NHTSA Complaint #10491901 — 2009 NISSAN 370Z

THE VEHICLE IN QUESTION, FAILED TO START AFTER A ROUTINE STOP. A FAULTY STEERING LOCK CONTROL UNIT (SLCU)RESULTING IN THE STEERING WHEEL FAILING TO DISENGAGE FROM THE LOCKED POSITION THUS PREVENTING THE PUSH BUTTON IGNITION SYSTEM FROM STARTING THE ENGINE. THE VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO BE PUT IN NEUTRAL, BUT ONLY AFTER ACCESSING A COMPARTMENTED SHIFT LOCK SWITCH. UNFORTUNATELY, WITH THE STEERING WHEEL BEING LOCKED, THE VEHICLE COULD ONLY BE PUSHED FORWARD OR BACK AND NOT TURNED. THIS PROVED TO BE A PROBLEM AS THE TOW TRUCK DRIVER WAS FORCED TO "DRAG" THE VEHICLE TO A BETTER POSITION IN ORDER TO BE LOADED ONTO THE FLAT BED. THE DEALERSHIP CONFIRMED THAT THE SLCU WAS THE SINGLE POINT OF FAILURE AND ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THIS WAS A KNOWN ISSUE IN THE 2009 AND 2010 MODEL YEARS. NISSAN FAILED TO COVER THE REPAIR COSTS BECAUSE OF THE AGE OF THE VEHICLE, DESPISE HAVING UNDER 20K MILES. *TR