2009 LE AWD Steering wheel

[GarrettP1]

Hello and thanks.

My Murano has just started "freezing" the tilt mechanism on the steering wheel when I open or close the drivers door.

The motor (which tilts the steering wheel up to allow easy ingress) grinds and grinds, but the tilt mechanism doesn't move. It's also impossible to move manually as well. Moving the button/joy stick that controls the steering wheel tilt will stop the grinding noise, but has no effect on the tilt mechanism.

Anyone familiar with this problem?

Thanks,

Garrett

[hokey777]

Yep - There is a TSB on the issue (see thread Post road trip woes: Head Gasket and Power Tilt Motor)

[chuck jones]

There have been a number of threads on this subject. If you have the new car warranty, they'll fix it....if not, it's going to cost you around $400...but in one of the threads a fellow explains how to DIY the replacement if you're at all mechanically inclined.

Mine went out at $49K miles....and the extended Nissan warranty (not a 3rd party warranty either) wouldn't cover that particular motor....so that tells me that there have been a number of failures of that part....the more I research it, the more I hear about it failing. So far, Nissan has not opted to do a recall. I was fortunate in that the service manager where I go was a good fellow and fixed it under " Customer Goodwill" policy. You might ask them if they'll do a goodwill fix...depending upon your working relationship with the service manager...he has some discretion here, and they're aware of the ongoing failures of this part....

[roadracer516]

A bit late, but I wanted to post on the topic. I have 54K miles and out of warranty. TSB's give no legal reason for a dealer to replace free of charge. Tim Dahle Nissan in Murray, UT (basically Salt Lake City) just replaced my tilt motor free of charge on "good faith". I was extremely surprised and delighted! So to all that think all hope is lost, give your local dealer a chance.

I approached the Service Manager and openly admitted that I realized that it was out of warranty and that they had NO obligation to replace free of charge. I was friendly and posed no attitude. I simply stated that I am only asking because this problem is not an isolated incident and that I really enjoyed the auto tilt feature that is now inoperable due to the tilt motor being dead (telescope motor and function is fine). To my surprise, he called me two days later and said bring it in, we will repair free of charge!

[BillArf]

Originally Posted by roadracer516

A bit late, but I wanted to post on the topic. I have 54K miles and out of warranty. TSB's give no legal reason for a dealer to replace free of charge. Tim Dahle Nissan in Murray, UT (basically Salt Lake City) just replaced my tilt motor free of charge on "good faith". I was extremely surprised and delighted! So to all that think all hope is lost, give your local dealer a chance.

I approached the Service Manager and openly admitted that I realized that it was out of warranty and that they had NO obligation to replace free of charge. I was friendly and posed no attitude. I simply stated that I am only asking because this problem is not an isolated incident and that I really enjoyed the auto tilt feature that is now inoperable due to the tilt motor being dead (telescope motor and function is fine). To my surprise, he called me two days later and said bring it in, we will repair free of charge!

Not that it matters, but Dahle Nissan in Murray, UT did the job for you at no charge but more then likely did pass the costs of doing so on to Nissan in some way. Of course the dealer says they picked up the costs but again, undoubtedly they did not. Yes, nice to see the Service Manager doing this for you.

[roadracer516]

Originally Posted by BillArf

Not that it matters, but Dahle Nissan in Murray, UT did the job for you at no charge but more then likely did pass the costs of doing so on to Nissan in some way. Of course the dealer says they picked up the costs but again, undoubtedly they did not. Yes, nice to see the Service Manager doing this for you.

Actually he told me that they budgeted the repair from their "good will/customer retention" budget. Whether they did it themselves or charged Nissan is really a moot point. Either way, the dealer and or Nissan realized the expense and chose to keep a customer happy rather telling me to "pound sand"! This is something that is rare these days. This is an approach I impose at my company as good customer service will pay off in the long run. The word of mouth on such a gesture in itself will pay for itself in spades! Budget sheets and bottom lines calculate "numbers" and companies need to have their finger on the pulse of formulas that a budget sheet cannot calculate. Way to go Nissan on this one!

The reality is that this repair cost maybe $100 in parts and service combined. This type of service will keep this customer loyal and Nissan will reap thousands in sales due to this minor repair they covered. Its amazing how companies these days "drop dollars to pick up nickels" so to speak. Its so counter productive really. All these big companies "focus groups" have their heads up their ass

[KtG]

'Goodwill' repairs are combination of Dealer/nissan, and sometimes the customer as well. There is a 'budget' so to speak, but it's fairly easy to get FOM approval under the right circumstances. Nissan is very generous with their goodwill compared to some other brands.

[roadracer516]

After a week with the auto tilt feature enabled, I have a sneaky suspicion about the tilt motor problems with this car?

1. You RARELY hear of a problem with the telescope motor failing.
2. Most problems with the tilt motor are associated with a "grinding" noise and little to no movement.

The auto tilt activates NOT when you turn off the car, but when you open the door. Most people get out of the vehicle as you are opening the front door.

With that said, I believe that most people grab the top of the steering wheel to help exit the vehicle (do you? I tested and I do and did not even know it).

When and if you do that, you are pulling down on the steering wheel as the auto tilt is moving the steering wheel up. See any lasting tilt motor/gear problems with this scenario? Is see the gears stripping on the tilt motor eventually. Nissan should have the tilt auto up feature activate as soon as you turn the car off, NOT after you open the door. Just my .02

[inspector]

My dealer also replaced tilt motor under goodwill.

Mechanic stated that when the motor runs the worm shaft to the end of travel, the stop cap dislocates, allowing the gear skip.

[Halwg]

I wonder why it doesn't work as well as the motor on the Maxima? I had mine for 7 years and never had a bit of problem with the steering wheel motor.