I went to start my car and an amber light with a key came on my dashboard. My car would not start. The car had to be towed to a Nissan dealership where it was determined it was a malfunction of the escl(electronic steering column lock). The repair cost me $893.90. There was an extended warranty on this so Nissan new it was a problem. The warranty ended 3 months ago. Nissan will not pay for the repair. This is my 4th Nissan.

- Hollis, NH, USA

My 2009 Nissan Altima did not start one morning as I needed to go in to work. I called Nissan in libertyville il and I was told the it was probably the steering column locking issue that needed to be addressed. I provided them the VIN number and they said it was still under warranty so it would be covered 100% if that was the issue. Once at their shop they determined it was the steering column locking issue but switched their story and said it no longer was under warranty. I called Nissan and they confirmed the warranty expired 4 months prior to the date of my Nissan breaking down. After further complaints and appeals to Nissan customer service I was forced to replace the part which cost me $850 in repairs.

- Mundelein, IL, USA

My car wouldn't start after leaving work, couldn't figure out what was wrong, until I did a google search. I contacted corporate Nissan, who informed me that the warranty expired two months ago, exactly, and I would have to have it diagnosed by a Nissan repair before they consider covering faulty parts. I had my car towed to the Nissan repair, who confirmed that the power steering lock was faulty and needed to be replaced for $1020. Nissan mechanic said that it is a known problem with 2009 and 2010 Altima's. I reported back to corporate, who said they would "investigate" my claim, and assured I would be contacted two days ago. Never received a call, despite several attempts to reach them, and convenient for Nissan that the department I need doesn't have an available telephone number.

- East Haven, CT, USA

My car wouldn't start after work and couldn't figure out what was wrong, until I searched the internet for some help, and found that this is a known problem with Altima's from 2009 2010. I contacted corporate Nissan, who informed me that the warranty expired two months ago, exactly, and I would have to have it diagnosed by a Nissan before they consider covering faulty parts. My car was towed to the Nissan repair, who confirmed that the power steering lock was faulty and needed to be replaced for $1020. Nissan mechanic said that it is a known problem with 2009 and 2010 Altima's. I reported back to corporate, who said they would "investigate" my claim, and assured I would be contacted two days ago. Never received a call, despite several attempts to reach them, and convenient for Nissan that the department I need doesn't have an available telephone number.

- East Haven, CT, USA

I had tried to leave Friday from work and my car would not start. The key light was on and nothing I did would start the vehicle. We were able to start the vehicle the next day and took it home and ran well for about a week but then as I was leaving for lunch the same issued happened. This time the vehicle would not start. I had to get the vehicle towed out of here to a Nissan dealership where I was informed the steering wheel lock was wrong with it and a lot of the models from that year are having the same issues. I contacted the corporate Nissan to file a claim and get the repairs paid by them since there is a known malfunction of this vehicles. After waiting for over two weeks and many calls to them to try and get them to return my calls I was told they would not be able to help with any of the repairs as it was outside the warranty. I explained to them or try to that if it was a warranty issue I would have paid for it through the extended warranty as well. But it was a well known malfunction they are having that should start a recall on it. The total for this repair is $1021 and Nissan should be responsible for paying for this repairs or start a recall campaign as the vehicle becomes completely disabled and you can't move it or even start it.

- El Paso, TX, USA

The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. The contact attempted to use the spare key to start the vehicle; however, it failed to start. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The technician diagnosed that the steering lock module would need to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 83,902.

- South Weymouth, MA, USA

Steering lock my wife drove the car to church from there to her moms from there to work from there home we was getting ready to go back to church car would not start. Warning light on dash showed steering lock. I looked on line there are a number of complaints listed for same problem they said Nissan would fix it for $700-$1000 web site says you can beat on control and this might fix it. If Nissan know they have the problem why dont they do a recall we do not have the money to fix the problem and a lot of other people do not.

