My vehicle begin to not start properly around November 2014. It has since got to the point that it will not start, due to a malfunction of the electronic steering control lock. I found this out after some trouble shooting and research. I also found that this is a known issue with this vehicle and yet a full recall was never made, due to it being labeled as not a safety issue. My wife and 18 month old son were stranded in 14 degree weather for over 3 hours today and the wind chill was below zero. I do not understand how a company like Nissan can get away with saying this malfunction is not a safety issue. Nissan has acknowledged the issue, but claims it will not be covered as our car is out of warranty. We never received anything stating that there was possibly a defective part on our car. There are numerous complaints about this online and I'm sure several have already filed complaints here as well. Nissan now wants us to pay out of pocket for an authorized dealership to diagnose the problem that we have already diagnosed, I find this to be an unacceptable business practice, which indicates they are more concerned with money then the welfare of their customers. I have had several vehicles that had recalls and never once was I required to pay to have it checked out.

- Odenton, MD, USA

On Monday, Jan 26, ,2015 my Nissan Altima would not start or turn over due to the steering lock. I contacted Nissan dealership to get assistance by describing what issue I was having with my car. I provided the following to service representative; my car would not turn over and the key symbol light is appearing on my dash board. I was told by the rep at Nissan that I would need to have my car towed to the Nissan dealership/auto nation asap. My car was towed on Monday everning Jan 26, 2015. My car was under warranty (so I thought), I contacted my warranty service and was told my warranty expired Nov 26, 2014. On the auto nation invoice it says (replace steering lock and performed regsition on steering lock). My car repaired on tue, Jan 27, 2015 and I was able to pick-up my car on wed, Jan 28, 2015.the total repair cost was $1,067.47.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

The electronic steering column lock suddenly failed, resulting in the inability to start the car. I had to tow the car to the dealership to find out that the issue is out of warranty and would cost be $900+. after researching the issue, I found thousands of similar experiences with the 2009 Altima and it is clear that Nissan is well aware of this issue and they have not issued a recall. I was stranded, away from home, and had to rearrange my entire day while coming out of pocket a large sum of money which I, quite frankly, do not have. I submitted a warranty extension reimbursement form to Nissan who turned around and told me that I was out of luck. I was referred to the Nissan Consumer Affairs who confirmed that I was out of luck. I never received any notice that there was a recurring issue with the 2009 Nissan Altima, otherwise, I would have taken the car in to correct the problem before it became a problem. I am only 3 months outside of their extended warranty to be eligible for a reimbursement. It appears to me that Nissan is aware of this problem but refuses to stand by their product.

- Henderson, NV, USA

The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the steering wheel lock mechanism was fractured. The vehicle was completely shut off and did not restart. The vehicle was towed to a dealer who stated that the steering lock mechanism failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 104,000.

- Demopolis, AL, USA

The electronic steering column locking mechanism is faulty and will not recognize the key pad and refuses to allow the push button starter to start the engine. According to what is on the internet, Nissan knows of this problem.

- Marietta, GA, USA

My 2009 Nissan Altima did not start. My car was towed to the bay ridge Nissan dealer. I was told that I had a steering column lock problem. They said that I might have a warranty but it was most likely expired. If I was to do other work on the car, they could make a pitch to the manufacturer to cover the steering column lock cost. To make a long story short, they told me that I had other problems, control arm, wheel alignment and service maintenance and I need to get it fix which total over $900. The warranty to fix the steering column lock would only apply if I was to agree to do this other "needed" work. The bay ridge Nissan advisor told me that I would have to pay the full charge of the steering column lock $966.63 if I did not agree to do the other work. At the time this happened, I did not know that I had an extended warranty. I did not find out until after the car was fixed and a second problem developed. They took full advantage of my situation to sell me services I didn't need. I'm very angry about this. If anyone knows of a good lawyer, please let me know. The manufacturer should have informed their customers about the extended warranty and dealers should be honoring the extended warranty, not taking advantage of customer's bad situation to make a profit. I will never buy another Nissan vehicle again. I contacted the Nissan Consumer Affairs too and they turned a blind eye, saying that they "resolved" the problem. They would not give me a refund and said they spoke to the dealer. This is their idea of "resolved". this is totally not acceptable. No one is taking responsibility for this dishonesty, not the manufacturer, not the dealer, not even the Nissan Consumer Affairs bureau. They are the worst car company ever with zero accountability for their defects. I hope no one will have to die before they decide to recall this defect.

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the electronic steering lock needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 67,000. Updated 03/24/15 updated 10/19/2015

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

After replacing the battery the vehicle will not start / tow vehicle to dealer and got an estimate of $1150 for the steering lock sensor. I am disappointed and ask if I had to take a certain procedure to replace the battery dealer service advisor respond no......what happened the? no answer.

- San Bernardino, CA, USA

Drove car to gas station and after filling with gas car would no longer start. Car did not recognize key fob. The steering lock is broken and requires $800 to repair. Spoke with tow truck driver who took car to dealer and they tow a lot of these to the shop each week with the same problem. Incident is not isolated.

- Appleton, WI, USA

Car won't start due to the electronic steering column lock being defective.

- Nettleton, MS, USA

Steering wheel lock unit will no longer lock or unlock causing the car not to start.

