I went to turn on my husband's 2010 Nissan Maxima this morning, and it didn't turn on. The brake pedal was hard to push, and the start button didn't do anything but illuminate the "lock" light above the start button. I pulled out the owners manual to see what the problem was, and once I followed the instructions that were in the owners manual to unlock the steering wheel, nothing happened. I had to call a tow company to have the car towed to the nearest Nissan dealership. The service advisor that assisted me said that is would be covered by the "Nissan extended warranty" that they had for this specific issue (steering wheel lock) but then when I called later to get an update, she advised me that unfortunately my car did not meet the warranty criteria, whatever that means. After doing some research online, I have noticed many 2010 Nissan Maxima's having the same issue, so as to why they only cover the 2009's is beyond my understanding. This is a serious issue that I hope Nissan can correct for the 2010 Maxima owners.

- Vista, CA, USA

The electronic steering column lock (escl) failed on my 2010 Nissan Maxima. Nissan wants over $900 out of pocket to replace the part although this is a documented problem in many different models and years of Nissan vehicles that use the same part. There is no recall or reimbursement program in place as this time. There is for the 2009 Altima and Maxima but not the 2010 models even though they use the same part. My car functions completely fine but without this part being replaced I cannot start my car. Something needs to be done about this immediately.

- Bend, OR, USA

I have 2010 Nissan Maxima sv. Stopped by for gas and the start button did not respond. Read online and found potential steering lock issue. Called Nissan consumer service before contacting dealer. Say have to bring to dealer to diagnose. Nissan consumer totally useless. Confirm and did not help. Say there was a campaign for recall on steering wheel lock failure but does not applies to my vehicle. I asked at least help on the cost or discount on parts since it's manufacture defect. They say no. Have no choice. Paid 110 to tow to dealer and 900 bucks for part and labor to fix out of pocket. Not happy consumer. Hopefully if we get enough complaints in.. Nissan will do mandatory recall if we get government involvement. Please every one with similar issues file the complaint reports.!!!!

- Leander, TX, USA

My wife went shopping before the blizzard, came out car wouldn't start, I hear this is a common on this year of car.

- Fall River, MI, USA

The contact owns a 2010 Nissan Maxima. When the contact applied the brake pedal to shift the vehicle into drive, the engine stalled and an unknown warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle did not restart. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering lock control unit failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 39,000. Updated 04/06/15 updated 9/21/2017

- Pawtucket, RI, USA

My car would not start was able to open the doors to the car but could not start the car. Car was towed to Nissan service station was told the steering lock had to be replaced for internal failure and it was no longer under warranty. $899.67 dollars later and as I'm leaving the service station I'm told my warranty was up by a few days and also Nissan had extended the warranty for 2009 models but not 2010 models this is a copy taken from nissanassist.com released in 2013 (Q1.what is the reason for warranty extension? a. to ensure customer satisfaction. Model year 2009 Altima and Maxima vehicles are 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. Nissan has determined that on a small number of vehicles, due to a manufacturing irregularity that has since been corrected, the escl may malfunction after the steering column is locked and could prevent the engine from starting.what will be the corrective action? a. Nissan will extend its new vehicle limited warranty coverage for the affected part numbers from its original duration of 36 months/ 36,000 miles to 72 months/unlimited miles ) I investigated on line and there are many complaints by owners with 2010 models that have this same problem Nissan admits to a manufacture problem how can they not be responsible for replacing it free of charge for all 2010 with the same problem.

- Flushing , NY, USA

Could not start my car the morning on 1/14/15. Had car towed to dealership who stated the steering lock mechanism needed to be replaced and this was a known Nissan issue. However, my year and model was not covered under an extended warranty as some 2009 models were for the same issue. Called Nissan and they would not cover the replacement unless this became a known issue on 2010S as well, and a recall or extended warranty was issued.

