| Issue ID | 1699504 |
| Internal NHTSA # | 11365957 |
| Manufacurer | Nissan North America, Inc. |
| Brand | NISSAN |
| Model | ALTIMA |
| Model Year | 2009 |
| File date | 21/10/20 |
| Component | ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL |
| Product type code | VEHICLE |
| Description of the problem | Model 09 altima has a known defect where the steering wheel column locks because it is unable to identify its own key. The car was stationary in a parking lot but this could have happend anywhere if this part had failed on the side of the road for example. The vehicle operates using push start and there is no physical key to start the engine outside of inserting the fob, which also didnt work. On 10/21/2020 the anti theft system failed to recognize the key/fob and there is no other way to turn on the car and it has to be towed. This is the second time this part failed randomly and rendered the car inoperable, the first time was in 2014. Nissan covered replacing this part the first time after a service campaign but is now refusing to do so for this non wear and tear problem. This is an extremely concerning and frustrating safety problem as this part can fail at any time and prevent the car from starting or moving, outside of towing and this was the second time this issue have happened. I have contacted nissan and they refuse to financially help, warranty or reimburse us for a safety manufacturer defect that prevents the car from recognizing its own key/fob with no alternative way to start the car. The cost of repair at a nissan dealership was $800+ to be able to get into our own car after nissan refused to help us for their own manufacturer failure. This issue is a safety problem for many drivers on the road who own this make and model car and maybe suspect to their car getting completely disabled at any time from this part's failure with no alternative but to tow it out of the way. Thank you for your review |
| Vehicle Mileage at Failure | 117000 |
| Number of Occurences | |
| Source of the issue | NHTSA WEB SITE |
| City and State | INDIANAPOLIS, IN |
| VIN pattern | 1N4AL21E89NXXXXXX |
| Was vehicle invloved in a crash? | N |
| Was vehicle involved in a fire? | N |
| Was incedent reported to police? | N |
| Was medical attention required? | N |
| Was part original equipment? | |
| No. of injured persons | |
| No. of fatalities | |
| Date of purchase | 07/08/26 |
| Was original owner? | N |
| Anti-lock brakes | N |
| Cruise control | N |
| Number of cylinders | |
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| Vehicle speed | |
| 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 |