- Matawan, NJ, USA

My original incident date was not correct and I did not include the VIN# of the vehicle so I am submitting an updated complaint date complaint filed: 12/08/2014 component(s): Electrical system, engine, steering date of incident: 11/27/2014 NHTSA id number: 10662919 as previously stated I drove my 2009 Nissan Altima 2.5S to work on 12/04, I drove my 2009 Nissan Altima 2.5 SE to work and it started up just fine. However, when I went to leave work for the day the car would not turn over. The keyless remote allowed me to lock and unlock my car, but the car did not start. Instead an error code shows that the electronic steering column lock (escl) mechanism was malfunctioning. Also, there is a yellow key icon on the left side of the dash that intermittently flashes no key. There were no prior warning that the part was about to fail including any lights on the dash panel. I was left stranded trying to find a way home. Due to being in a parking garage I had to leave my car for several days waiting for a tow truck with clearance to enter the garage. Since I cannot afford to pay the repairs at this time I have been a month with no car. Nissan is still refusing to repair my car indicating that it falls outside of the warranty extension period. Which is interesting considering there is a detailed letter explaining the warranty which clearly states, "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." - www.nissanassist.com/web/escl_warranty_extension/programdetails.php?menu=61 basic math shows that 6 years from 2009 would be 2015 not 2014. So I am still not certain as to how I am outside of the warranty period. Seeing as how my claim was originally filed in 2014 this should make me eligible for repairs under the covered warranty.

- Detroit, MI, USA

Upon arriving back to car after attending church it would not start. Steering wheel was not locked, ignition light would not come off of lock, battery was good. Had to have vehicle towed. Left us stranded. Talked to Nissan dealership in austin and said it was probably steering lock mechanism as have had several problems with 2009 Nissan. Said it was not under warranty and would cost around $1,000. Upon researching found this is a very common problem! why not a recall?

- West Point , TX, USA

I got into my 2009 Nissan Altima 2.5 S and I pushed the start ignition button and my car would not start. It was the steering column lock set that controls the entire vehicle's starting capabilities. I had to pay for a tow truck to come tow my car way across town to a auto-nation Nissan dealership in farmers branch, Texas on the corner of welch road and high way 635. They said that this should be covered on the extended warranty and it is not however this is a recall item that Nissan should cover the cost for all of their customer's who purchased this rotten vehicle in the first place with this built in obsolescence or designed to break down and shut down on the owner and "leave them stranded" why would you knowingly allow this defect on all of these million's of manufactured defected "junk" of a car why would you Nissan allow this piece of sh_ T vehicle to be made knowing that this would be a "huge inconvenience to the customer vehicle owner" I was told by Nissan autonation's [xxx] that the cost for repairing this piece of junk of a poorly and cheaply made car would cost me $849 plus tax. What the [xxx] is the matter with you people" are you out of your F mind!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Dallas, TX, USA

The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the steering wheel locking mechanism caused the vehicle to fail to start. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 80,000.

- Cedar City , UT, USA

The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to restart. In addition, the electronic steering column lock (escl) warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that wheel lock needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 65,000.

- Charleston, WV, USA

2009 Nissan Altima 2.5S coupe. Car started fine in the morning, then failed to start (did not crank) after sitting in parking lot for 1 hour. Yellow "intelligent key" and red "security indicator" light were lit on dash, otherwise no other indications on the dash. Tried jumping battery and changing key battery, no luck. Called local Nissan dealership, they suspected steering interlock issue, stated that there was a warranty extension on this. Had vehicle towed to dealer. They confirmed it was the steering interlock and fixed it under warranty. Nissan is supposedly reimbursing for part of the tow charge also. Fortunately, car was still within the warranty time limit. Dealer stated there was no recall issued, "Nissan figured if there was going to be a problem, it would occur within a certain time period". I was lucky to be near home and dealership when this happened, could have been worse. Not sure why they wouldn't issue a recall on this type of thing.

- Ballston Lake, NY, USA

The contact owns a 2009 Nissan Altima. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start and the key system warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence where an independent mechanic diagnosed that the electronic steering column box needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 38,000.

- Monticello, NY, USA

The car was driven to a doctor's appointment. When we returned to the car, it would not start. We jumped the battery and nothing would happen. No lights would turn on in the car and the brake was very hard to push down. We did some research online and found that there was a huge problem with the steering mount. We attempted to get it started the next day by following directions online but no luck. We had it towed and found out it was in fact the steering mount. It is a large expense, impacted by the fact that the car had to be taken to a Nissan plant to be reprogrammed, adding an additional 280 dollars. This part needs a mass recall!

- Brandon, MS, USA

Car would not start after work on 12/16/14. Locks worked fine and doors unlocked. Tried jumping car battery and changing batteries in key with no success. Had car towed to local Nissan dealership that night. After looking at car on 12/17/14, local shop advised the issue to be the electronic steering column lock. After reviewing this to be a common issue, so common Nissan extended warranty for this model for this part to 6 yrs unlimited miles (my car has about 80,000 miles). I ask the service advisor at the Nissan dealer was there any recall on this part because of all the issues with it. I was told no and it would cost $1196 to repair it. So I call Nissan Consumer Affairs for any chance of covering under this warranty. Nissan stated they would not do anything until I had a dealer review the issue. Dealer confirmed issue. But I was fully denied was told the warranty had expired October of 2014 and they could not do anything, with the large volume of complaints here and Nissan own admission of known issue by extending warranty for this model year and part, something more needs to be done. Im very disappointed with Nissan. Since 2007 I have purchased 4 Nissan an at this point I will never spend my hard earn money on another Nissan please spread the word on how Nissan is treating their so called "valued customers'.

- Elgin, SC, USA