Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||||
| NTB-09-030 | 04/06/2009 | 10030165 | Nissan: the 12 volt battery is an important part of the vehicle electrical system and is required to stay connected when the engine is running. to prevent damage to vehicle electronic components follow the instructions/cautions. no mod | 08/12/2009 | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY | |||||
| NTB-09-030 | 04/06/2009 | 10030165 | Nissan: the 12 volt battery is an important part of the vehicle electrical system and is required to stay connected when the engine is running. to prevent damage to vehicle electronic components follow the instructions/cautions. no mod | 08/12/2009 | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY - CABLES | |||||
| NTB-09-030 | 04/06/2009 | 10030165 | Nissan: the 12 volt battery is an important part of the vehicle electrical system and is required to stay connected when the engine is running. to prevent damage to vehicle electronic components follow the instructions/cautions. no mod | 08/12/2009 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||
| 02/22/2013 | 44000 | ||
| My wife went to start her 2009 altima hybrid with the intelligent key system. nothing happened, the key indicator on the left of the instrument panel was lit. she tried the key in the in dash slot and still nothing. batteries were good in both key fob's we tried, car battery was good also. it turned out to be the steering lock motor and switch. you could hear the steering lock work but evidently it never contacted the switch to show it was unlocked so the car would not start or even go into accessory mode. parts and labor were $923 ($550 for the part, the rest labor) towing was another $100. nissan would not help out even though i read in nissan forums that it's been a recall item on a different model and that they didn't use the same system in newer cars. | |||
| 02/05/2013 | 32000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2009 nissan altima. the contact attempted to start the ignition but the engine failed to operate. the vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing. the computerized chip was replaced. the manufacturer was notified of the problem. the approximate failure mileage was 32,000. | |||
| 02/22/2013 | 44000 | ||
| My wife went to start her 2009 altima hybrid with the intelligent key system. nothing happened, the key indicator on the left of the instrument panel was lit. she tried the key in the in dash slot and still nothing. batteries were good in both key fob's we tried, car battery was good also. it turned out to be the steering lock motor and switch. you could hear the steering lock work but evidently it never contacted the switch to show it was unlocked so the car would not start or even go into accessory mode. parts and labor were $923 ($550 for the part, the rest labor) towing was another $100. nissan would not help out even though i read in nissan forums that it's been a recall item on a different model and that they didn't use the same system in newer cars. | |||
| 02/05/2013 | 32000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2009 nissan altima. the contact attempted to start the ignition but the engine failed to operate. the vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing. the computerized chip was replaced. the manufacturer was notified of the problem. the approximate failure mileage was 32,000. | |||
| 02/22/2013 | 44000 | ||
| My wife went to start her 2009 altima hybrid with the intelligent key system. nothing happened, the key indicator on the left of the instrument panel was lit. she tried the key in the in dash slot and still nothing. batteries were good in both key fob's we tried, car battery was good also. it turned out to be the steering lock motor and switch. you could hear the steering lock work but evidently it never contacted the switch to show it was unlocked so the car would not start or even go into accessory mode. parts and labor were $923 ($550 for the part, the rest labor) towing was another $100. nissan would not help out even though i read in nissan forums that it's been a recall item on a different model and that they didn't use the same system in newer cars. | |||
| 02/05/2013 | 32000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2009 nissan altima. the contact attempted to start the ignition but the engine failed to operate. the vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing. the computerized chip was replaced. the manufacturer was notified of the problem. the approximate failure mileage was 32,000. mah | |||
| 02/07/2013 | 68000 | ||
