Is there any chance this part is covered under the 5-year drive train warranty? Someone mentioned that it happened a few weeks ago and they have an '09, and they had theirs covered under warranty. Did they buy exteneded warranty? Or is it covered under the 5-year?

It is your steering lock. Mine failed almost two weeks ago.

864Zbeast, you said earlier that your warranty covered it. Did you have extended warranty? How was your '09 covered? My '09 is already 3.6 years old.

Mine was covered by the extended warranty. I was 10 over on the 36 month part of the original warranty.

We should do a survey to ask how many people have experienced this issue. It would be good ammo for when we complain to Nissan.

It's been done, you can search for it. The Other problem IMO is that people are pulling the fuses of the steering Lock so those cars are not getting reported to Nissan as failures.

Pulling the Fuse = Selfish Move, Unless you still contacted Nissan to tell "I had to pull the fuse because of my fear that I was going to get the steering Lock and would have to pay over 1000 dollars to replace it.

Not pulling the fuse when you know it can leave you stranded = Stupid move. ;)

Pulling the Fuse = Selfish Move, Unless you still contacted Nissan to tell "I had to pull the fuse because of my fear that I was going to get the steering Lock and would have to pay over 1000 dollars to replace it.

My full quote! Don't get me wrong Im not saying Don't pull the fuse, I'm just saying the car would never be reported therefore it would hurt the chances of getting the part recall! That's why I also stated they should still call Nissan to let them know of the situation.

Nissan won't recall this it has been going on since 09

right. it might be a selfish move to you, if you already payed the grand to get it fixed, but for those of us who havent, why would we risk it? i can send an email to nissan (which i have) and tell them the same damn thing -- that i removed the fuse for fear of being stranded, but when my lock dies, and its outside of the warranty, what good will the email do? sure as hell wont pay the grand to get it fixed!

Yes I bought an extended warranty from the dealership I got my car from to have all my work done etc. at nissan. I got my z in 2011 with 3k miles and it didn't have an exsisting warranty so the extended I purchased covered any major malfunction that took place and thank god this covered it.

:iagree: pulled.

you are both right! however as I am way more interested in my upcoming mod plans than how to get a "fixed" problem recalled, I guess Ill have to work up the motivation to try and figure out how to report to some (presumably worthless) government agency.

If somebody links me to an appropriate Nissan contact or bullshiznit government agency, I'd be happy to tell them how unsettling it was to live in fear of a known, car stranding malfunction!

Is it frustrating that Nissan hasn't dealt with this big bummer? Yep!
Will it stop me from buying another Nissan? No.
Will it cost me or a dealer 1,000 bucks to fix? Nope. (pulled it)
Does it affect my feeling about the car? nope!

Sooooo, what is their incentive to fix/recall? Dunno. :stirthepot:

(maybe if I'd been stranded/bankrupted by this crap, I'd feel different. Thanks the370z.com for saving me from that *horrid* experience)

Surfdog said it all best right there ^^^.

Pull the fuse and enjoy the ride. Getting all twisted up over it isn't worth it.


Tapatalk & such etc

Well, that's fair enough to say. But I'm still super pissed. The dealership gave me the quote for the repair: ready? Have a seat.... $1600!!!!!

So, yesterday, I called Nissan Consumer Affairs and lodged a complaint. My car has only 19000 miles on it. It's 3yrs7mo old. Used to have an extended warranty (extended in coverage, but not in time) that expired 3 years ago (not sure why the original buyer bought it... maybe worried about the 09 being a first gen). So I'm hoping to get at least some of the repair subsidized.

If they leave me out to dry, I'll likely be done with Nissan. I know there's a lot of Nissan loyalty on this site, and don't get me wrong, I love my Z, but I've had a lot more problems with this car than I've ever had with any car. Had to replace 2 MAF sensors over the summer for a cost of $600.

I can't help but chalk this up to poor practices on Nissan as a whole. Not just in their manufacturing of parts like this that frequently fail, but the failure to realize that these are the parts that need to be recalled in order to maintain customer loyalty. ie. you either need to not make mistakes or you need to own up to your mistakes by way of recalls.

