The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the push to start failed to operate and start the vehicle without warning. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the electronic steering lock column needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 70,000.

- Ham Lake, MN, USA

My 2009 Nissan Altima would not start and stranded my wife in a parking lot. After much research and a tow to the dealership, the problem was diagnosed. The steering lock failed. Nissan is aware that this part is defective so they increased the warranty. Now that the warranty is up, I am stuck with a $1000 repair of a part that should have been recalled!

- Lynchburg, VA, USA

Started the vehicle at home and drove to the store, approximately 5 miles away. After shopping less than 30 minutes, went to start the vehicle and it would not start. The little key light went on so went back into the store to buy a battery for the remote as some people reported that as the problem. Replaced the battery and the vehicle still would not start. Called the local Nissan dealer, they said it sounded like the electronic steering lock which was under an extended warranty but due to the age of our vehicle (6 years old) it was no longer covered. Vehicle was towed to the Nissan dealer, they replaced the lock steering at a cost of $1000. Called Nissan to request a reimbursement but they said it was not a safety concern, so it is not a recall only an extended warranty was issued and since it is out of warranty there is no reimbursement. I believe this is a safety concern and request it is issued as a recall. Many people online are complaining about the lock steering issue.

- Carmel, IN, USA

Steering lock failed. Had to replace it at bommorito Nissan. $1180. It was only 3 months out of extended warranty. Since the part was defective I feel the parts and labor should have been covered. I want to be paid for cost.I was never notified of problem. I'm the second owner.

- Florissant, MO, USA

One morning while on my way to work, my car would not start. A yellow key light came on in the dash that I had never seen before. The steering wheel wasn't completely locked until trying to start it several times. The car stayed in the lock position and would not switch over to accessory mode or start at all. I quickly found several complaints online with the similar problem. I was able to pull a video up on youtube that showed me how to temporary fix this issue. We removed the case off from under the wheel, used a wrench or sturdy metal object and located the steering lock itself and slowly tapped on it. Sure enough, we were able to get my car started after a few taps. It worked fine for several months. After discovering this problem I found a website that showed this part was not on recall but did have an extended warranty. Unfortunately, my steering lock went out 3 weeks after the extended warranty. Go figure.... after several months without the issue, the car locked up again on while I went to head home from work. I was able to do the same tap and get it started to get myself home and it worked a few weeks. Now, my car is currently stuck at my work until I can afford a tow and the repairs at the dealership which will cost me $950-$1,200. I've called other local mechanics to see if they could get me a better deal and unfortunately most of them do not have the proper tools/equipment to completely repair the problem. Once they replace the steering lock the car will need to be reprogrammed which only a Nissan dealer can do supposedly. It's pretty awful Nissan isn't doing more to help people out in this situation when there is case after case with the same stories.

- Tulsa, OK, USA

Steering lock failure, car will not start!

- Belleville, IL, USA

Parked my car in a store parking lot. When I returned my car failed to start with a failure to recognize my key fob. I replaced the fob battery still won't start. It was getting dark I had to leave my car in the parking lot. Returned the next day. Nothing will start my car. When online to see that this is a common problem with my car. I had my car towed to the dealership. Was told the extended warranty had expired 03/15. I only have 44500 miles on my car. Nissan never notified me that there was a problem. It cost me $964 to get it fixed. And of course this all happen when my husband was out of town. Why was this not a recall?

- Merritt Island, FL, USA

Tried to start the vehicle to run errands and the vehicle would not start. I noticed the the key light on the dash board was on. (had never happen before) after some research I found out that a steering wheel lock failure was a common problem on this make and model.

- Cudahy, CA, USA

Yesterday, after driving to lunch, my car would not start after it was parked for apps. 1 hour. There was no warning that there was any sort of malfunction about to happen. It was not recognizing my key fob inside or outside of the manual slot. The steering wheel locked up, the breaks wouldn't depress, nothing had it towed to the dealer to the tune of $125. Then had the dealer run diagnostics at $75. Only to find out that this was what I had expected, the steering lock. This must be replaced and will cost $946. After contacting Nissan, I was told they would not be helping out in any way, despite that this is a well known and documented flaw. When asked why I wasn't contacted by then sooner, they said I should have been but had no documented history of contacting me. I am currently in the process of filing a complaint with the BBB and the ag. Will never purchase from Nissan again.

- Saint Albans, WV, USA

My 2009 Nissan Altima steering lock had an internal failure. Nissan failed to recall this part so no information was provided to consumers owning this make and model. I filed a complaint with Nissan Consumer Affairs which they of course denied, but after several minutes of me requesting them to let me know when I was notified of the extended warranty regarding this part, I was told no letter was sent to me. I purchased my 2009 Nissan brand new in 2010, so unless the Nissan part went bad early in ownership I would have never had the opportunity to be covered under this so called extended warranty. To add insult to injury, this is a bad Nissan part, they are charging $700 just for the part alone to be repaired, and only guaranteeing the part for 12 months, can't make this up. It appears that Nissan made the adjustments in later models and that 2009 owners are left holding the bag. I understand parts going bad, and in some cases people are going to be stranded (as I was in a dangerous situation) due to unforeseen issues. But I would like for someone to explain to me why all of these people posting the same complaint (and there are tons) are being discriminated against by Nissan that this (the part they built into the car) part is somehow different than most parts being recalled even at this very moment. Shame on you NHTSA for not holding them accountable for this horrible business and safety issue. The car will not start without this part, because it is so expensive it is requiring people to try and repair this themselves, which is going to cause even further safety issues in my mind. We own 2 Nissan's in my house, do all of our servicing there, we will never purchase Nissan again.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

