| Issue ID | 949903 |
| Internal NHTSA # | 10483610 |
| Manufacurer | Nissan North America, Inc. |
| Brand | NISSAN |
| Model | ALTIMA HYBRID |
| Model Year | 2009 |
| File date | 02/11/12 |
| Component | STEERING |
| Product type code | VEHICLE |
| Description of the problem | The steering lock unit (part number 48700-9n00b) needed replacement. The steering lock unit did not properly engage when the vehicle was turned off. Because the unit did not engage, the vehicle would not start. I was left stranded in a parking garage at night and had to have the vehicle towed. The nearest dealership was in alexandria, va. They charged $900 to diagnose and repair this problem. Since the vehicle had over 36,000 miles, it was not covered under warranty. This is a widely known issue with nissan vehicles and is present on several online forums. Most of the steering lock unit failures occur after the warranty period, but before 60k miles. There is an existing safety recall for the 2009 nissan gt-r model for the steering lock unit (campaign id p0309). This is nissan's top tier vehicle. At this time nissan has chosen not to issue a recall for other models to include the altima. Anyone driving a nissan with this known issue can be stranded at any time. |
| Vehicle Mileage at Failure | 57000 |
| Number of Occurences | 1 |
| Source of the issue | NHTSA WEB SITE |
| City and State | ARLINGTON, VA |
| VIN pattern | 1N4CL21E59CXXXXXX |
| Was vehicle invloved in a crash? | N |
| Was vehicle involved in a fire? | N |
| Was incedent reported to police? | N |
| Was medical attention required? | |
| Was part original equipment? | |
| No. of injured persons | 0 |
| No. of fatalities | 0 |
| Date of purchase | 07/08/26 |
| Was original owner? | N |
| Anti-lock brakes | N |
| Cruise control | N |
| Number of cylinders | 4 |
| Drive train type | |
| Transmission type | |
| Vehicle speed | 0 |
| DoT tire identifier | |
| Tire size | |
| Location of tire code | |
| Type of tire failure code | |
| Was defective tire repaired? | |
| Date of manufacture | |
| Type of child seat code | |
| Type of restraint | |
| Dealer's name | |
| Dealer's telephone number | |
| Dealer's city | |
| Dealer's state code | |
| Dealer's ZIP code |