2008 Nissan Altima Steering Problems

Suspension and steering issues purchased many new tires throughout the yrs to find out it had suspension issues. There are 4 recalls listed on my insurance policy that describes exactly what's been wrong with my car since purchased. When calling nissan and checking your data base my vin # has never had any recalls for these issues but is obvious this make and model has been affected as well. Please look into this some more car is not safe and we were sold a lemon from day 1. Going back and forth to dealership lies and mechanics to find out it's always been a suspension issue I don't know the exact terms but suspension and some type of electric issue just as the recalls stated on my insurance policy description. Please advise or help Nissan make this right to keep our streets and cars safe while on the road. I need to gather all documents from places I've gone in for these very same issues of recalls shown. Financially this has been a burden investing in a used car to just have to fix right away with these same exact issues of recalls listed but to say our vehicle was not affected by those recalls is ridiculous it's obvious I been dealing with the same exact issues. Please help. Thank you for listening and hopefully you can help make a difference with this safety issue. I bought the car during covid year and been having issues since then but today's date on incident because I'm not sure of an exact date 4-5 yrs ago when issues started. Dealership lied to us I'm sure they were experiencing same issues with suspension that lead to issues with steering wheel control arms into motor mounts and tires getting bald fast and always having to change out front tires not straight or balanced out of control all the time.

NHTSA ID

11681830

Incident

Aug 20, 2025

MY CAR HAS A SLOW TAKE OFF AND IT TAKES A WHILE TO DRIVE PROPERLY LIKE IT HAS TO WARM UP . THE POWER STEERING LEAKS OUT AND I DON'T NO WHY.MY SENSORS FOR CHECK ENGINE IS ON AND I TOOK IT TO AUTO ZONE TO GET IT CHECKED AND IT'S A SENSOR AND JUST NEED A TUNE UP BUT THE TIRE SENSOR STAYS ON AFTER I PUT AIR IN THE TIRES IT SO MANY SMALL THINGS THAT CAN TURN INTO BIG ISSUES.

NHTSA ID

11318922

Incident

Mar 6, 2020

BRAKES LOCKED AND STEERING LOCKED CAUSING A REAR END ACCIDENT DRIVING ON A CITY HIGHWAY GOING TO WORK.

NHTSA ID

11299169

Incident

Jan 13, 2020

Mileage

14,772 mi

I WAS DRIVING DOWN A DIRT ROAD AND MY CAR DIED I TRIED TO START IT BACK UP BUT IT WOULDN'T DO ANYTHING I CAN'T TURN ON ANY LIGHTS UNLOCK OR LOCK THE CAR NOTHING. SHOWS A LIGHT ON THE DASH THAT LOOKS LIKE THE KEY FOB AND LOOKED IT UP AND IT SAYS THAT SOMETHING UNDER THE STEERING COLUMN CAN CAUSE THE ISSUES AND HAS A RECALL

NHTSA ID

11256042

Incident

Aug 29, 2019

Mileage

150,000 mi

POWER STEERING PRESSURE HOSE LEAKING FLUID I KEEP FILLING FLUID USING MY CAR DAILY FOR MY WORK

NHTSA ID

11138863

Incident

Oct 2, 2018

Mileage

233,378 mi

CAR STOPPED, WOULD NOT START, YELLOW KEY LIGHT ON THE LEFT DASHBOARD STAYS ON. CAR WILL NOT START AT ALL

NHTSA ID

11067200

Incident

Feb 5, 2018

Mileage

139,000 mi

2008 NISSAN ALYIMA WOULD NOT START. CAR WAS PARKED ON THE STREET OVERNIGHT IN FRONT OF RESIDENCE AS IS MOST NIGHTS AFTER BEING DRIVEN DURING THE DAY TO WORK. THE NEXT MORNING OPEN CAR DOOR WITH FOB AND PUSHED KEY IGNITION BUTTON AND CAR WOULD NOT START. THE KEY SYMBOL POPPED UP ON THE DASH. TRIED REPEATEDLY TO PUSH BUTTON AND CAR REFUSED TO START. HAD CAR TOWED TO DEALER AND DEALER STATED IT WAS ENGINE COLUMN STEERING LOCK. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH NISSAN ALTIMAS AND OTHER MODELS; HOWEVER, 2008 ALTIMAS WERE NOT INCLUDED IN SERVICE CAMPAIGN AND SHOULD BE.

