CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2009-2010 Maxima has an expensive problem where the steering lock prevents the car from starting, & costs upwards of $1,000 to fix!
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 2010 Maxima had a defective electronic steering column lock which prevented me from starting the vehicle and I had to tow it to the dealership. I was stranded on a major thoroughfare in cold weather with no heat for several hours as a result. The steering lock was replaced by a local dealership at a cost of $1000+. the 2009 Nissan Maxima model had the same exact problem. Nissan currently has a campaign to address the issue on the 2009 Nissan Maxima but refused to address the issue on my 2010 model after I've called them and submitted a case with Nissan Consumer Affairs. I've informed Nissan that this problem is also happening on a lot of 2010 models as per the 100+ complaints on the NHTSA website and various other internet blogs but nevertheless after a week of reviewing my case, Nissan refused to address the repair nor extend the existing campaign to the 2010 Maxima model.
The contact owns a 2010 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that the key failed to turn in order to start the vehicle. The contact also stated that the steering wheel was difficult to turn when making a turn. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was repaired, but the failure recurred. The specifics of the repair were not available. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 42,000. Updated 2/24/15
I went to turn on the car and it wouldn't come on. I replaced the battery on the key chip. I got the car towed to Nissan and they said it was a problem with the steering lock. Warranty only covers 2009 Nissan Maxima.
My vehicle has been properly maintained, I have consistent service receipts. I pull into my driveway, cut my car off and walk into my home, as I always do. I come back approx 3 hours later, and my engine will not start. There is a "key" light on. My battery is not dead, all other electrical functions seem to be working fine. However my engine will not start at all. I must have it towed.
2010 Nissan Maxima (electronic steering column lock) issue. After starting my car and driving 5 minutes to the gas station, I turned off my car and went inside the gas station. When I came out to start the car, I saw little indicator on the dash that looks like a key. I also see an indication, instructing me to remove my key fom from the dock. All and all my car will not start, and after research I seeing that loads of other are having the same issue.I'm expecting Nissan to not cover this. My car has been towed to the local dealership for repair. I strongly agree that this issue should be covered under a recall, since it's the exact same issue the 2009 models are having.
- Glen Burnie, MD, USA
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My wife tried to start the car and discovered the key would unlock the door but the car would not start. After several attempts to jump the car I had to buy a new battery. When this wouldn't work I had it towed to the dealership. The dealership is now telling me the steering wheel lock is bad and it will cost $1200 to fix it. After some investigation it turns out this is happening to everyone with this year and make vehicle. Pitty Nissan refuses to fix a part which is known to be faulty and continues to put its customers in harms way. Please do not purchase a Nissan this is happening to everyone I know who has Nissan. Very scary situation if it went out while driving she could have died.
I had driven my car to church, everything was fine. After chruch, I got in my car and it wouldn't start. Nothing would work. The keyless remote would unlock the doors but when pushing the start button nothing happened. The auxiliary didn't even work. I had to have the car towed to a mechanic. After running diagnostics on the car, I was told the car had to go to the Nissan dealership due to Nissan doesn't release all coding. Another tow bill to have the car taken to local Nissan dealership. Diagnostics ran on the car and it was the "electronic steerling wheel lock". this is part of the security/anti-theft mechanism that is located in the steering column. It had to be replaced at owner's expense. This is known defect in 2009-2010 Nissan Altima, Maxima and 370Z. The owners have no warning before this happens. You are total stranded at that spot. After googling this problem, I have found multiple complaints and that Nissan is not accepting responsibility. This part is now been "redesigned" so that this isn't happening.
I turned off my car at a gas station and was unable to turn it back on. The intelligent key light came on the dash and the car was unresponsive. The key would lock/unlock the doors but the ignition would stay on "lock" and not provide any sort of power including heat on a cold thanksgiving night.
The contact owns a 2010 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that the key warning light illuminated and the vehicle stalled while traveling at various speeds and often failed to start. The contact also mentioned that the failure occurred multiple times. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic who replaced the battery and the alternator but the failure recurred. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer who stated that the escl needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage and VIN was not available. Updated 1/23/15 the steering lock module was replaced. Updated 03/02/15
I went into my car and tried to turn it on only to see the yellow key light up on the dash along with my steering wheel locking up on me. So I call Nissan they try to give me a couple tricks to maybe get the steering wheel to unlock and nothing worked, so I had to get it towed in. There they said the electronic steering wheel locked on me and there was "no specific cause" as to why this occurred. And the real kicker is that my car is still covered under the factory warranty but this issue isn't included in that warranty so I had to pay over $900 to replace it. The part that baffled me is that this issue is covered under the 09 Maxima and 2010 370Z's warranty but the 2010 Maxima even though it has the same issue is skipped over for some reason.
The contact owns a 2010 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that when starting the vehicle, an unknown warning light illuminated as the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the steering column lock needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 38,000.
