Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2011 Nissan 370Z owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Steering lock module failure. Same issue as in 2016 (NHTSA tracking number 10929922). Car would not start. In city park and waited 4 hours for tow truck. By myself - 74 year old female. Getting dark and dealership closed. Had the exact part malfunction in 2016 and had to have it towed. Cost $1000 to fix back then. Nissan has had issues with this but has refused to recall it except for one model. This repair cost me $1400. Not just the money or inconvenience - it's dangerous. There is no way to start this car - it has to be towed!
Yesterday afternoon, after leaving work to my car within the parking lot, my vehicle did not start. I assumed it was due to a low battery within the intelligent key for the push to start ignition, so I replaced the battery at a local wal-mart. Upon returning to the car, I had the same problem. The key was able to lock and unlock the doors to the car, however when I pushed in the clutch and brake per usual followed by the start button, nothing took place. The indicator remained on the 'lock' position and failed to move over to the 'on' position to start the car. No sounds took place at all as if it was even trying to start. As a result, I left the car overnight and had it towed to the local dealership. They informed me a few hours later that my steering lock unit had 'failed'. …
Takata recall. I first occurred a problem with the z on my wedding day. My clutch dropped to the floor and we couldn't get the car in gear. We were put in the middle of the mountains with no way to call a tow truck so we did our best to make it to the closest Nissan dealer. On the way we came to a four way red light and couldn't shift to a low enough gear to get to car to slow down, a semi was traveling about 60 MPH right at us, we swerved into the emergency on and the truck to barely missed us. After that my husband found out from a mechanic that he should bleed the clutch so he did and the clutch was normal again. Besides that the car has had only one other occurrence with the clutch. I am petrified to drive my car after that situation but I have no choice considering I spend most of my paycheck just to pay for the one thing that will probably send me to my grave. …
For years, there have been widespread defects in the electronic steering column lock (escl) that disabled the push-button ignition in a wide range of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles. The escl's primary job is to keep the steering wheel locked until you bring your key fob in range of the vehicle. It's meant to prevent theft. However, when the escl malfunctions (even with the fob present and working) the escl won't detect it and, therefore, won't release the wheel. When you press the start/stop button to start the car, nothing happens. However, the "intelligent key warning light" symbol comes on, indicating you have a problem. Nissan has been aware of this issue fo years and has issued a voluntary service campaign for various models. However, they have not done so for the 370z, even though this model is experiencing the exact problem as the models included in the voluntary service campaign. …
Had to go get emergency cough medication for spouse at 2:30 am. After leaving walgreen, was unable to start my car. The key fob has enough battery power but the engine ignition stayed on "lock" and could not detect key fob. After trying to an hour to "google" and "youtube" and tried everything I could find to fix the issue but with no luck. Had to contact spouse to pick me up at 3:00 am. Towed to a mechanic because after contacting 3 different Nissan dealers and calling the Nissan consumer affairs, learned that there was no recall on this case. However, been reading plenty of forum on the same thing for other Nissan 370zs on this very same incident. The mechanic diagnosed the steering module was malfunctioning and replaced the unit after $1,431.46. + $28 towing fee. I was fortunate that I was in a safe neighborhood although it was in the middle of the night. …
First incident happened at around 37,000 miles, the car would not start and the push button lights up the lock light but seconds later started working. On June 3rd 2015, after driving to my job to pick up tools to head to the airport I park the car, came back to a car that would not start, the car recognizes the key but locks me out from starting the car. The car had random won't start, I brought this up to the Nissan dealers about ongoing issues with other owners of the same car. Now my car does not start and I am hearing that this is a going issue with the steering wheel lock/intelligent key. I am unable to move the car and will have to tow it to the dealer that denied issues with the inelligent key system locking owners from starting their cars. …
Steering lock failure from what I understand Nissan recalled this part for model years 2009-2010 however I have a 2011 model and it has failed at just under 28K miles. I cant start my car, the steering lock acts as a security feature (anti theft) and it has failed on my car and numerous other vehicles. I simply parked my car and when I returned I was unable to start it. I had to have it towed to a Nissan dealership which has quoted me 1060.00 to replace that part with what I'm afraid is just going to fail again. How I'm not protected under the pervious recall or any other warranty is beyond me. What can I do to protect myself. Why was I sold a car with a part they know is bad. Prior to purchasing my vehicle I was under the impression I was buying a model year that did not suffer these symptoms (notably because I researched this issue prior). Please advise. Thanks, dane
I was left stranded in a parking lot after my security steering lock mechanism locked the car and would not allow it to turn on or even to acc mode. Since the car locked up, I have two lights on my dash that will not turn off. I was stranded for hours and could not get an available tow truck to pick my car up. After several hours, I was able to get a family member to drive a long ways to come get me. My car is still in the parking lot and waiting to get a tow truck to pick it up! Only issue with the tow, my car won't even allow the shifter to move into neutral! The tow company said they can't promise the car can even be towed if they can't safely steer it onto the flat bad truck!
Nissan has a well documented problem with the electronic steering lock unit (eslu) on several models, but specifically the 2009 - 2011 370z models. The eslu is touted by Nissan as a security feature;however, when it fails, you cannot start the car. That makes this a safety issue. I parked my car over the weekend and then it would not start. The vehicle was stationary. Nissan claims the latest revision of the part, 48700-jf00d, fixes the failure, but that exact part failed on my 2011 Nissan 370z. I had to pay out of pocket (my year model and VIN were not included in the recall) to fix the problem.
My car wouldn't start. There is a solid light with key on dashboard would remain lit. I tried all methods to power on the car, but failed. Had to get the car towed to the Nissan dealership where I was told that the car requires a "steering lock actuator" replacement and cost runs to approximately $1150. My car is outside of the 3 year warranty period and hence it cannot be covered under warranty. It seems to be a known issue upon looking up on the internet. There should be a recall on this vehicle for this part as it is malfunctioning more than usual.
Steering complaints in other 370Z years
Frequently asked questions
How common are steering problems on the 2011 Nissan 370Z?
NHTSA has 22 complaints about the steering of the 2011 Nissan 370Z, 55% of the model year's 40 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2011 Nissan 370Z steering problems?
No. NHTSA lists no steering recall for the 2011 Nissan 370Z, though it has 1 recall for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2011 Nissan 370Z steering problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 39,000 miles, and 16% before 25,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.