NHTSA ID

11035329

Incident

Oct 17, 2017

PUSH BUTTON SOMETIMES WORKS AND SOMETIMES DON'T ,SOMETHING TO DO WITH STEERING LOCK MODULE?CANNOT START ENGINE.

NHTSA ID

11030562

Incident

Jul 5, 2017

Mileage

125,000 mi

THE POWER START KEY ISNT TURNING ON THE CAR, IT ALLOWS YOU TO ENTER THE CAR BUT THE START TAKES VARIOUS ATTEMPTS. THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE THE LOCK STEERING FEATURE MALFUNCTIONS.

NHTSA ID

11016305

Incident

Aug 1, 2017

Mileage

80,000 mi

ELECTRONIC STEERING LOCK COLUMN HAS FAILED ON MY VEHICLE. THIS PART IS A KNOWN ISSUE FOR 2010 NISSAN ALTIMAS BURN 2008 HAS NOT BEEN EVEN ADDRESSED. THIS FAILED PART .HAD LEFT ME STRANDED. THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY WHEN THE LOCK NO LONGER WORKED. FAILED UNIT HAD BEEN QUOTED AT $1100 REPAIR COST.

NHTSA ID

11014540

Incident

Aug 4, 2017

Mileage

112,000 mi

I WENT TO ANOTHER COUNTY WITH MY KIDS TO VISIT MY MOM AND WHEN I TRIED TO LEAVE THE CAR WOULDN'T START AND THERE WAS A LIGHT IN THE DASHBOARD THAT INDICATED A KEY IN AN AMBER COLOR, I TRIED GIVING IT A JUMPSTART TO SEE IF THAT WAS THE PROBLEM AND CHANGING THE BATTERY OF THE SMART KEY AND NOTHING WORKED. I ENDED UP HAVING TO LEAVE MY CAR PARKED IN THE STREET WHERE MY MOM LIVES AND SPENT THE NIGHT WITH MY MOTHER AND THE NEXT DAY I CALLED MY NEAREST NISSAN DEALER WHO TOLD ME THAT IT WAS MOST LIKELY THE ELECTRONIC STEERING COLUMN LOCK BUT MY CAR WASN'T COVERED IN THE RECENT RECALL.

NHTSA ID

11011471

Incident

Jul 28, 2017

Mileage

126,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 NISSAN ALTIMA. WHILE PARKED, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO START ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE STEERING LOCK MECHANISM NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 90,000.

NHTSA ID

10894214

Incident

Aug 4, 2015

Mileage

90,000 mi

MY CAR WAS IN MY DRIVEWAY WHEN I TRIED TO START IT. A YELLOW LIGHT WITH A KEY APPEARED IN THE UPPER LEFT CORNER OF THE DASH. THE CAR WOULDN'T START. WE RESEARCHED THE WARNING LIGHT AND TRIED EVERYTHING SUGGESTED SUCH AS DISCONNECTING THE BATTERY, DISCONNECTING THE NEGATIVE BATTERY, ETC. WITH NO LUCK. I HAVE TO DRIVE TO A CONFERENCE 4 HOURS AWAY TOMORROW AND NOW HAVE NO CAR.

