I just had this same problem two nights ago and after researching and playing around, I was able to free the stuck lock and get the car started. I pulled the 10A fuse as directed here and the car starts right up. I will call the dealership in the morning to check to see if I can get covered under the "recall/service" if not, I will leave it as is. When I run my vin through Nissan it says no active recalls.

Thank you all for the great information and possibly saving me a thousand bucks or so!

That recall was for 2009/10 Maxima model years only. I have a 2009 and received a letter from Nissan about the recall and had mine replaced with a non locking version a few months ago. I had my 10 amp fuse pulled for a couple of years and there was no ill effects.

I am going to call my dealership because this is an '09 Maxima but the Nissan site still said mine was not eligible. I will have to do some research into that but I am happy with just pulling the fuse.

Google Nissanassist.com and click on the appropriate selection.

Steering Wheel Lock Issue
 

After 7 1/2 years and only 33111 miles the dreaded steering lock issue decided to strand me in the middle of no where. Recall notice was received but was waiting on the dealer to get part needed. Towed to nearest Nissan dealer and had recall taken care of. In and out of the dealer in, believe it or not, 30 minutes. No charge of course.

Turns out my car had the recall service done in 2013 before I had purchased the car. According to the dealership, Nissan won't cover the repair twice. I might call Nissan USA and check but for now the fuse is gone and the car starts no problem.

That recall wasn't issued until early 2017, so the dealership is feeding you a line of BS. The repair was to replace with a non locking unit, so if yours locks up it wasn't done.

More information that I got off JD Powers Listing for the 2009 Maxima. The number PC516 is the number that was referenced on my repair receipt. The part number used was 487089N00A. Request for recall letter was received March 2017 and I had the work completed in June.


NUMBER
PC516
REPLACEMENT BULLETIN NUMBER:
02-21
NHTSA ITEM NUMBER
10119195
DATE
2017-02-21
COMPONENT
STEERING
DATE ADDED
2017-10-14
SUMMARY
Electronic steering column lock (escl) voluntary service campaign ***** campaign summary***** nissan is conducting a voluntary service campaign on specific my2009-10 nissan altima (l32), altima coupe (cl32), altima hybrid (l32h), and maxima

Richard66 - same part number used to fix my escl issue. Some people on this site have been told by the dealer that the fix would cost hundreds. I checked Courtesy Parts website and they have that part listed for $87 but their cost to customers was $57. Seems strange to me why the dealers are quoting such high prices to fix before the recall was issued.

Just wanted to share my info on this. New member here. Was lurking in forums before purchasing first Maxima. New to me but used 2010 SV. I was aware of this steering lock issue from reading about here it here so once I had the car I used this link Nissan Recall VIN check to check my VIN and sure enough it fell within their list. Dropped it off yesterday at local Nissan dealership and they fixed it.