- Omaha, NE, USA

My boyfriend and I were driving. We parked the car to get out and we turned the car off. We forgot to close the sunroof and went to crank the car back up to close the sunroof but it would not start. We had no clue at first what was wrong. We called Nissan. They told us we would have to bring the car to them. But stated it could be the battery in the car or the battery in the keys. And also it could be the key lost programming with the car. So we went and bought batteries for the keys and also sent and bought a battery for the car. And still no luck. Then we called the locksmith out to reprogram the keys. Still no luck. Lots of money already lost. We then began to search the internet. Came across so many complaints of the same issue. I went to Nissan talked to service department. I was told I had no recalls in my car. That they would have to hook it up to a machine to determine the cause of the problem whuchnis 105 dollars and still I would have to pay for getting it fixed. In was very upset. I told them many people are complaining about this same issue. My boyfriend also called Nissan affairs. We were told the same thing again. This is a safety issue. What if a child N mother break down over this and get robbed or even killed cause there car would not crank over Nissan ignoring there customer issues. This is there problem. And they need to fix it. There are too many people complain in I about the same issues for a recall not to be placed. The customer service is horrible. You care more about there money than there customers and their safety. I also was told they no longer use this part model because it is defective. I will never by from Nissan again. I will go to the news paper and the news about. Nissan and how they will not help their customers on a part that is defective and will not recall.

- Bolivia, NC, USA

Steering lock malfunctioned and vehicle will not start. Dealer states no recall but extended warranty which mine expired a few months ago. This should be a recall!!!!!! they know it is an issue on all 2009-2010 models and should have them all fixed considering they no longer use the same steering lock mechanism. Car will not start until piece is fixed.

- Rahway, NJ, USA

The electric steering wheel lock mechanism failed. Nissan knows this is a faulty part issue. They issued a recall for 2009 Maximas. They changed the part out in late 2010 models. However, those of us with early 2010 models are out of luck. We do not fall inside recall and we did not get the new part so all of us with failure have to pay to have vehicles towed to a dealership and pay $1,000 ($700 parts & $300 labor) for the repair. The vehicle literally will not even start. You cannot even get it into neutral so not sure how it can be towed. I am second owner and have less than 40,000 miles on car. I love the car and was thinking about getting a second one for wife to drive. Will not buy another Nissan nor recommend that anyone else do so if this is how they treat the consumer! I want this faulty part fixed free of charge!

- Bowling Green, KY, USA

My car was completely disabled after multiple attempts to start it with the steering wheel lock indicator light on. Had to get my car towed to the dealership closest to me since I had no other option because it would not start. The tow truck driver needed to manually put my car in neutral because it was not in a convenient location to get it on the truck. Not sure what I would have done if I had parallel parked it at work since clearly there was no other way turn it on and move it. Since my car is a 2010, Nissan customer claims rep. Refuses to do anything since it wasn't a 2009 model which had a recall for the same exact part. Apparently they used a "different manufacturer" even though my car was built in the year 2009. Obviously this is a fault in the design of this part since not only one manufacturer but two are causing this issue in 2009 and 2010 models. Apparently they do not feel as though they are responsible despite multiple complaints and do not care about customer satisfaction. I had to take my car to the closet dealership service department which charged me $967.50 to get it fixed with the hopes that Nissan would own up to their faulty equipment. I could have taken it to my mechanic who would have done it cheaper, however this is clearly not something I should be responsible for paying. I think it's completely ridiculous that Nissan hasn't done anything about this since they clearly acknowledge the issue and have reimbursed the 2009 model year owners. I will not be recommending anyone buy their cars until this issue has been resolved. Every time I get in my car, I will be bitter about driving it and will never purchase another one. In fact I had almost talked a friend to swapping their 98' Maxima to a newer one by talking about all the great features such as heated steering wheel, navigation, back up camera etc. Now they're looking at other options.

- Sewell, NJ, USA

I went to start my car and it would not start. The key fob worked and lights inside car would turn on. When I pushed on brake and start button, nothing happened. I took the car to dealer and was told the steering wheel lock mechanism was broken and needed to be replaced. I was told the exact same part on 2009 models had a recall, but not 2010 models. It seems to be that the units themselves are faulty and should be replaced by the manufacturer as defective since I have read multiple complaints regarding this issue.

- Hoboken, NJ, USA

Electronic steering column lock - (escl) failed. Car will not start. Key fob is operational. Known issue with 2009-2010 Nissan. Units are defective, Nissan not willing to take responsibility for 2010 parts. Failure will happen instantly, and will leave you stranded anytime anyplace. Vehicle has to be towed to dealership for repair. Repair cost is >$1,000

- Tucson, AZ, USA

I tried to start my car this morning but the car would not start. There was yellow light that said key and when I tried to depress the brake nothing happened. There was an extended warranty for the 2009 Maximas for the same exact issue that I have - its due to the steering column locking. No extended warranty was given for the 2010's which is wrong because clearly there still a problem with the steering column that was not fixed for the 2010 models but Nissan stated that is was infact fixed and no warranty/discount/etc will be given for the 2010S. I will have to pay over $1000 for faulty design due to Nissan. Never buying another Nissan again!

