CarComplaints.com Notes: You don't want to get 2009 and 2010 Altima owners started about their cars. That is, unless, you know how to start their cars.
These vehicles can suddenly become impossible to start thanks to a faulty electronic steering column lock (ESCL). Nissan dealers will gladly replace it, but that will run you $1000.
More info & videos about the Nissan ESCL defect are available over at NissanProblems.com.
It's one of the many reasons this car was named CarTalk's Turd of the Week and given our Beware of this Clunker badge. Two dubious honors.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
70,189 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The 2009 Nissan Altima has an electrical discharge design flaw. The headlights turn off automatically after 5 minutes, apparently the battery rapidly drains even after the auto-headlight shutoff with the car turned off. I purchased a 2009 Nissan Altima 2500S December 7th, 2008, the car died January 23rd, 2009. I drove the car from home to work in the rain. The car was parked for around 10 hours, after returning to drive home, the car was dead - the keyless entry didn't work, using the mechanical key to enter the car, the start button didn't work. Aaa couldn't tow the car due to a height beam blocking the tow truck - the car couldn't be moved because the car was frozen in park due to the dead electrical system - the trunk couldn't be opened with the switch on the trunk or by the switch on the dash. Aaa jumped the battery and the car has run for 3 days now without any problems. The battery was so fully drained that the radio needed to be reprogrammed with the time and stations. This raises questions of how many safety systems relying on the battery will fail - for example the car can roll away if shutoff in neutral - if the battery discharges, is the shift gear then frozen in neutral? the rapid discharge of the battery with the car off is a design flaw which leaves the consumer stranded, potentially in a dangerous situation.
- Carlsbad, CA, USA
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- Carlsbad, CA, USA