spearfish- you must have a very simple life cause in my case $500 and 15 min of my time is NOTHING compared to the inconvenience. :D

and i wouldnt be bummed as you said if there is a recall. i will get the new part installed in my car and keep the other one as back up.

:iagree:

My Z isn't a DD, so I doubt I will spend the extra cash for a backup lock... plus I have RevC so I'm crossing my fingers. However, for people who do DD their Z, and that is their only mode of transportation, I don't blame you guys for spending $500 for the piece of mind. I can't imagine how much of an inconvenience it would be to have your Z at the dealership for a week or two... or maybe even longer... with no guarantee they'll hook you up with a loaner.

I wish my life were simple. It's unfortunately complicated enough that I can't spend $500 on a hypothetical problem. The car stays in storage for another two months, so I can wait and see what Nissan decides to do before committing to buying any parts.

yah, $500 is a chunk of change, but for me it's much simpler to take proactive action since i dont have to worry about this issue any more.

getting stuck somewhere for a known problem that i didn't do anything about.. i would be kicking myself for stupid. and that just isnt my character.

if you had the lock failure be sure to file a complaint here

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm

there have been many reports of this failure on this forum alone if everyone files the complaint the government will force the recall

With my car starter I ended up driving home going 5mph without using my brakes... i was 5 minutes away from home at a gas station..I had my friend in front of me and my brother in law behind me....comin up to a red light i downshifted and let it coast goin like 2mph and then emergency brake. I was goin to drop it off at the dealership at 2am that morning when no cars was out but my windows wont go back up and didnt want to leave the car there with my windows down...:ugh2: Its now sitting in my garage. The dealership is 10 minutes away from my house..should I make a attempt again driving there or just fork up the money for a tow truck

Definitely tow it. Not worth getting into an accident. :(

Btw did you try the temporary measures at bottom of DIY? Try it I might work temporarily to be able to drive to your dealer.

Yeah I might have to have it towed..it be safer. I have not tried it yet. I have a feeling tho when i get to the dealership they are goin to try to blame my aftermarket car starter as being the cause of the problem and void my warranty...which im goin to be very angry about! I printed out all the information from your guys thread and stuff just for proof i guess that its NOT the car starter. When I get to the dealership right away im just goin to tell them what the problem is and see where it goes from there.

Just called the dealership..they had one car that came in that had the same problem. He has to look at the car to see if it is that problem and nothing else and it should be covered under warranty. I didnt mention the car starter tho. Having it towed friday.:shakes head:

A good tech will be able to rule the remote starter out of the equation. Plus you were able to start the car with the remote start... That's a plus. You can also mention how long you have had the remote start installed and properly functioning before the problem occurred.

Broken link fixed :)

the link to NHTSA claims posted by Mike worked so i placed it on the first page of this thread in the DIY very bottom yesterday.

Excellent :tup:

So i just got back from the Dealership...it did not go well. The manager kept trying to argue with me..he wouldnt even listen to what I had to say. I printed all the threads of ppl having the steering wheel locked thing..he didnt even want to look at them...I even printed out the part that I need he didnt want to look at that either. He kept sayin its my car starter and he seen so many times it goes wrong. Then He kept saying that stuff on the internet that i read... alot of time they are wrong.. Then he continues sayings its my automatic car starter thats doing this. He will do a dianogsis test on it and said he is pretty sure it that is my car starter is the problem..that i need to have it removed before they can even work on my car. What the F man i am pissed!

^^ sucks... :(

and with your luck chances are your steering lock will temporarily fix itself from the tow (vibrations and all) and dealer will say 'hey i told you so.' that's how this f-king story will go. (hope not).

When you say "automatic car starter" you mean a remote starter right? I'm confused. When you have mods and you claim a problem with that is related to your mods, you have just allowed dealers an excellent reason to deny your warranty claim, like exactly what you are going through now.

Yeah your right.. not looking forward to paying $1000 :(

If they deny it under warranty, I would just order the part from Nissan and install it yourself. DIY looks super easy.

:iagree:

:iagree: x2.

not worth dishing out $800+ for parts, labor, and tow.

mine keeps coming on then off hasnt failed yet comeon recall FFF!!!!

Im not good at installing stuff.. so its just screwing the new one in and thats it? Don't have to reprogram anything? Sorry for the dumb questions! I might end up going this route.

you've been just touching the steering lock or have you been tapping at it, etc?

right, there's no programming involved. all you need to do is roll on your back (this is very uncomfortable and clumsy if you've never done this before) stick your head under the steering column and look up. just shine a flash light and you will see it in your face.

you will need to have an angled pair of long nose plies (not regular long nose). most hardware and hobby shops have them. and lefty loosy out the round security bolts. just take your time.

there is one harness you detach with a tab on the top side. you dont need special tools for that either. just feel for it with your fingers, press it down and detach. :)

no one time that worked now it goes on and off by it self only a matter of time till it shorts

yah, at least you know wat to do if it fails. :tup:

cry?

no, just replace the damn thing.

if i had a spare 500 XD i would

Wow thanks for all your guys help! Ill wait till i hear back from the dealer and if they don't cover.. ill do it myself! Or try too. Thanks!

Man. I hope a recall happens soon.

:iagree:

I don't believe Nissan isn't going to do one voluntarily, they are too cheap. Even at cost value it is going to cost them $400-$500 a car times 10,000 cars for just the 09's. That's $4M-$5M! Compare that to 1500 2009 GT-R's which had a much higher margin to start with.

:iagree:

They'll only issue a recall when the cost-benefit shows that $4-5m or so in replacement parts is cheaper than damage to the brand name if the media campaign is successful.

They could at least release a TSB saying "Hey this commonly fails due to a defect, check it first in these cases and replace for free if car is under warranty".

So whats the deal on those new security screws that break off? Are they for anti theft or something? How do you remove it when the hex head is broken off?

You do realize this is a DIY thread. :icon17: check first page.

:stirthepot:

Well thats where I saw this mentioned. And I saw you did not use them. Just wanted to understand what they are for and how to remove them when the hex head is broken off. Needle nose pliers?

Just contacted courtesy parts and they can source the unit for $800+ from Canada for immediate shipment.