Every since i pulled the fuse to disable the steering wheel lock, when i push the starter button there seems to be a slight delay before the car starts. this started right after i pulled fuse. Has anyone else noticed this.

 

Now that you mention it, sometimes mine sits there for a second doing nothing then starts up. Interesting. Ah well, still better than getting stranded.

 

Yes sir

 

I just recieved a letter from nissan saying that they are extending the warranty on the escl/electronic steering column unit to 6/unlimited miles ad for thoes who have paid to get it fixed will be getting reimbused the form for reimbusement should be on nissanassist.com if it was paid for before the previous warranty expired. So this is some good news with the escl issue.

 

Here is more information about that.

http://www.nissanassist.com/web/ESCL...ex.php?menu=69

 

Great news and thanks for the link! Hope to not use it but glad it is there.

 

States only cover the '09s. I believe other yrs were effected?

 

Nissan stated in a press release I saw a month or two ago that this was a manufacturing anomaly that was addressed before the '10s began production. It will be interesting to see if there are those here with model years other than '09 that have this problem.

 

FAQs
Q1.
What is the reason for warranty extension?
A.
To ensure customer satisfaction. Model Year 2009 Altima and Maxima vehicles are equipped with an Electronic Steering Column Lock (ESCL) unit that locks the steering wheel when the vehicle is parked and the ignition is turned off to help prevent theft. Nissan has determined that on a small number of vehicles, due to a manufacturing irregularity that has since been corrected, the ESCL may malfunction after the steering column is locked and could prevent the engine from starting.

Q8.
What do I need to do if my vehicle is included in the warranty extension?
A.
If you are not currently experiencing this condition, you should do nothing. No repair needs to be performed on your vehicle if you are not currently experiencing this condition. However, if you are experiencing this condition, simply contact your local Nissan dealer and schedule an appointment. The warranty extension assures that should the condition occur during this extended period, the replacement will be covered by Nissan at no cost to you for parts and labor. Again, if you are not experiencing this condition, no action is required.


I not sure what this means. Do you have to wait to get stranded before you take action or are there warning signs before it actually fails?

 

I checked my fuse a little while ago....it had already been pulled. Dealer must have done it. It's good to know that some people will be getting reimbursed.

 

I have that same delay sometimes.

 

Yup I have the same delay on mine as well...not all the time, just kinda intermittent.

 

So does the dealer just pull the fuse or do they replace ESCL unit or something else to fix the issue?

 

Under the language of the warranty extension, we are to do nothing unless the situation occurs in our partucular car. If the situation occurs, then we contact Nissan, and the repair is free.

Of course, once the situation has occurred, pulling the fuse makes no difference, so the warranty repair will necessitate replacing all or part of the ESCL unit.

 

So basically you have to wait to get stranded, then have your car towed to a Nissan dealer. I'm planning several road trips and would hate to have this happen especially since I'll be out deep in the woods. I'll contact my local dealer to see what they have to say about this.

 

Just pull the fuse out.

You have a 2010, no? Chances are the dealer already pulled it. Either before you bought the car, while it was being serviced, or it came from the factory with no fuse.

When has pulling out ever failed???

edit - sorry just realized you have a 2009.

 

This was my thought also. Lots of my trips these days are to family reunions, class reunions, graduations, weddings, funerals, etc, and most are in other states.

When I was young (way back when I was around age 60 or 70), I could have (reluctantly) dealt with being stranded in the middle of the night at the end of a muddy cowpath. But those days are gone. At my age, I would not survive being stranded in the middle of nowhere with the summer temps we now get in middle Gerogia (we hit 108 degrees twice on our thermometers last summer).

I may wimp out and talk to my dealer about pulling the fuse.

 

I've had mine out for ... 3 months now? No issues aside from this posted here, where you push the start button and it delays for a second or two. Nobody wants to get stranded any more than you do my friend.

 

My 2010 had the fuse pulled prior to purchase. I installed my radar detector and notice a fuse was missing in the panel and then figured it all out after reading these steering wheel lock threads a while back.

 

ESCL failed on my 2010 Maxima this week (Jan 2015) - Nissan argue that it is unrelated to the same failure on 2009 model. However there are many others reporting the same proble with the 2010 model.

Here's what I have found to date:
http://www.arfc.org/complaints/2010/...g/problem.aspx

http://www.carcomplaints.com/Nissan/...steering.shtml

Anyone else?

 

This is very bizarre. What is your manufacture date? My 2010 does not have the ESL. Nissan just did away with a steering lock altogether on 2010 up models.

Mine was manufactured 06/2010.

Lemme check the FSM and see what it says...

 

Ok - so that took some intense reading. The power control system part of the FSM (which talks about all the relays and such) has a special note that just says "early production". What I have is a 2010 Maxima FSM (revision date November 2009). So, somewhere between the time they started manufacturing the 2010's (anyone know when they start producing the upcoming model year?) and November 2009, they decided to do away with the electronic steering lock.

So - bottom line, it IS the same failure that's on the 2009. Early 2010 models had the ESL and I'm sure they did away with it because they knew it was prone to failure.

But if they won't related it to the 2009 failures, then you're kind of stuck with what Nissan is saying. Sucks, dude! I would tear into that sucker myself and forget the dealer.

 

I have a 2010 and mine failed back in October 2014. This **** cost me $800 to fix and I didn't know about the fuse ****. I could have saved $800. I even asked if this was covered under a warranty and the dealership told me no.