FWIW, my coworker who has a GT-R had his steering lock recalled. Why the GT-R and not the Z? Totally bizarre.

did you try fixing it yourself by tappoing it and then pulling the fuse?

I tried the tapping. No dice.

However, I posted in another thread (here: http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-g...ml#post2153508) about the nissan service guys being able to get it working using a lock from an altima.

They are Nissan techs and they have no Fvcking clue,
My discovery to remove the fuse has been argued since I recommend it and nobody has had any problems(except for a delay in starting which has not been proven to be related)if the Nissan techs studied these cars as much as we do they just may learn something.

I can't argue with that. I know absolutely nothing. I just know how to drive it. I don't know how to fix it :(

Call Nissan! Don't just email. Talk to Regional Specialist! then try and talk to a Senior Regional Specialist and fight them! lol

Also report it here Home | Safercar -- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Here is the Number (888) 327-4236

Good Luck!

Ya. I emailed and called. I have a case. They're investigating. If I don't get satisfaction tomorrow, I'll escalate it.

And ya, I submitted an issue to the NHTSA.

Good luck buddy. Hope u sorted it out ASAP.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Don't understand how your extended warranty was good for 7 months?

In any case, pulling the fuse won't help if you have another lock installed - when they put the broken one in, your car won't start again. You have to pull the fuse with your lock installed and the car running.

I had this happen to me at my sister in laws. Unfortunately I thought I'd be immune or something, or I didn't feel like ten minutes of car work just a get at a fuse! Or make the Nissan extended warranty pay - Nissan won't get my business again by treating 370Z owners like second class citizens but not GT-R owners. Some of those car engineers should be made to fix every problem they've designed in on every car sold.

In any case, I tried the tapping, etc, and after reading some more, followed the advice to smack it with the tire wrench like it was stealing $500 dollars and it started. I promptly cut the brown wire.

Note: My steering wheel could turn fine - it seems it stuck without fully locking or during the unlock.

Steering Lock Confusion
 

Sorry everyone,

I know there are several threads related to this problem, but the more I read the more confused I become on the subject. I have absolutely no knowledge about working on cars.

Three days ago the low key battery indicator started showing on my 2009 Nissan 370Z (automatic transmission) LCD screen. I ordered a set of new batteries from Amazon, but they have not yet arrived.

Today when I went into my garage and the car wouldn't start. I noticed the yellow "key" indicator is on, and the intelligent key will only lock and unlock the doors. I tried to start the car by placing the intelligent key in the manual start port, but the push button ignition stays ("reads") in the locked position, and the LCD shows an image that appears to be telling me to pull the key out of the port.

The steering wheel itself is not locked, however. I can actually move it back and forth, but the break petal will not press very far down.

Is this most likely the Steering Lock failure issue, or am I doing something wrong? And if this IS the steering failure, am I understanding my first option is:

1) "open the car door, but dont try pushing the start button. Take a heavy tool like a hammer or something and smack the crap out of the SLU about 5 good times and then put your foot on the break and push the start button"

or am I supposed to HOLD the push button down WHILE banging on the Steering Lock pane?

2) Also, the piece I'm supposed to hit is silver panel under the steering column that says "to throw away in case of free fall"? Correct? I'm REALLY worried that I will hit this thing too hard, or from the wrong angle with the hammer and cause even MORE problems.

3) If this doesn't work, are there any other manual ways for a newbie to disengage this lock without calling a two truck and spending $1500 dollars?

Thank you, everyone.

Hit it with a hammer a few times while trying to start the car at the same time,then once started cut the brown wire or pull the fuse and that's it.

Yes the small piece that says free fall on it.