NHTSA ID

10882846

Incident

Jul 5, 2016

Mileage

140,000 mi

DASHBOARD, STEERING WHEEL, AND SHIFT HANDLE HAVE ALL MELTED FROM HEAT. THE DASHBOARD HAS BECOME ALMOST LIQUIFIED, AND THE GLARE FROM THE NOW SHINY SURFACE CREATES A REFLECTION ON THE WINDSHIELD, CREATING A SAFETY HAZARD. THE STEERING WHEEL HAS BECOME GUMMY, MAKING STEERING UNSAFE, AND THE RUBBERY MATERIAL ON THE SHIFT HANDLE HAS BECOME GUMMY, MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO SAFELY SHIFT GEARS ACCUARATELY.

NHTSA ID

10876375

Incident

Jul 1, 2015

Mileage

75,000 mi

HOLA ME LLAMO[XXX] TENGOI UN NISSAN ALTIMA 2008 CUYO LO COMPLE CON 81 MILLAS E CUAL AH EMPESADO A TENER PLOBLEMA LA PISARRA ESTA DERETIDA COMPLETA RAJADA TIENE OLOR A PLASTICO DERRETIDO CUANDO EN LA TARDE SALGO DEL TRABJO TIEN UN OLOR SUPER FUERTE NO PUEDO ANDARCON MI NINA EN EL AUTO ME DIRIGI ALA NISSAN Y ME TRATARON SUPER MAL QUE PAGAR 4.000 MIL DOLARES CREO QUE NO ES JUSTO CUANDO LA CULPA ES DE ELLOS VI EN TELEMUNDO LO CASOO PERO LA MARCA DE MI CARRO NO ESTA INCLUIDA SO POR FAVOR SI PUDIERAN AYUDARME SE LO AGRADESERIA SE LE PUEDO ENVIARE FOTOS SIN PLOBLEMA ESTOY BASTANTE DIJUSTADO CON EL FABRIVCANTE ALTUALMET ESTOY PAGANDO EL CARRO CON EL BANCO ES ESTRESANTE ANDAR ASI EN LA CALLE EH VISTO BARIOS MODELO 2008 IGUALES CON LA PISARRA DERETIDA HABLE CON LO DUENO Y LE COMENTE QUE YO HABIA IDO AL DILE QUE ERAS PLOBLEMA DE FACTORIA QUE EL DILE ME AVIAN TRATDO SUPER MAL PERO BUENO ESPERO QUEALGUIEN LEA ESTO GRACIAS 'INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).'

NHTSA ID

10825477

Incident

Feb 10, 2016

CAR SUDDENLY WOULD NOT START - WAS STRANDED AND HAD TO CALL TO HAVE IT FLAT BEDDED TO A DEALERSHIP. I WAS TOLD THE STEERING LOCK NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. WAS PROVIDED EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR THIS PART SINCE IF A DEFECT, I WAS TWO WEEKS OVERDUE AND THEY WOULD NOT PAY FOR THE WORK TO BE COMPLETED.

NHTSA ID

10788002

Incident

Oct 24, 2015

Mileage

124,809 mi

THIS IS THE 5TH TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED IN THE LAST 4 WEEKS AND EACH TIME I HAVE BEEN LEFT STRANDED. THE ESCL - ELECTRONIC STEERING COLUMN LOCK HAS FAILED. MY CAR UNLOCKS/LOCKS PROPERLY WITH THE KEY FOB, AUX ELECTRICAL WORKS FINE, HEADLIGHTS, RADIO ECT.. HOWEVER THE BRAKE WILL NOT DEPRESS AND THE STEERING WHEEL IS LOCKED NOT ALLOWING ME TO START MY VEHICLE LEAVING ME STRANDED. THIS IS BS! I AM VERY UPSETNISSAN SHOULD HAVE A RECALL AND REPLACE THIS PART, BUT INSTEAD I WAS TOLD THIS WILL COST ME UPWARD OF $1,000 TO REPAIR. PLEASE HELP!!!! *TR