| Car operated normally in the morning, able to start and drove perfectly fine to the office. when i went to start my car to go get lunch, the car would not start and the intelligent key light flashed. i called the local dealership and was told the fob must have somehow un-synced. aaa towed to dealership, was then told that my steering control lock had failed and needed to be replaced. due to high demand from the part (indicating a significant current failure rate) the part would not be available for almost a week. i then went home and googled the issue, found http://www.arfc.org/complaints/2009/nissan/altima/?q=&page=24 where hundreds of complaints about this particular part failing over the past year were being reported. what if i wasn't at the office? i could have been stranded anywhere, in the middle of winter. this poses a serious health risk. beyond that, the total cost of repair was almost $800. | |||
| 02/07/2013 | 35700 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2009 nissan altima hybrid. the contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. the contact towed the vehicle to a dealer. the diagnostic test showed a defective steering lock control module which prevented the vehicle from starting. the dealer did not have the part replaced due to the part being on back order. the failure mileage was 35,700. the vin was not available. mah | |||
| 02/07/2013 | 35700 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2009 nissan altima hybrid. the contact stated upon starting the vehicle would not turn over. the contact towed the vehicle to a dealer. the diagnostic test shown a defect steering lock control module which prevents the vehicle from starting. the dealer did not have the part replaced due to the part being on back order. the vehicle is currently at the dealer. the failure mileage was 35,700. vin was not accepted. jo | |||
| 01/19/2013 | 60400 | ||
| Intellikey light blinking started on january 14th. i replaced the battery in the key fob. i went to get into my car after work on saturday and was able to unlock my doors. i attempted to start my car, and the intellikey light was blinking again, but i did not have any dash lights come one. the car did not respond to the bypass option either. there was no power or ability to turn the car on. i had the vehicle towed to the nearest nissan dealer and have been told that the electronic steering lock malfunctioned and needs to be replaced. there is no eta as there is a back order nationwide for the part. | |||
| 01/16/2013 | 30500 | 1 | |
| It was in night around 11pm, i stepped out to nearby walmart. upon return, the car did not start. i was getting the yellow key symbol. my first impression was that something was faulty with my fob key. i called my friend and got to try the key. even this was futile. i looked up my manual for this symbol code and realized that there was some malfunction in the keyless ignition system. i was surprised cos the car was well maintained, with periodic service and very low miles(30k).it was perfect until then. i returned home with my friend and next day, i tried road side assistance who tried jump start without any luck. finally, it was towed to the dealer. later the dealer calls me to tell that it is steering lock problem, and that he doesn't have the replacement nor can he give me date of when it is expected. after seeing the messages in forum here, i realize it is serious problem on nissan part. i am just lucky that this did not happen on day when i was far away from home. i cant imagine being stuck in outskirts in middle of night. i hope they seriously do something to recall this part. it is a total risky thing and wonder how nissan did not look into it. *tr | |||
| 11/02/2012 | 57000 | 1 | |
| 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. *tr | |||
| 11/02/2012 | 57000 | ||
| 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 standed at any time. | |||
| 10/07/2009 | 3000 | 1 | |
| I bought my 2009 nissan altima hybrid on july 30, 2009. on october 3rd, evening, it lost power while i was driving on freeway 99 california. dash board light are on, engine has no power output. the vehicle dropped speed quickly. i pulled over to the shoulder and turn off the engine. one minute later, i turned engine on again. it backed to work. however, the same thing happened three more times again later in one week. it made me really think about the safety of driving it. on oct 7,2009, the engine completely cannot be started anymore and it was towed to dealership in the morning for a full check up and did not find anything wrong. the technician said they checked all the wires and re-wired all the connection cords. it back to work and work alright now. after about 5000 miles driving, it seems there are no same problems appeared. but lose power without any reason on freeway is too dangerous to driver and passengers, i hope the manufacturer can find the real problems and avoid it's happenings in all vehicles. *tr | |||
| 01/09/2010 | 10897 | 1 | |
| On a sunny cold afternoon in avon ct, doing 35 mph, the abs and brake lights suddenly came on my dash of 2009 nissan altima hybrid with 10897 miles. an audible continuous alarm was on in the car. the brakes were totally inoperable. it was a total catastrophic failure. the car was towed to the nearest dealer and nissan claims it was a faulty abs actuator that needs replacement. *tr | |||