NHTSA Complaint #11079829 — 2008 NISSAN MAXIMA

FEBRUARY 2009 I PURCHASE A 2009 NISSAN MAXIMA VIN#1N4AA51E29C....... THERE HAVE BEEN MINOR ISSUES THAT I HAVE DEALT WITH. LET ME EXPLAIN, FIRST THE MOTORS THAT MOVE THE STEERING COLUMN UP/DOWN (WARRANTY COVERED) AND IN/OUT (A $600 ESTIMATE) BOTH HAVE GONE OUT. SECONDLY, THE LEFT FRONT TIRE PRESSURE SENSOR ($186) WAS FOUND TO BE FAULTY ON FEBRUARY 20, 2015 WITH MILEAGE OF 47,859. THIRDLY, THE FRONT LEFT STRUT ($142) HAD TO BE REPLACED AND BOTH FRONT STRUT MOUNTS HAVE BEEN REPLACED ($176), WHICH IS A RECALL FOR SOME VEHICLES BUT NOT MINE. I'M CONFUSED BY THIS BUT LET'S MOVE ON THE BIGGEST PROBLEM I'M HAVING WITH NISSAN. TODAY THE ONLY RECALL ON MY 09 MAXIMA HAS BEEN THE ESCL, WHICH WAS REPLACED ON JULY 21, 2017 WITH 73,429 MILES OF THE CAR. I IMMEDIATELY NOTICED A DIFFERENT SOUND WHEN STARTING THE CAR. I WAS TOLD THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO ABOUT THE SOUND, SO I DROVE THE CAR HOME. SHORTLY AFTER, THE AIRBAG LIGHT ON THE DASHBOARD STARTED BLINKING AND THE PASSENGER AIRBAG INDICATOR CAME ON. ON FEBRUARY 19, 2018, MY CAR WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL NISSAN DEALERSHIP TO GET THE AIRBAG SYSTEM FIXED WITH 76,443 MILES ON THE CAR. THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT RAN A DIAGNOSTIC REPORT ($95) FINDING CODE DCT B1018 AS A PROBLEM. THEY REPORTED THEIR FINDINGS TO ME AND GAVE AN ESTIMATE OF THE REPAIRS TO BE BETWEEN $2,000 AND $4,000, A BIG DIFFERENCE. I TALKED WITH THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT ABOUT WHAT HAD TO BE DONE TO FIX THE AIRBAG SYSTEM, HOW MUCH TIME THE REPAIRS WOULD TAKE, WHY SUCH A WIDE SPREAD IN THE FINANCIAL ESTIMATE AND WHAT MAY HAVE CAUSED THIS PROBLEM. I LEARNED A LOT FROM THIS CONVERSATION. THE BIGGEST SURPRISE WAS LEARNING THAT NISSAN CHANGED HOW THEIR AIRBAG SYSTEM SENSORS WORKED FROM ALWAYS ON TO OFF UNTIL A SEAT WAS OCCUPIED. I WOULD FEEL MORE LIKE A VALUED CUSTOMER WHEN NISSAN PAYS 100% OF A PROBLEM THAT HAS BEEN CAUSED BY 'NO FAULT' OF THE CONSUMER.