NHTSA Complaint #11389381 — 2009 NISSAN ALTIMA

SOMETIMES WHEN I TURN OFF MY CAR, A 'KEY' SYMBOL WILL DISPLAY ON THE DASHBOARD AND I AM UNABLE TO START THE CAR AGAIN. THE STEERING WHEEL AND BRAKES ALSO BECOME STIFF. THIS PROBLEM OCCURS AT RANDOM, BUT MUCH MORE FREQUENTLY THE COLDER IT IS OUTSIDE. THE ISSUE IS WITH STEERING COLUMN LOCK ACTUATOR, WHICH IS UNDER THE PANEL BELOW THE STEERING WHEEL. TO TEMPORARILY FIX THIS ISSUE I'VE SEEN OTHER PEOPLE TAP IT WITH AN OBJECT SUCH AS A WRENCH, WHILE PRESSING THE START BUTTON AND HOLDING DOWN THE BRAKE SIMULTANEOUSLY. HOWEVER, DOING THIS DOES NOT ALWAYS WORK. HAVING THIS PROBLEM WITH THE NISSAN ALTIMA IS A HUGE SAFETY CONCERN, I HAVE HAD THIS HAPPEN WHEN I WAS IN AN AREA WITH NO CELL RECEPTION AND IT WAS AN EXTREMELY STRESSFUL SITUATION. NISSAN HAS RECALLED A SELECT FEW OF THESE PARTS, BUT THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE, INCLUDING MYSELF, WERE NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. NISSAN SHOULD HAVE TO RECALL THIS FAULTY PART AS IT IS VERY UNSAFE, AND MAKES THE WHOLE CAR UNRELIABLE.