Defective electronic steering column lock widespread defects in the electronic steering column lock (escl) can disable the push-button ignition. The escl's primary job is to keep the steering wheel locked until you bring your key fob in range of the vehicle. It's meant to prevent theft. Once the escl detects the your key fob, it unlocks the steering wheel and lets you go. Even with the fob present and working, the escl won't detect it and, therefore, won't release it's iron grip on the wheel. This defect can affect owners of the 2009 Nissan Altima without warning and without cause. When this issue occurs the only way to resolve the issue is to have the car towed to a Nissan dealership to have the faulty steering lock replaced. The car cannot be started at all. The problem can be quite expensive to fix. A new escl will set you back about $1100 and it takes a couple hours of expensive-mechanic-work to replace. That's not to mention the cost of a tow truck, or the safety issue of being completely stranded where your cars to stop working. This can be very dangerous for drivers who are in remote or dangerous areas. I personally was attending a prenatal doctors appointment when I left to find my car would not start nor go in neutral, I was stuck for 4 hours waiting on a tow truck 30 20 miles away from my home so this was very scary for me. I had to pay $50 thanks to triple a to have my car towed- I had to rent a car for two weeks while I tried working with Nissan to pay for the repairs only to be told my extended warranty expired Feb. 2015 (this occurred January 2016). The dealership wants $1100 to repair only a few weeks after christmas. Why the decision for a extended warranty verses a recall I fail to understand. I think this needs to be recalled one for the simple fact it comes with no warning, so hopefully your not in a bad area of town....updated 01/25/16

- Louisville, KY, USA

My car was stationary in a grocery parking lot and push button starter would not start. It was the dead of winter with sub zero temperatures. The dash displayed an illuminated key indicating there may be something wrong with the intelligent key, so I replaced the battery in both keys and the car still would not start. I then tried to jump the car with no success. So I googled "car won't start, 2009 Nissan Altima" and that opened the flood gates. I read tons of complaints about this same part malfunctioning on the 2009 to 2011 Nissan. When I finally towed my car to the dealer, guess what--I had that very issue, something called the "steering lock malfunction". during my research, I even read an article that indicated Nissan was aware of the problem, and had extended their warranty to help, but that extension ended in March 2015 and Nissan would not complete a recall because it was not a safety issue. I say it is a safety issue. Again, my car stopped on me in the dead of winter in the middle of a cold snap. What I also read was that Nissan knew that at least 50% of these cars manufactured would have to have this part replaced and decided to leave the consumer on their own to pay for the repair. I viewed youtube videos where tons of consumers were doing desperate things to avoid spending the $1000 for this repair. They were pulling their fuses for the steering lock system. They were pulling out the part and banging on it. They were sticking a screw driver in the part to release the stuck mechanism to get the car to start. It's a shame that Nissan is aware that this part is defective and has the tendency to get stuck, resulting in disabling the push button starter and they won't do anything about it. I will never, ever, ever buy another Nissan car, especially not a 2009 through 2011. I wouldn't own another Nissan if they were giving them away. This company is unethical.

- Romeoville, IL, USA

The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that while at the fuel station, the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the computer box in the steering column needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was not provided. The approximate failure mileage was 84,000. Updated 02/18/16

- Brunswick, MD, USA

Daughter used car to go to work, pick my son and fourtunately did not have evening classes. When she went to visit friend the car would not start, and it is freezing outside. Lucky she was home. 3 nissians we have purchased over 10 years. Very dissapointed about no recall, considering all the complaints I see posted..no more nissians for me..

- Yonkers, NY, USA

The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Altima. When attempting to start the vehicle, the ignition failed without warning. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering lock unit failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 57,000. Updated 04/06/16

- West Warwick, RI, USA

My car started just fine when leaving my house, I drove it to a gas station, parked at the pump, turned off engine and filled up my tank. Upon restarting my vehicle, the engine never turned over, car will not start, or recognize key fob. My steering wheel locked up and the red car icon with a key inside of it was blinking "security device icon" as well as the orange "no key" warning lit up on console. Even after depressing my brakes, the car did not respond. I had to call roadside assistance to tow my car, as it still will not start.

- The Village, OK, USA

Went to get gas vehicle wouldn't start. Called dealer and concluded electronic steering lock was defective causing car not to start. Had car towed to dealer since car out of extended warranty had to pay $933 to dealer for repair. This problem is quite common and had it fixed in a short time. This needs to be a recall. Herba Nissan of johnstown NY completed repair.

- Amsterdam, NY, USA

While at my location, I turned my 2008 Altima off. When trying to start the car it would not restart. It only dispaced the key symbol. And had the word lock on the push start part. I undid the battery and let it sit for about an hour. Still nothing. I called the Nissan dealership and they stated that it would cost about $1100 plus towing expenses. I've only had this car since the end of 2013. Its now parked where I left it in my mother's yard due to it not wanting to budge or start.

- Ethel, LA, USA

I went out to start my car and it wouldn't start. Luckily it was in my parking spot. It kept showing a yellow box with a key inside of it. The push start button kept showing the word lock. I thought it wouldn't start because it was really cold outside so I went back in the house for about an hour and tried to start it back up. It still didn't start up. I got the vehicle towed to the dealership and one of the guys there told me that the warranty expired do I would have to pay $950 plus tax. It is really upsetting that Nissan isn't doing anything to help with this problem.

- Colorado Springs, CO, USA

The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Altima. After starting the vehicle, the steering wheel seized. The contact had to place the vehicle in neutral and restart the vehicle, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering wheel lock system needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 81,487.

- Santa Barbara, CA, USA