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.
My 2009 Nissan Cube had a recall for the manufacturing defects associated with the electrical steering column lock (escl). It went out in January 2020 and the Nissan dealer wants $832 to repair what is a Nissan manufacturing defect. Investigating this it was found that in January 2012, just before the car was purchased from the Nissan dealer, the escl recall was fixed at the murfreesboro dealership. As I wasnt the owner at the time I do not have paperwork to show this, only the word from the dealer. The escl is obviously still a problem but the dealership said since it was fixed once that met the recall criteria and I have to pay for the manufacturers defective escl. The red light with the key came on when it was parked at a store and wouldn't move so it was towed to the Nissan dealer. They have stated the part is $579.93 and the labor will be $312.50. Nissan consumer hotline was contacted and they said that it was repaired but wouldn't give me a date/place so I called the dealership I bought it from to get this information. They are the ones who stated it was done in January 2012 when it was in their possession to sell on the lot. Since it is a documented manufacturers warranty and the dealership supposedly did the work while the car was for sale on their lot (meaning we have to trust they actually did the expensive repair), when the problem still exists why is it not being covered? this is a well documented problem throughout the internet of Nissan 2009 Cube owners who to this day are having problems with the escl and the extremely expensive repair bills that go with it.
Vehicle was parked in a downtown parking garage while my wife was at work. She came out of work after dark, with no access back into a banking building, and the car would not start. After calling me and trying a couple things, we called our roadside assistance and I got in my car to drive 45 minutes there. My wife had to wait in the locked car, alone, until myself and the tow truck arrived. This was an unsafe situation. We had it towed to a dealer and found out the next day that the escl (electronic steering control lock) had failed, which prevents the car from starting. After spending $650 to have it repaired, I did some investigation and found that this is a very common problem not just on the Nissan Cube, but with Altima, maximas, 370Z and infiniti vehicles. After our repair, Nissan had extended the warranty on the part, but we were past the mileage and they would not reimburse us. They still have an open service campaign for the Altima and maximas, but not the Cube or other affected vehicles. This is a sever safety concern. My wife was alone in a dark parking ramp for almost an hour in the inner city. Imagine if this happened to others after Nissan has acknowledged it as a problem, and someone gets mugged or killed while in an unsafe area and cant get their car started. Nissan should issue a 100% recall on all affected vehicles and provide reimbursement for owners who have already paid for the repair.
The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Cube. The contact stated that the vehicle had difficulty starting. The contact had to lock the steering wheel in order for the engine to start. In addition, the key fob had to be visible to start the vehicle properly. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle remained parked at the contact's home. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and refused to assist the contact. The failure mileage was unknown.
- Toledo, OH, USA
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The electronic steering control lock malfunctioned causing me to be unable to start my vehicle. The vehicle was stationary in my driveway at the time. There were no movements or sounds coming from the car when I tried to start it. Only the security indicator light and the key light were on in the dash. No response from the car when we attempted to jumpstart it. This essentially left me completely stranded and with living out in the country was very difficult and expensive to get the vehicle towed into the Nissan dealership. I did research and found that lots of other 2009 Cube owners have had this problem and just like me many have previously had theirs "fixed" only to have the part malfunction again and have to pay for it out of pocket. This is no cheap fix and I had no choice but to spend money I can't afford to spend in order to have a working vehicle. This issue needs to be addressed and taken care of by Nissan as it could lead to some really dangerous situations. I am almost always out camping in relatively unpopulated wilderness areas, typically without cell service and if this had happened then I have no idea what I would have done. I really hope they step up to the plate and issue a recall/refund for the problem just like they did for the Altima issues.
On two separate occasions, within a 7 day period, after a short drive in cold weather, and then parked for 1/2 hour period, the ignition would not respond (I.e. start) when key would be turned to start position. The car had to be towed to service facility, where no common problem could be found, and ignition operated as expected. This is the same situation as reported on NHTSA reference #10040035, Nissan tsb #ntb-11-057 for this make, model, year, with the sole exception this car has a intelligent key ignition, as opposed to push button ignition for the cars covered under the Nissan tsb. In call to Nissan concerning the problem, the local dealership acknowledged the tsb, but stated that it only concerned models with the push button start.
Car failed in a remote area would not restart after stopping, towed to local Nissan dealership and they stated that it was the electronic steering control lock complete failure and stops vehicle from starting. Wife suffered from heat exposure directly related to situation, this part was recalled and I had the recall repaired. If a basic search on this you will find that this is a common and expensive problem that Nissan ended up discontinuing this part on later cars. But this failure is a serious problem.
The transmission range switch (commonly referred to as a neutral safety switch) will sometimes fail to make proper electrical contact. This condition results in two of three conditions. One condition is a failure of the prndl indicator on the dashboard (as opposed to the prndl indicator at the shifter control) to illuminate. The next two conditions are much less benign; they can be much more frustrating or dangerous. The very frustrating condition is: Because the switch fails to indicate the shifter is in park or neutral, the engine cannot be started. The very dangerous condition is: If before the switch fails to maintain proper contact the engine has already been started, then the idling engine (as usual) is sufficient to get the vehicle into an intersection; however, the engine will delay acceleration by quite a few seconds, regardless of the accelerator's position, as the driver attempts to get through the intersection. My recommendation for an efficient recall is to recommend Nissan develop redundancy into this switch. Nissan could easily redesign this switch to double (or even triple) then switch's sliding contacts. Doing so would allow the multiple, identical "poles" and "throws" to be connected parallel to each other before they are electrically routed toward the eight-pin connector. This redundancy would easily, quickly, efficiently, and certainly reduce this infrequent but very problematic condition to an issue which ought (statistically) become so infrequent it's no longer a concern. The transmission range switch is Nissan part number: Switch assy 20150227 31918-1xcod and is very likely used on more vehicles than just the Cube models.
Blinking light on dash, air bag warning light. Air bag control unit malfunction, must be replaced and also possibly the air bag on the steering wheel. This should be covered under the warranty.
The electronic steering wheel lock failed car wont start. The part was replaced in July 2011 on a recall the new part failed in June 2014 Nissan would not replace a 2ed time under recall, with much begging they paid for part I paid for labor. This left my wife stranded in a less than ideal spot Nissan extended the warranty on this same part on 2009 Nissan Altima but not on Cube.
Electronic steering column lock (escl) failed, the car was totally immobilized, was not responding to keyless start, steering wheel was locked. This happened when the car was parked. The problem with escl lock is known to Nissan, it issued a recall and extended warranty for the part for other car models. I'm worrying whether this can happen while car is moving.
The vehicle would not start after it was working properly, but once parked and off tried to turn the vehicle on and it would not start. It is a problem with the escl which was part of the manufacturing irregularity, which was confirmed by Nissan dealership service center, and will not fix under warranty.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Lynchburg , VA, USA