Anybody have the steering wheel go out in thier Max? I just had to replace the tranny at 50,000. A couple of weeks later, damn steering motor goes out. Very disappointed in this car.

 

A few of us have had the up/down motor go and fewer still the "in/out" motor go. I have had both go but not had a recurrence since replaced. I am more concerned over your tranny. Haven't heard many of those let go. There may be more but I think yours is only the second or third that I have heard of (other than some reflashing.)

 

Just be grateful your '09 Maxima has a TEN YEAR 120K mile warranty on the CVT. That thing would probably cost a bundle if you had to pay full price for a replacement installed. At LtLeary said, this CVT has been a very reliable tranny. This 7th gen first hit the street June 26 of 2008, and I can count on one hand the CVT failures we have had on the board.

The steering wheel column is the a different thing. Telescoping and auto raising and lowering steering weels have been around for many years, and it concerns me that so many folks here have had problems with those two motors. Replacing them is not cheap, and their warranty is only 36 months/36K miles.

Still have my fingers crossed. My '09 was assembled in Sept '08, and is still a perfect vehicle. I did break it in extermely carefully, but have let it rip a little more often in recent years. If it will just stay perfect until the 8th gen arrives as the 2015 Maxima in spring of 2014, then I will be an extremely happy camper.

 

Your right about that one. When I was able to get to a dealer I had them pull my vin, then thats when I found out about the 120,000 mile warranty. My only worry now is wandering what will go next. Although I had the tranny replaced it is still not 100%. I don't use sport or manual mode anymore. In sport mode, if I try to get on it while on the freeway, the rpm's shoot through the roof and the car sounds like its gonna explode. Not looking forward to dealing with the steering wheel either.

 

When the up/down motor is going, does it start by sound like a big old squeak while it moves? If so, mine is going. Of course my warranty ended on 5/31.

 

i had mine up/down motor replaced at like 30,000 miles. its starting to squeak again now though. i read in another thread (can't find it now) that some member greased his up and it doesn't make any noise anymore

 

Its sounds like a grinding type noise. I called the dealer today. There are two motors in there. Go figure. One for up/down and the other for in/out. Of course its looking like I need both. When it happened it just happened without warning. My warranty just ended so i feel your pain. Going to get an extended one through my bank. Total cost without warranty is around $750....no surprise there.

 

My "up/down" steering wheel motor just went on my 2009 Maxima. Dealer wants $450 to replace it.I live in the Long Island, NY area. Warranty ran out in January.
I also have all my warning lights go on intermittently since I had the battery replaced by AAA a few weeks ago. Anybody experience that? They're currently checking that out.

 

The only symptom of a problem was a squeak when the steering wheel moved up or down. The dealer said it was plastic rubbing and thought it was not a problem. A week later it failed, making a grinding noise and not moving. I found I could just bump the manual adjuster to stop the grinding noise but it was stuck in the full up position. Back to the dealer and they ordered a motor and two days later it was installed. The extended warranty paid off. I had approximately 39,000 miles on my '09 when it failed.

At 55,000+ miles and the telescopic motor has "spit the bit". Bringing it in tomorrow to have it looked out. Thank goodness for the 7/100 premium gold +.

 

Hello all,

My steering wheel's up/down and telescoping motors seem to be failing now. I have about 63K miles on the vehicle. Has anyone attempted to repair this themselves? I ran across this site which lists both motors and their corresponding part numbers: http://www.nissanpartszone.com/compo...488-298_2.html

I'm fairly mechanically inclined, but just wanted to know if any DIY'ers out there has done this and if they have any tips. Thanks!

 

You have another option. Set the steering wheel to the position that you like and from the car setting menue disable the motors.

 

i dont think anyones tried to do the repair themselves yet because it includes taking your column apart, which may include taking off the steering wheel/airbag which can be fun. if you guys want to start a thread to figure it out im all for helping; my motor(s) were replaced at 30k and now at 45k they're startin to whine again (seriously) so i just turned off the auto up/down of the wheel for now

 

Silberma/Ghozt,

Thanks for the replies. I disabled that feature a few weeks ago as a precaution. If I happen to run across a detailed DIY, I'll start a new thread.