DROPPINBOTTOM

I am starting to have a problem with the steering wheel in my '04 SL. The problem is that upon opening the door, the steering wheel should rise to allow the driver to exit. Well my steering wheel is working intermittently...sometimes it will rise as expected and other times it won't move at all. The other problem that really has me upset is when I get in the car and the steering wheel is supposed to go down to my preset location and it doesn't move, it stays in bus driver mode. When you try to adjust it manually it doesn't move and you hear something in the dash clicking. When I hit the memory button 1 (which has been set), nothing happens and sometimes clicks itself.

Tomorrow I will be taking the car in for second time regarding this problem and I am starting to get really upset with it. Has anyone else had this problem.

SilverBelle04

DROPPINBOTTOM

I havn't had any problem with mine. Let us know how it goes at the dealer.

Bob

VTmaximaVT

mine did that too...

when I put the key in, the steering wheel didn't lower...
that happened like 3 times for last 5 months...so i'm just gonna live with it.

PETZUK

If you're "really upset" with a minor inconvenience, I don't want to be near you when something really goes wrong!

lightonthehill

Dropping - I understand this is a frustrating situation. Please try to understand that, because of all the safety checks and balances necessary with this type system, there are many many switches, relays and sensors that all have to work perfectly for this process to work.

Debugging this type problem, especially when intermittent, can sometimes be a series of 'trys'. You might try noting the order you do things in order to help the technician. Do you always turn off the ignition and remove the key before opening the door, or do you sometimes begin opening the door before the ignition is off or the key is out? Do you ever begin opening the door before moving the tranny to park in prep for turning off the ignition? At what point to you apply the parking brake?

None of this may be applicable, but when a problem is intermittent, it is sometimes very helpful to the diagnostician if it can be tied to a specific situation or order of doing things.

Let us know what the techmicians find.

DROPPINBOTTOM

Minor inconvenience...ha...yeah right....try driving with the steering wheel all the way up...and I am not some 6'5" guy either....The last thing I will do is force my wife to drive in a rather unsafe vehicle...and most of all...I didn't pay $30k to deal with a "minor inconvenience" as you like to call it....if I wanted that I could pay $10k for a Hyundai.

I took the car in today and dropped it off and sure enough the service guy couldn't even get the steering wheel to move as well. He said that there is memory in the seat, door and steering wheel and they will have to do several tests to determine what is wrong with it.

More updates once I get the car back.

Thereal411

i think they might have been saying minor to the post 3 times in the last 5 months.. obviously it is a huge problem if it NEVER moves.

VTmaximaVT

i said I'm just gonna live with it since it doesn't happen often.

PETZUK just wanted to ***** this thread...

please, at least try to help other members...

DROPPINBOTTOM

Well the dealership called me today and said that it was the elevation motor in the steering wheel that was malfunctioning. They overnighted a motor and it should be in tomorrow and they were keeping the car since it was a safety issue.

And thanks to this forum, they are also fixing the misaligned glove box.

DROPPINBOTTOM

Well after keeping the car for the whole week and determining that it was the tilt motor that was going bad the dealership made every attempt to get a new motor in but it looks like it won't be happening anytime soon. We were told today that I have been placed on a list of 8 people in the country that is waiting to get that motor due it being on backorder and not due to arrive until sometime in June. We ended up going in to the setting menu and changing the move options for both the steering wheel and seat to off until we get the motor in. Hope this helps anyone else having this problem.

lightonthehill

I am a solid Nissan fan, and drove their predecessor (Datsuns) before the name was changed to Nissan in 1983. But we are 16 months into the '04 Maxima production cycle, and 14 months into the selling cycle. Over 120,000 '04 Maximas have been produced.

It does not create a warm fuzzy feeling knowing parts for this car are still not readily available. We know these cars are still being produced, and that the needed parts do exist in Smyrna.

This is a safety issue that has necessitated the dealer to override the normal function of the car because Nissan cannot UPS a replacement steering column motor to your dealer.

Somewhere, somehow, someone is dropping the ball. This makes me sad.