NHTSA ID

10695480

Incident

Mar 18, 2015

Mileage

62,500 mi

WENT TO A SMOKE SHOP WENT BACK OUT AND MY CAR WOULDN'T START.. MY KEY YELLOW LOGO ON DASH IS ON SO I'M POSITIVE IT STEERING LOCK SEEN A LOT OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS AND THIS SHOULD BE RECALLED!!!! *TR

NHTSA ID

10668129

Incident

Dec 20, 2014

Mileage

123,000 mi

I PARKED MY 2008 NISSAN ALTIMA 3.5SE AT MY DOOR TOOK GROCERIES INSIDE AND WENT BACK TO PARK MY CAR,AND IT WOULD NOT START I COULD GO THRU THE DIFFERENT MODES OF THE PUSH BUTTON START BUT THE CAR WOULD NOT START. I GET IT TOWED TO NISSAN AND THE TELL ME MY ELECTRONIC STEERING COLUMN LOCK HAS GONE BAD THEY ALSO TELL ME THEY HAVE A RECALL ON THE SAME PART ON THE 2009 MODELS. PRICE TAG TO FIX THE E.S.C.L $800 THIS IS SO UNFAIR I BELIEVE THE 08 MODELS ALTIMA SHOULD BE ADDED TO THE ALREADY INEFFECT RECALL FOR THE SAME EXACT PART. *TR

NHTSA ID

10628271

Incident

Aug 5, 2014

Mileage

70,000 mi

I PARKED MY 2008 NISSAN ALTIMA 3.5 SE IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE TOOK GROCERIES INTO THE HOUSE I RETURN TO THE CAR AND IT WOULD NOT START. THE KEY SYMBOL WAS ON. I CAN WITHOUT PRESSING THE BRAKE CHANGE MODES JUST WONT START. *TR

NHTSA ID

10621865

Incident

Aug 5, 2014

Mileage

69,000 mi

THE VEHICLE CUT OFF AND WOULD NOT START BACK UP. *JS

NHTSA ID

10585422

Incident

Apr 18, 2014

Mileage

72,000 mi

HAD THE OIL CHANGED AT DEALERSHIP. UPON DRIVING BACK HOME THE CAR WOULD NOT START. I RECEIVED THE YELLOW KEY LIGHT ON THE DASH AND COULD NOT DEPRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL OR START THE CAR. I ATTEMPTED TO PUT IN A NEW BATTERY TO THE INTELLIGENT KEY AND ALSO JUMPSTART THE VEHICLE. STILL WOULD NOT START. NOTHING WARNS YOU OF THIS ISSUE AND GLAD THAT I WAS NOT DRIVING THE VEHICLE WHEN THIS HAPPENED OR PART FAILED. ON THE FOLLOWING DATE THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP. ON MONDAY THE 7TH THE CAR WAS DIAGNOSED WITH THE ELECTRIC STEERING LOCK ASSEMBLY FAILURE. SAME DAY I CONTACTED NISSAN CONSUMER AFFAIRS TO FIND OUT THERE WERE NO RECALLS NOR WOULD THEY OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE OR RECALL THIS PART AS THEY HAVE ON OTHER SIMILAR MODELS. *TR

