up with excuses as to why they needed to run it through their system. I was extremely frustrated that not only I was unable to get to work, but that my dealership was unable to fix the problem. I pleaded with Nissan to do payments, because this was my only source of transportation, but they refused and stated that I needed the entire payment of 850.00 to walk off the lot with my car. Upset and extremely emotional that I just purchased this car and now have to come out of pocket to pay this obscene amount of money, I have to push back my car payment along with my registration and insurance payments. I am in a complete bind and could possibly result in unemployment. I feel that my dealership cheated me, for not being able to fix a car that was purchased from them. I have read many reviews and feel that Nissan should recall this, because no car with the proper keys should lock on persons thinking it's in theft mode.

This is the fourth time its happening unexpectedly. Last time I am able to start it before the tow truck arrive. Now I will go to the car for next attempt once in a while.

Update from Oct 11, 2015: Dealership found out its ignition lock assembly fail, got a quote of $1125, then I call Nissan, I was told, the 6 years extended warranty expired 2 months ago. They issue a case number and told me to wait for 3 business days. I got a call after the period, I was told I got a courtesy part and repair.

If you have a locked Steeling wheel or locked Ignition on your Altima 2009 ~ 2010, make sure you call Nissan before paying this bill.

The key symbol showed up on the dash. I thought it was the signal to change the battery in the remote which I did. I purchased batteries from auto zone. Symbol went away, so I thought. I went to the next store, came to start car and Nothing! Numerous tries car would not start. What the hell? The car was towed to a mechanic shop. Informed it was the steering column lock. Informed part is $650 and total cost would be close to $1,000 to repair. Called Nissan to ask is it on recall. Informed it was no recalls on my Vin #. Was not informed it could be an extended warranty issue. I researched the problem and noticed Nissan extended it to 7 years unlimited miles. I am contacting Nissan for repairs without cost.

On three occasions in less than a week my 2009 Altima failed to turn over. Resorted to pulling the panel from the steering column and rapping on the ESCL box mounted under the column. This has worked but there's no consistency: may take three or four taps or may take thirty minutes. Nissan dealer estimates $1016 to replace. Warranty expired in October of 2014.

To the best of my knowledge, Nissan made absolutely no effort to inform owners of the ESCL issue, therefore, (like many others) I'm left to dispute my claim with Nissan Corp. I'm currently waiting on a reply from a regional service rep who will decide if Nissan will replace their defective part free of charge.

I've nearly 95k miles on this car and never had this problem before May 2015.

Nissan is extending the warranty on 2009 Altima and Maxima vehicles for the Electronic Steering Column Lock (ESCL) Unit. For affected vehicles, the warranty coverage on these components will be extended from its original duration of 36 months/36,000 miles to 72 months/unlimited miles. All other warranty terms, conditions and limitations otherwise remain unchanged and continue to apply.

But if they know that its a problem why not do a recall on car and fix the problem instead of the people coming out there pocket of thousands of dollars....I will never buy an another Nissan again.

I encountered this issue back in 2014. My Altima was working fine until I was leaving the grocery store one night. When I tried to start the car the brake pedal wouldn't push down easily and the car wouldn't start. The key fob let me unlock the doors. The battery was still good. I called a tow truck and while I was waiting, I browsed YouTube and found a temporary fix:

Remove the plastic cover under the dash. That gives you enough room to bang a wrench or hammer on the steering lock assembly. Eventually, this released the locking bar and allows you to start the car. My car's been running since then.

Afterwards, I checked Nissan forums and one of Nissan's own websites and found that Nissan recognized the issue, had a recall on the part and had extended the warranty 6 years with unlimited mileage to replace the part. Sounds good, right?

The problem was that when I tried to schedule the warranty replacement with the Nissan dealership, they said that they wouldn't replace the steering lock assembly unless they were able to duplicate the problem. Since I'd been able to get the car running, of course they wouldn't be able to get the steering to lock. Also, I was informed that if they couldn't duplicate the problem, I would be charged $80.00 for the attempt. What a crock!

Needless to say, I didn't give them the now working vehicle. What excuse does Nissan have not to replace a part that has been identified as faulty? I bought this vehicle used. Why wasn't the part replaced when the car was traded in to the dealership? Oh, wait. They couldn't charge an exorbitant price for the part ($700-$900 + a maintenance fee) if they just replaced all the suspect parts (even after demonstrating that they were faulty.)

Nissan gets an F in this area of customer service.

Update from Sep 1, 2015: I thought the vehicle had been under recall for the faulty steering lock. It turns out that Nissan hasn't put out a recall for a defective part that apparently affects all 2009 Nissan Altimas - eventually. Probably because they're making too much money charging $1200 a pop to replace the part out of warranty.

This is the 2nd time I've encountered the steering lock issue. It's been a little over a year since the last time I couldn't start the car. This is the exact same problem. This time, I'm considering taking the car to Nissan for repair (since it still won't start.) I'm hoping the jarring from putting it on the tow truck doesn't knock it loose. I'd hate to get stuck paying a wasteful fee just to have a tech...start the car and say, "Not our problem."

Also, I need to check with the Nissan dealership to see when the car was originally purchased. (I bought it used.) Unless it was purchased in late 2009, I'm screwed on the warranty extension.

I see here this is quite the problem on this car talk to headquarters and doesn't seem like they want to help. Even though I'm not the only one having this issue! Haven't had any luck getting any kind of assistance so the cost is just over a thousand! I don't recommend the newer push to start Nissan to anyone no recall or nothing so just have an extra thousand bucks ready to put into a car that is not even ten years old. I always thought highly of Nissan but don't think I will ever purchase one again after this experience!

On occasions my car would not start. We would shake it, press the start button continuously, sit and wait up to 30 minutes before the car restarted. I did a lot of research online and assumed it was the brake switch. I had the battery, alternator, and starter checked. Told their were no problems.

So, after researching, I contacted the dealer. Was informed it would cost about $400 to repair, as they had been experiencing other customers coming in with the same problem. I contacted my personal mechanic and informed him after extensive research, and speaking to the dealer, I believed it was the brake switch. After reading it seems like the Brake switch/brake light switch was the culprit. When I put foot on brake to start, car would on occasions make a funny noise, that is when I knew it would start. So, my mechanic stated there was no guarantee, and did I want to work for him.

The BRAKE SWITCH/BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH cost $45 from dealer, and he charged me $35 to put on. A big savings from what the dealer would have charged me, plus a diagnostic cost of $125. I have not had any problems since having this little switch replaced.

This is a WIDESPREAD problem for 2009 Altima models - definitely a MAJOR DEFECT. Nissan extended the warranty for THIS PART ONLY for 6-years, for me that warranty ended 2-months ago. A lot of people report this problem just after 6-years. The fix is a tow to the dealer and about a $1,000 service bill. Nissan should have RECALLED this and fixed this on all 2009 Altima models - because it is so widespread. I have always owned Nissan and Infiniti cars. If they don't make good on this, they have LOST a loyal customer for life.

So after two weeks of owning the 2009 Nissan Altima with 90900 miles the car would not start due to part failure. Poor manufacturing of a steering wheel lock mechanism. Had to have car towed to dealer and have $650 part installed totaling $1100 with tax and misc fees:( Of coarse this happened outside warranty window and has been all out of pocket expense so far). Very disappointing Nissan as this is obviously a safety and poor manufacturing issue and should be fixed on Nissan, not Nissans customers. What is resolution? How many others will this happen to?