NHTSA Complaint #10330436 — 2003 NISSAN ALTIMA

PROGRESSIVE STIFFENING OF STEERING AT LOW SPEED TURNS. PROBLEM SEEMED TO LESSEN DURING RAINY CONDITIONS. LEADING ME TO BELIEVE IT WAS A LINKAGE PROBLEM. INSPECTED STEERING LINKAGE IE KNUCKLE/ UNIVERSAL JOINT, NO LUBRICANT VISIBLE AND JOINT WAS RUSTED. THERE SHOULD BE SOME SORT OF GREASE ON THIS JOINT AND A BOOT TO PROTECT IT FROM CORROSION. WITH FRONT WHEELS OFF GROUND SPRAYED JOINT WITH WD40 AND WORKED STEERING BACK AND FORTH AND STEERING BECAME STEADY SMOOTHER. HAVE READ SOME POSTS ON INTERNET ABOUT THIS JOINT AND THAT NISSAN IS AWARE OF IT AS THEY SEEM TO HAVE A BACK ORDER ISSUE WITH THE REPLACEMENT PART. AT 50,000 MILES I DON'T BELIEVE I SHOULD BE HAVING A PROBLEM WITH THE STEERING ON MY 03 ALTIMA. PEOPLE ARE HAVING STEERING PUMPS REPLACED AT A COST OF 1,200 TO 1,500 AND WHEN THAT DOESN'T RESOLVE THE PROBLEM THERE TOLD IT MUST THEN BE THE STEERING RACK UNIT. (REPLACEMENT COST SIMILAR), TO STILL HAVE STEERING PROBLEMS. FOR WHAT IN MY CASE SO FAR SEEMS TO BE A POORLY DESIGNED LUBE LACKING UNPROTECTED FROM THE ELEMENTS STEERING KNUCKLE. WITH OUT A RECALL ON THIS PART THE ONLY REPAIR IN MY BUDGET FOR THIS PROBLEM IS WD40. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND EFFORT. *TR