And the last resort is really not for newbies you have to remove the lock open it and push the lock open manually.RPIA

Don't smash it with anything, time for a tow unless you can replace the steering lock yourself

Apparently you haven't been reading the steering lock threads?:shakes head:

I, too, am an '09 automatic Z owner, who knows virtually nothing about the mechanical aspect of cars. But I can read these posts and had the mechanic remove the steering lock fuse pre-emptively. It was so simple, it took about 8 minutes and he wouldn't even charge me (thought he Nissan dealership estimated $165.00 for the same job). Read the excellent threads here, that include pictures and as soon as you get your car unlocked, have this done. Also, it's better than cutting wires, as you will be able to re-insert the fuse if you go to sell the car, thereby restoring the car to "stock." The new owner can then make his own decisions on how to handle the problem.
Nissan has avoided all responsibility in this matter and has truly "dropped the ball." Made me decide not to buy my wife a new Maxima---got her a Volvo instead just because of the way Nissan has mishandled this entire situation.

Steering lock failed. Mine did the same thing a couple weeks ago. I had to have it towed to nissan and fixed

Wish I had looked at all those threads two days ago! <sigh>

Just to clarify, should I be hammering the SLU AND pressing the button simultaneously AND pressing on the break (in other words, actually trying to start the car. I'll need to be a little bit of a contortionist for that :) )

or am I simply hammering on the SLU while pressing the start button, in an attempt to get it to ACC or ON mode?

I really, really hope this works. Don't really have $1500 at the moment to throw around. The 370Z is my favorite car out of all the vehicles that I have owned, but this is troubling.

All you need to do is tap the lock and then try and start the car,once started leave it running and pull the fuse and your done.

Thank you!

Forum member DCspartan09 had the exact same problem as me. From his post:


"SLU failed but in the unlocked position (e.g., never locked after shutting down the engine, and can freely turn the wheels while its off)

A couple people called him "lucky", and said they thought simply pulling the fuse would fix the problem. I'll try this if the hammer-and-button press doesn't work. I won't be able to work on either method until tomorrow morning, however.

NISSAN! :shakes head: Very Disappointing to see this time after time after time and it wont stop.........

Make sure to post it here http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-g...se-sticky.html

Also Reported it

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

Lastly Call Nissan Consumer Affairs and tell them.

I really do believe Nissan will recall this if everyone does their part.

Thanks again for the assist, everyone.

Two final questions:


1) If a few light taps don't work, I can basically bang on the SLU as hard as I want correct? After all, this is the component that Nissan is going to replace if this workaround fails?

2) So simply cutting the brown wire has no negative consequences? I didn't see any in any forum posts. Due to my inexperience with cars I prefer to go this route, even though a step-by-step process was posted for the fuse box. Someone on the forum mentioned that if you do not replace all the seals properly when doing the fuse workaround, water can get into the box and cause several thousand dollars in damage. Not sure I want to tempt fate...


Thanks!

You DON'T have to replace anything when removing the fuse most of these people on this thread think they are helping when in fact they don't know what the hell they are talking about,they probably said to replace the seal b/c they were stupid and ripped it when opening the door to the fuse box.

You just open the fuse door remove fuse #48 it says steering lock on it put the cover back on it and that is it,go to the first post and you will see how simple it really is.
You don't have to beat the sh!t out of it but you may have to hit it a little harder than a few taps to get it to move.

Good luck Frank

LOL! I got the car started with the hamming method!!

I followed the excellent instructions below, but I am stuck:
http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-g...d-real-24.html


How to I OPEN the fuse box?!?! It is like a child-proof medicine bottle! I'm pulling and tugging, twisting and turning!:icon14: I'd really appreciate some assistance quickly. The car is running!

Thanks!

Here is your answer post 234
http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-g...ml#post1770627

got it! mother...trucker....

I'm glad you saved money now mail me 1 dollar and spend the rest on mods.:icon17:

Success!!!

Thank you very much to YamahaR6 and Baer383!! The step-by-step DIY guide that YamahaR6 posted, and Baer383 walking through my newbie questions really helped out. If you guys lived in my area I would buy you a beer!

I really can't express how important is was to me to avoid another bill at this time. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.