- Bowie, MD, USA

I went to turn on the car and it wouldn't come on but had a yellow key light on the dash. Key fob would work to lock and unlock the car, but the brake wouldn't depress, and could not shift. Looked for possible solutions online and found numerous issues for the same problem with the steering lock. Warranty only covers 2009 Nissan Maxima.

- Omaha, NE, USA

The steering lock assembly is faulty in many 2009 and 2010 Maximas, as well as other Nissan. An extended warranty for 6 years/ unlimited miles was issued for 2009 Maximas only, even though Nissan knows that the same issue affects 2010 Maximas. Nissan has worked with other customers and reimbursed them for the faulty part they installed, but they were not interested in helping me because of the mileage on my car. However, if the same warranty was issued, I would have been covered since I still fall in the 6 year timeframe. Nissan should issue a recall for these faulty parts, or at least extend the same coverage to other Nissan since they know they installed a faulty part. I paid $869.17 for the part, $83 to be towed to the dealership since the car wouldn't start because of the faulty part, and $35 for a rental from the dealership. This was a very expensive issue to fix. Nissan should reimburse me for this repair since the part installed is faulty and it is known by Nissan that it is faulty.

- Owings, MD, USA

The contact owns a 2010 Nissan Maxima. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the start button was depressed and the key warning light illuminated. As a result, the vehicle failed to start after multiple attempts. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering wheel lock needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 59,500. Updated 01/2021/15 updated 01/26/15

- Weathersville, CT, USA

I went to pick my child up from work at 1130 pm came back out and car wouldn't start. It repeat said lock..

- Oxford, MS, USA

I own a 2010 Nissan Maxima on November 21, 2014 after leaving work. I notice a yellow indicator light on my dashboard. Initially I thought my key fob had a weak battery, so I called my brother to pick up my extra valet key. However that did not work, I was eventually towed to the Nissan dealership where my car was diagnose for a failure in the electronic steering column lock (escl), as a result of consistently trying to start the car my battery failed too. Consequently, I had to pay for the escl part and a new battery, I was out of pocket $1286 due to the warranty do not cover the escl part in 2010 Nissan Maxima"S. I contacted Nissan North America Consumer Affairs and was denied a reimbursement due to being out of the warranty protection 36 months/36,000 miles. After further research I see this is an ongoing issue with several consumers. I will be doing my due diligence to ensure that this matter is more than just identify by Nissan but that a reimbursement plus extended warranty is awarded to all 2010 Nissan Maxima"S owners that can provide proof of this matter.

- Saint Louis , MO, USA

I have a 2010 Nissan Maxima. It was purchased about 3 months ago. As I was trying to leave work last week, the car would not start. There was a red key light on in the upper left corner of the dash. I called a local Nissan dealer and they told me that my key battery was more than likely just dead. After I replaced the battery, the car still would not start. I called the dealer back and they told me that my key may need to be reprogrammed and I would have to tow the car to the dealership. After being at the dealer for an hour I was informed that the key was fine, and the issue was with the steering lock assembly. The consultant told me the repair would cost $925.82. I was shocked that a $5 issue had jumped to almost $1000. I immediately began researching the issue, and was able to find a statement by Nissan North America (wbi/13-009) that admitted the part in question had been defective. Nissan extended the warranty for the 2009 models to 6 years/ unlimited miles, but why would they not do the same for all models with the same issue? the consultant advised me to call 1-800-nissan1 to request compensation for the repairs. I was told that my vehicle was out of the 3 year/ 36,000 mile warranty and did not qualify, even though it was the same part that malfunctioned. I was also told that if they decided to do anything in the future I would be contacted later. I find this to be unacceptable. I do not think consumers should be responsible for costs associated with parts that are known to fail repeatedly. I have come across numerous forums, websites, and videos that discuss this same issue. I feel that Nissan needs to take responsibility and actions to help loyal customers resolve this recurring malfunction that has left many stranded onside of the road. I hope that I will soon be reimbursed for this unexpected and outrageous expense.

- Charlotte, NC, USA