- Monticello, KY, USA

Car wouldn't start in early morning. Nissan states steering lock. This has been reported as a known issue yet Nissan has not recalled the item. They even limit the warranty (which mine is out by 3 months). How can that be? they install a part that is known to prevent a car from starting and possibly leaving people stranded in dangerous areas or on interstates yet won't recall and want to charge us over $1000 to fix. Absolutely crazy. I hope you mandate a recall or I will join in class action lawsuit.

- Tallahassee, FL, USA

Car would not start in super market parking lot.had to be towed to Nissan dealer causing much traffic congestion in the very busy lot, as the car was being loaded onto the truck.Nissan is aware of the faulty part and is not issuing a recall.just check out the internet for all the complaints.

- Little Silver, NJ, USA

I went to start my car to go to work and the ignition locked and the car would not start. Needless to say I was late for work because of this incident and had to rely on someone else for a ride. I called the dealer ship and they explained to me that the steering lock probably failed on the car. I had to have the car towed to bowser. I got a called today confirming it was steering lock failure and that it would cost almost a thousand dollars to fix. I did some research and found that this is a common problem with the car. I asked the dealer ship if they have had many other cars with this problem and they explained that they have. As I continued to do more research, I found that this is an engineering flaw on Nissan's behalf. I do not believe I should have to pay for an engineering flaw that should have been a recall in the first place.

- West Newton , PA, USA

Vehicle would not crank vehicle needs steering column lock actuator.

- Oklahoma City , OK, USA

Last Friday my car would not start. We try different things to get it going and it finally worked. Today the same incident happened and started doingnsome research online online tonfind out this vehicles had a malfunction for a electronic steering column lock. I called the dealership to get my vehicle fixed and they stated the extension expired in February of this year. I asked why were the consumers not notified. He gave me H 1800 number for Nissan to see I they can help out with this issue that apparently tons people are having.

- El Paso , TX, USA

Steering lock escl, malfunctioned and car wouldn't start. I was at my job leaving to pick up my 2 children from school, and could not get my car to start. I had to wait for my sister to get out of work to pick me up and then go get my kids who were waiting at school long after hours to be picked up. Nissan acknowledges that the error was theirs during manufacturing but did not notify Altima owners and now I missed the "extended warranty" by 3 months when this should have been recalled in the first place and the cost to repair is over $1,000. Thankfully my father in law was able to tow my car, but this has happened to 100S of Nissan Altima owners in the 2009 models. He was able to do a temporary fix, but it has not been replaced due to the expense that I cannot spare right now. But just because it doesn't happen while driving doesn't mean that it is not a safety issue. Not being able to start your car in for example, winter, at night, on a vacation or far from home, with my 2 young elementary school daughters in the car with me is a safety issue!!!!!!!!! if a recall never happens, then this will be the last Nissan I ever own, and I will be spreading the word on facebook as well!!!!!!

- Fletcher, NC, USA

I had no electrical service in the vehicle at all, the ignition would not turn on the steering wheel was locked.

- Landisville, PA, USA

I drove to pick up my daughter from the babysitter and I parked my car alongside the curb. It was less than 10 min and we went to the car and it would not start. I performed my usual routine when starting it...insert key in slot...press foot down on brake...then press the ignition start button and it still would not start. I tried the same routine a second time only to no avail. Finally on the third time...my instrument panel displayed a yellow key and a red key and it the ignition button stayed in the lock position. I eventually called a tow truck and when he arrived he knew exactly what it was. I was informed by the tow driver that it was a steering wheel lock issue and the only reason he knew was because I was his 6th Nissan in over a three day span. Apparently...Nissan is aware of this issue but refuses to acknowledge this issue as a recall.

- Saginaw, MI, USA

The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the steering lock control unit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unavailable.

