Car was turned off (stationary) while I was in drive thru atm lane. Steering lock mechanism locked and car would not start. While I waited over an hour to be towed to dealer, many bank customers were unable to use atm - very embarrassing! dealer said warranty expired 3.5 months ago and cost will be $850! research shows numerous problems with this mechanism/model reported to Nissan but no recall!

- Hampton, VA, USA

Car was parked in an apartment complex. It wouldn't start, the steering wheel was locked, and you couldn't changed it to neutral to position it for jumper cables. Found it it was a steering lock failure. Had car towed to my house, where we took the car apart to try and fix it ourselves. Ended up taking out a fuse to get it working. While this isn't a direct hazard (accident, injury, or death), this has happened to too many people for it to not be looked into. Nissan is unwilling to help. More and more people will become desperate and jerry-rig their cars to avoid paying $800-$1000 for repairs. That is the bigger hazard. You will continue to have unlicensed people looking at youtube for ways to "fix" their own cars, probably creating more issues. Then you will get the accidents, injuries, and deaths you need to investigate Nissan. Please don't let it get to that point.

- Rocklin, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Altima. While the vehicle was parked, the steering wheel seized without warning. The failure occurred once. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering lock mechanism failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 63,000.

- Springfield, IL, USA

The steering lock columm actuauator goes abd causing the car to not start and leaving driver and passengers stranded. Nissan refuses to replace or recall the part. It is a dealer only part that costs $1,000+ to fix. Nissan cares more about quantity than quality at their plants and fail to quality control check their vehicles. Reference this forum: www.altimaforums.net/steering-column-lock-escl-T21569P2.html

- Christiana, TN, USA

I was in a parking lot, about to leave from plasma center. Entered vehicle and attempted to start up. Would not start. Looked up warnings of key symbol and car symbol. Referenced to steering lock failure. Was never able to get vehicle cranked. Numbed var battery and changed battery in fob. Still nothing. Had vehicle towed home. Contact end Nissan who stated warranty is out. Please help.

- Fort Worth, TX, USA

Out of no where, without any warning, my steering lock broke, to the point where I could not start the car. I had to get it towed to the nearest Nissan dealership (one that I am unfamiliar with). Then I was told I had to replace this part which would cost $1200. If that wasn't enough, I was notified that my warranty expired on August 25, 2015. This occurred on November 11, 2015. Nissan was unable to do anything for me even though they were on notice that this piece was malfunctioning in the 2009 Nissan.

- San Diego, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the push to start button failed to function. The contact had to make numerous attempts to maneuver the push button start and after multiple attempts, the vehicle was able to restart. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the steering wheel lock mechanism failed and needed to be replaced. The VIN was not available. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 72,000.

- South Bend, IN, USA

Nissan known steering lock failure issues. I was stranded at gas station at 1am because car would not start again after getting gas. Nissan is aware of issue, extended the warranty but did not notify me of potential problem. Now it is out of extended warranty by 4 months and they want me to pay 1K for being stranded in dark at 1 am for known failure issue they did not notify me about.

- Cumming, GA, USA

Car wouldn't start, left me stranded I was stationary at the time in the snow with my kids.

- Prescott Valley, AZ, USA

When purchasing such vehicle sales rep automatically without knowledge added extended warranty which did not include part(steering lock ) needed, however on 11-10-15 Nissan regional office said out of courtesy added to warranty due to the fact of knowing this was a faulty part. Steering column lock, lock up on said vehicle without offer of extended warranty on said part. Due to the thousands of complaints regarding this issue there should of be a recall, rather than expecting customers to pay for their faulty equipment. Said vehicle was stationary

- Springfield, IL, USA

The steering lock according to the Nissan dealership was faulty and the car would not start. Unfortunately our car was out of warranty. Nissan knows about the problem but refuses to issue a recall. Ended up costing us $1300 to replace. Call Nissan Consumer Affairs and they did nothing but make us wait 5 days to tell us they will do nothing.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

On 11-4-2015 after returning home from work that evening I parked my 2009 nissian Altima in front of my residents, on the following morning 11-5-2015 I went to get in my vehicle to go to work but the car would not start, it appeared as though the car was searching for my key fob because the lights on the dash was aluminated with the picture of the key encircled, after trying for about 30-45 minutes I gave up and had to call my employer to inform them that I would be late not only was I late for work but I also had to have the vehicle towed to a mechanic to find out after the diagnostic test that the steering lock failure was the problem, after speaking with a service adviser on several occasions and getting no resolve and $750 later I'm out of pocket for a faulty mechanical steering lock mechanism.as I researched all the possibilties and realized that this part is known to be a faulty part it's very apparent that nissian is aware of the ongoing problem with this particular part this is not an isolated incident.

- Lewisville, TX, USA

I had a failure in the steering column sensor for my 2009 Nissan Altima resulting in my car being unable to start. My car had been parked while I was at work and there were no indications this would happen. This is an issue that has been widespread enough for Nissan to extend the warranty, which ended Oct 2014. My issue occurred 11/1/15. I paid out of pocket to take a cab, get my vehicle towed, and then fixed. I submitted a complaint (case # 20709999) and was informed Nissan would do nothing about this issue. I had the car serviced at ricart Nissan in columbus, oh.

- Reynoldsburg, OH, USA

The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the vehicle would not start. The failure occurred without warning. The electronic steering key light illuminated after the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 70,000.

- Austin, TX, USA

Stranded at night in parking lot 10/30 due to car not starting. Had car towed to Nissan and repaired 10/31 (steering wheel lock column malfunction). Cost 800+$. not covered in warranty, although the warranty extension letter states: "Nissan believes majority of its owners will not experience this unique condition" contradictory, if you ask me. The next day (October 31) the car would no longer accelerate. Had it towed back to Nissan dealer, where they said I was missing a transmission fuse? did not charge me to replace said missing fuse.

- Endicott, NY, USA

I couldnot able to start the car, it was showing the lock light and key malfunction lights are displaying. It would be basically a steering lock issue.

- Mifflintown, PA, USA

2009 Nissan Altima would not start. Dealer said that it was an issue with the steering lock mechanism being stuck. Went to Nissan usa's website and saw that a lot of people were having this issue, and it has been talked about all over the internet. So many complaints about this very issue that it looks like Nissan extended a warranty covering the cost to fix the problem if this happened to your vehicle. The caveat, they only extended this by 6 years. Took it to the dealer and they told me it was the steering lock. I called Nissan, and they told me that I missed the coverage by two months. If there are so many people having this very issue, why isn't there a recall. It's a clear product defect.

- Beavercreek, OH, USA

There was a malfunction with the electronic steering column lock. I went to start my car and it would not start. The electronic steering column lock needed to be replaced.

- Florence, SC, USA

The electronic steering column lock issue is prevalent in Nissan Altima model year 2009-2010 and Nissan has failed to take responsibility for this known issue. I experienced the issue conveniently outside of Nissan's "extended warranty claim period" and as a result I am stuck with a $1000 repair that I have taken full financial burden from. This was a known issue that should have been fixed by Nissan under a recall as this is in fact a safety concern because nobody should be concerned about their car not starting especially if they are in an uncomfortable situation and need to get to safety quickly. This issue occurred while the vehicle was stationary and that by no means excuses it from being a safety concern, because it is very much a safety concern. www.nissanproblems.com/trends/steering-wheel-locks/

- Atlanta, GA, USA

The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Altima. While the ignition was turned to the on position, the vehicle failed to start without warning. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering wheel seized and needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.

- Ward, AR, USA