I was at work, went to get into my car and couldn't start it up. I noticed the "lock" was on and the key light. I called my husband and he didn't know what to do. My husband came and picked me up and fortunately where I bought my car is right around the corner from my job. We went into ganley Nissan in mayfield heights, oh and they told me to try the key port. I placed my key into the key port, still nothing. I spoke with the service people at ganley and they told me that they will check my extended warranty, but this was only covered on Altima's last year and not Maxima's. my question is why not! this is fraud as far I am concerned. How can these big industries get away with this nonsense, selling us products that does not last, and then we have the service industry capitalizing on this. It is not fair, and this is a big bummer on my thanksgiving/christmas holiday if I have to come out of my pocket for something that Nissan should be taking care of. They have enough complaints for Maxima as well to do a recall, or be fair and pay for these repiars. This is not right! I loved my car until yesterday!
After getting back into my car after dinner, my car would not start. The steering wheel moves, but the brake pedal was locked. The push ignition switch would only go in the "lock" position. The "key" icon was lit up on the left side of the dash. Putting the fob key into the slot (the back up way of starting the car) also did not work. From what I read on line, many 2009-2010 Nissan models have had this problem, which has been attributed to a steering column lock mechanism that doesn't disengage. I imagine this will cost me about 700-1000$ to fix, not to mention the cost to tow the vehicle to the Nissan dealership.
The electronic steering wheel lock on the vehicle has malfunctioned and will not allow the steering wheel to lock. This ultimately prevents the car from starting do to the push to start feature. Nissan released a warranty extension for the 2009 model Maxima which is identical to 2010 model that I have, but the replacement part for my vehicle is not covered under the warranty.please investigate this issue because there are almost 100 similar complaints listed on NHTSA website.
On my 2010 Maxima the steering wheel lock failed. The symptom was that I was able to unlock the door, but the push button start failed. After having my car towed to a dealership and the repair completed at a cost of $1059.57 I spoke with the service manager. He notified me that the problem has been repaired at his shop numerous times and that he thought there was an extension on the warranty for the failed part and labor. It turns out that this extension was only for the 2009 Maxima for the same defective part. I filed a claim to Nissan and I was rejected by them. I explained them this is the identical part and problem that the 2009 Maxima's had, but there was no negotiating with them.
Push start button just stopped working. I called aaa and the guy who towed me to the Nissan dealer told me he sees 10 Altima and Maximas per week (yes, he swore it was 10 per week!) with the same defective steering lock problem, which disables the push-start button. I asked him if he sees any other manufacturers with this problem. He said no. The cost was $920 to fix it. Based on what the aaa guy told me, and the incredible number of angry people complaining about this problem on this website, it's pretty obvious the scale of this defect merited a recall. What a shame. Three of my past four cars have been Nissan, including the last two. I pay off my Maxima in a few months and was looking forward to buying the new Maxima as soon as it comes out. After this, neither I nor anyone in my family will ever, ever, buy a Nissan automobile again.
On November 11th, after work at 3:10pm. I went to my car to start it. Unable to start it I changed the car battery, changed the battery in the keyless remote, but the car still was unable to start. I called Nissan koppel and they sent a mechanic to do a diagnostic, the results showed that the steering lock malfunctioned, and I had to buy a new part. According to the technician I am suppose to be under the warranty due the fact that my car was manufactured on 09/09. It cost me $928.46 to rectify my problem. I called Nissan and they refused to reimburse me due the fact that my model is not on the recall list. 8 have purchased this car in 05/12/14. It's outrageous and unfair!!!
The contact owns a 2010 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the pushed to start button was pressed and the instrument panel illuminated. However, the vehicle failed to start after multiple attempts. The contact was advised by an online blog to pull the plastic panel under the steering wheel down, and tap the lock in order to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for a diagnosis of the failure. The technician diagnosed that the steering wheel lock failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 75,000.
I tried to start my car and it would not start. The push start indicated that it was locked. I have never had any issues with it previously. The dealership is quoting a price of $1186 of which I do not have. I have researched the internet and found the same issues with the same type vehicle. This is utterly ridiculous and I am very displeased to say the least.
Our 2010 Nissan Maxima would not start. This presented an unsafe situation in which my wife was virtually stranded late in the afternoon with inclement weather. The ignition switch would not start the car when depressed and the steering wheel was locked. We attempted to use two separate key fobs for our car but neither worked. We had our car towed to the Nissan dealership and they stated that it had a defective steering lock and therefore would not start. The parts needed and part numbers are shown below: ** steering lock (some referenced parts sources online also refer to it as an ignition lock assembly) (1 ea) part #: 48700-9N00B ** lock bolt/screw (4 ea) part # 48703-06F0A we were quoted an astronomical price of $1,650 dollars to replace the steering lock. It just seems outrageous and unbelievable! I read several complaints about the same issue online for owners of this same type of Nissan vehicle. Many had the same problem arise at roughly the same recorded mileage. This appears to be a mechanical defect that Nissan has been aware of but has done nothing to remedy the problem. I know of absolutely no recalls for this problem. I believe that this problem constitutes an inherent mechanical defect in the design and construction of the steering and ignition system which presents a hazard for owners/operators, an unrealistic cost for an issue that actually should not occur, and leaves owners/operators stranded and because the system won't operate and turn on the vehicle. I see it as a major safety issue which should be examined closely for an immediate recall. I ask that you please take action with Nissan to remedy this issue as quickly as possible. Thank you.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Randolph, MA, USA