- Springville , UT, USA

Just finished a 13 hour shift at work when I went out to my car to head home. The key fob opened the doors but would not allow the ignition to start. I had the car towed to the dealership and they told me it was a steering wheel lock failure, which Nissan is well aware of. I spoke with two dealerships which told me this is indeed a chronic issue. I submitted a claim to Nissan Consumer Affairs which they denied since my warranty had expired 8 weeks prior. When I returned to the dealership they again advised me to complain to Consumer Affairs as they had 5 cars come in for the same problem in the 4 days that my car was there. I again called Consumer Affairs who told me again that my claim was denied on the grounds that the warranty was expired, they would not budge on this. I had to argue with the representative for 15 minutes before he would have his supervisor call me back, still waiting for that call. Nissan is very aware that this part is defective and expect the consumer to eat the costs when the part inevitably fails. They say that this is not a safety concern, but do not take into account the possibility of being stranded. Nissan does not stand by its product or its consumers.

- Highland, UT, USA

Electronic steering column lock (escl) failed while car was parked. This could certainly be a safety issue if it occurred late at night or in a dangerous area. The dealer said there was a short in this. Could this have caused a fire" could they have fixed the short without charging me $993.65 because it was 3 months past the 6 year extended warranty" car has only 26466 miles on it. The starting mechanism which senses the brake being depressed had failed previously, and fixed under warranty, when I was far from home at a lakeside. Two electrical starting failures on the same vehicle. From their web site: Your Nissan vehicle is equipped with an electronic steering column lock (escl) unit that locks the steering wheel when the vehicle is parked and the ignition is turned off to help prevent theft. On some vehicles, due to a manufacturing irregularity that has since been corrected, the escl may malfunction after the vehicle is locked and could prevent the engine from starting. This condition, should it occur, will only occur when attempting to start the vehicle, and not while driving. Although Nissan believes the majority of owners will never experience this unique condition, to assure your continued satisfaction and confidence in your vehicle, Nissan has decided to extend the Nissan new vehicle limited warranty, as it applies to the escl unit, from 3 years / 36,000 miles to 6 years / unlimited miles, whichever comes first. Access to complete information and instructions including a reimbursement claim form will be available at www.nissanassist.com on April 1, 2013.

- Bloomington , IN, USA

On February 21, 2015, while traveling 300+ miles out of town my 2009 Nissan Altima failed due to the broadly known issue of "steering column lockout, " in which the car will not start and requires a tow to the dealer for expensive repairs. I am requesting the NHTSA launch or expand an investigation of this known issue and provide a public warning to drivers of Nissan vehicles. The car had regular service on February 10, 2015, at mossy Nissan oceanside, ca and I was told "safe to drive" for my trip out of state. It wasn't, the dealer doesn't check for this well known issue during service. Nissan refuses to issue a full recall, instead extending the warranty to 1,000,000 miles or 5 years. In this way Nissan profits from repairs of cars failing after 5 years yet before or after 1,000,000 miles when the car strands drivers, and because not a full recall there is no physical evidence for an NHTSA investigation. Nissan does not have the controls to know which vehicles will fail, as evidenced by my and multiple pages of identical complaints filed with the NHTSA. I and my family do not accept the multiple apologies from Nissan, and there is no way for Nissan to make up for me missing my daughter's event. Nissan's actions indicate they are not interested in passenger safety. This Nissan has stranded me 5 times since purchased new in 2009 from mossy Nissan oceanside, an authorized Nissan dealer. Regarding passenger safety, also the airbag system has failed to turn on to protect passengers. On airbag failure, Nissan tested the airbag on my vehicle with a male passenger and stated they didn't see an issue, misleading myself, customers, and the NHTSA by testing with a male passenger over 120 pounds yet publishing results as applying to both genders - a female passenger will likely need to be over 150 pounds to be protected by the Nissan passenger airbag system.

- Carlsbad, CA, USA

On a very cold day (O degrees F), the steering lock control unit failed and car could not be started. Car needed to be towed to dealership and the steering lock control unit replaced at a total cost of $1106.98.

- Milwaukee, WI, USA