NHTSA ID

10583853

Incident

Apr 5, 2014

Mileage

146,311 mi

I TOOK MY CAR TO WASH AND SUDDENLY FOR NO REASON I JUST HEARD A NOISE RIGHT AFTER THAT MY RESET TIRE PRESSURE LIGHT CAME ON FOR NO REASON, THEN THE CRUISE CONTROL LIGHT CAME ON AND SET WAS FLASHING, I TRIED TO CANCEL IT BUT IT WOULDN'T THEN LUCKILY I SHOULD SAY WHEN I GOT HOME MY AC JUST TURNED OFF AND WOULDN'T TURN BACK ON THEN I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND WHEN I TRIED TO START IT WOULDN'T START THEN THE YELLOW KEY LIGHT TURNED ON AND I IT WOULDN'T RECOGNIZE THE EITHER KEY. MY PHONE WAS CHARGING AND IT WAS ALSO DAMAGED DUE TO THIS FAILURE. I'VE VERY UPSET. I HAD TO TOW IT IN TO THE DEALER SHIP TO GET IT DIAGNOSED HAD TO PAY 95.00 FOR IT PLUS NOW THEY ARE TELLING ME THIS: -----ORIGINAL MESSAGE----- FROM: [XXX] SENT: MONDAY, AUGUST 12, 2013 12:20 PM TO: SUBJECT: REPAIR QUOTE THE REPAIRS FOR 2008 ALTIMA ARE LISTED BELOW STEERING LOCK ASSEMBLY & SCREWS 834.22 LABOR CHARGES 286.20 TAXES & DISPOSAL FEES -95.89 TOTAL - 1216.31 THIS IS ABSURD, I DID MY RESEARCH AND I SEE A LOT OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE SAME ISSUE THIS NEEDS TO BE RECALLED. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

NHTSA ID

10535070

Incident

Aug 11, 2013

Mileage

11,100 mi

I DROVE MY CAR YESTERDAY WITHOUT ANY INCIDENTS. I HAVE NOTICED THIS "KEY" SYMBOL ON DASH WARNING LIGHT INDICATING I NEEDED TO INSERT THE KEY INTO THE CAR IN ORDER TO START THE CAR FOR THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS. THERE IS NO DIAGNOSTIC CODE AND I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALERSHIP AT NISSAN THAT IT WAS JUST INDICATING LOW BATTERY ON THE KEY REMOTE (EVEN THO I JUST REPLACED THE BATTERY IN NOVEMBER). I WENT TO START MY CAR THIS MORNING AND ALTHOUGH THE DASH LIGHTS UP, THE CAR WILL NOT START. I TRIED TO JUMP START IT AND STILL WOULDN'T START. THE BRAKE LIGHTS COME ON AND THE DASH LIGHTS UP, BUT THE CAR WILL NOT TURN OVER AT ALL. THERE ISN'T A FAST CLICKING SOUND LIKE IT COULD BE THE STARTER. THE KEY DOESN'T WORK TO UNLOCK THE DOORS OR THE TRUNK EITHER. APPARENTLY THIS IS AS A RESULT OF A FAULTY STEERING LOCK UNIT. *TR

NHTSA ID

10519855

Incident

Jun 14, 2013

Mileage

69,500 mi

I HAD ONLY ONE ISSUE WITH MY 08 ALTIMA. THE CAR WOULD OCCASIONALLY NOT RECOGNIZE EITHER OF THE KEY-FOBS FOR WHAT SEEMED LIKE NO REASON. IT DID NOT SEEM TO MATTER WHAT TIME OF DAY, TEMP., OR WEATHER. I EVEN REPLACED THE BATTERIES OF THE KEY-FOBS AND THE CARS BATTERY AS WELL. (WHICH WAS SUGGESTED AS THE FIRST TRY TO REMEDY THIS PROBLEM). ON MAY 3, 2013 WITH ABOUT 66,000 MILES OR SO (STILL A BABY AS FAR AS CAR MILEAGE GOES) I HAD NO ISSUES STARTING THE CAR OR WITH IT RECOGNIZING THE KEY-FOB. THE 'ISSUE" HAPPENED AS I WAS MAKING A LANE CHANGE. THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO CONTROL THE CAR CAUSING US (2 CHILDREN AND MYSELF) TO CRASH. MY CAR WAS TOTALED... AND AFTER THIS EXPERIENCE I WILL NOT BE PURCHASING OR RIDING IN ANOTHER NISSAN AGAIN. I'M CERTAIN HAD I BEEN ON A MAJOR HWY WHEN THIS OCCURRED WE WOULD HAVE DIED AND OTHERS INJURED/DEAD AS WELL. *TR

NHTSA ID

10511342

Incident

May 3, 2013

Mileage

66,000 mi