2009 Nissan 370Z - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

"i purchased my first nissan, a 2009 370z, in 2009. as of today the car has had four (4) electronic steering column locks (escl) installed. the escl that nissan uses is defective, which results in leaving their customers stranded. this, in my opinion is unconscionable. the latest failure of the escl left me stranded out of town. i have no faith that the fourth escl will be any better than the previous three that nissan has installed. it is well documented that the escl that nissan uses is malfunctioning. the internet is full of stories of people stranded in unsafe areas due to this defective part. nissan claims to have fixed this issue but clearly they have not. my car would have no problems starting, however the escl that nissan have installed will not allow it to start. nissan will not allow my car to start unless i pay them to install a defective part. so i had to pay them. currently nissan is recalling the 2009 altima due to a defective escl and repair them for free. however, if you had bought a 2009 370z, the same year as the altima, you must pay them, again and again and again. this makes no sense. the fourth (4) escl that was installed is part # 48700-9n00b, which is the sixth (6) part number for the escl. i can attest to the fact that all previous versions of this part are complete failures. nissan will tell you that they have now got the part to work. they have been completely wrong on all five previous attempts. it is time for the nhsta to get involved and declare this a safety issue. whenever you turn your car off, you never know if it will restart. when you fill your gas tank up, you have to decide if you should turn it off and then block the fuel pump for an hour while waiting on a tow truck, or let it run and risk a fire. i wrote nissan a letter about this issue, waited three (3) months, and they never replied!!"

"i got into my stationary vehicle and when i push the start button it remained in the lock position. the steering lock sensor light was on and it won't change into the acc or on position. this is the second time it has happened to me, first time the dealership had to fix it."

"service campaign bulletin no. ntb13-014 was issued on 3/7/2013. my car experienced the problem described in the recall notice and the nissan dealer replaced the defective part on 12/2/2013 at no charge. in november, 2017, my car experienced the exact same problem. it was repaired at the same nissan dealer, performing the replacement of the exact same part, on 11/17/2017 at a cost to me of $1,153.40. nissan has refused to cover the replaced (defective) part stating: 1) they complied with the recall campaign by replacing the initial failed part with a second (defective) part, and 2) the second (defective) part was beyond its 12 month warranty. in both cases, the defective part disabled the vehicle from starting, thus creating the need to have it towed to the dealer. because the exact same part failed that was subject to the service recall campaign, creating the necessity for a second replacement, i believe it should have also been subject to the service recall campaign. the replaced part failed at approximately the same interval as the first failed part, both of which was well beyond a 12 month in-service period."

"car wouldnt start had to get it towed , known problem of the steering wheel mechanism lock has to be replaced . nissan is paying for altimas and maximas to get replaced but not 370z that has the same problem. over $1200 to repair for a known defect"

"tl* the contact owns a 2009 nissan 370z. the contact stated that the dealer indicated that they repaired the vehicle for a manufacturer's recall on the steering column lock system on july 19, 2013. on january 13, 2016, the contact stated that the steering wheel was tight, seized, and was unable to be turned. the vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnostic testing to determine the cause of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 59,000."

"infamous steering lock problem. went to start car and got the yellow key symbol and push start button light showed lock. had to pay $170 to have it towed to nissan. *tr"

"steering wheel lock mechanism crapped out. lots of info here: http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-general-discussions/65360-sticky-steering-lock-failure-database-sticky.html. *tr"

"steering wheel lock unit failed in lock position disabling vehicle. faulty unit replaced under warranty. *tr"

"steering wheel lock unit failed in lock position disabling vehicle. out of warranty replacement required. research indicated that this part is based on a faulty design that has subsequently been removed from later model years but due to this defect and frequent failure rate i expect to have to replace it annually at a cost of over $500 per incident. the vehicle is completely disabled when this part fails requiring the vehicle to be towed to a service station at owner's expense. this part is clearly a faulty design and should be recalled by the manufacturer and replaced with a design that doesn't fail annually or eliminated. *tr"

"steering lock control unit failed. *tr"