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.
I have a 2009 Nissan Altima. As I'm driving, all of a sudden I can't steer my car. I don't know why. And the car won't move forward. I was only driving at 30 miles an hour in my neighborhood, so I could pull over safely. If I were on the freeway, I may not have been around to write this complaint. So I have the car towed in to Capitol Nissan, and they diagnose the problem: a broken tie rod. They replaced the tie rod. I ask why would that happen. I'm asked if I hit a pothole real hard. The answer is no; certainly not hard enough to break a tie rod. The service person suggested that someone actually used a saw to saw through the tie rod. Are you kidding? Are these people serious? And he was serious. It's obvious that Nissan refuses to take responsibility for their crap, defective automobiles, and will even go so far as to put in another defective part, as I explain in another post, that they know will fail again in the future. So in total I have had this car towed 3 times in five years, and I only have 59,000 miles on it, 30,000 of which was on it when I purchased the car. So I Google Nissan Altima tie rod, and I find multiple complaints about their steering system. It's bad enough you're hosed when you go to buy a car, but it's another thing when these cretins won't take responsibility for the defective automobiles they build, and will put one's life at stake as in the case of a broken tie rod while driving.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
I have a 2009 Nissan Altima. As I'm driving, all of a sudden I can't steer my car. I don't know why. And the car won't move forward. I was only driving at 30 miles an hour in my neighborhood, so I could pull over safely. If I were on the freeway, I may not have been around to write this complaint. So I have the car towed in to Capitol Nissan, and they diagnose the problem: a broken tie rod. They replaced the tie rod. I ask why would that happen. I'm asked if I hit a pothole real hard. The answer is no; certainly not hard enough to break a tie rod. The service person suggested that someone actually used a saw to saw through the tie rod. Are you kidding? Are these people serious? And he was serious. It's obvious that Nissan refuses to take responsibility for their crap, defective automobiles, and will even go so far as to put in another defective part, as I explain in another post, that they know will fail again in the future. So in total I have had this car towed 3 times in five years, and I only have 59,000 miles on it, 30,000 of which was on it when I purchased the car. So I Google Nissan Altima tie rod, and I find multiple complaints about their steering system. It's bad enough you're hosed when you go to buy a car, but it's another thing when these cretins won't take responsibility for the defective automobiles they build, and will put one's life at stake as in the case of a broken tie rod while driving.
- joga, Atlanta, GA, US