Brl24

During the winter I went to unlock the rear pass door, and instead of one click over, it clicked repeatedly for a second and didn't unlock. It absolutely will not unlock, it just keep doing the same thing, so the door wont open.

I managed to get the door panel out from the inside, I have tried and tried to get the lock to budge, manually and with the power with no luck.

This is extremely frustrating, does anyone have any idea how to get this open?

michaelm815

I had this problem a while back. I ended up replacing the latch assembly.
Here is a picture of the old one I took out. The blue piece you see is attatched to an arm that moves back and forth to open the door. The arm on mine wasn't moving so the door wouldn't open. Before you replace it, wiggle around all the rods and things - but this is probably what it is.

Get a flashlight and a coat hanger or if your hands are small reach in and pull up on the blue piece to see if it unlocks.

user name001

+1 on replacing latch.
Im pretty sure the actuator is built into the latch assembly on these vehicles. sometimes when there a seperate unit from the latch, and they seize they wont allow the door to open manually or with power, u can sometimes get in there and disconnect the rod from the actuator to the latch so it can at least be manually locked/unlocked, being that u cant unlock it manually or with power, or even get the door open from either inside or outside its a definate internal break, u can follow the rod which controls locking and unlocking the door from the interior and unclip it and get your hand on the mechanism and try and force it open (sperate from the blue clip shown above as that only controls the exterior handle operation) u can also do that while hitting the unlock button on your fob to free up whatever is stuck if it isnt broken. im sure being that it was cold when this happened that something was frozen and broke when attempting to open it.

user name001

I should have asked first, being that u cant get the door open at all, when u sit in the vehicle and try and manually unlock it, is there a alot of pressure on the lock/unlock switch? or does it move freely and just not actually unlock it?

Brl24

I have jiggled the ****e out the rod that locks/unlocks the mechanism. It is def jammed, it moved over part of the way but stops before in unlocks.

I tried getting my hand in there(not happening), and will try some today after work with a coat hanger, but I'm really starting to think something broke and won't allow the mechanism to unlock. If that is the case I'm really not sure how I'm gonna fix this as you need the door open to remove that latch assy.

user name001

Ya, you are going to want to physically jiggle the mechanism with ur hand as a last attempt befor busting it up to at least get the door open to replace it,moving the rod itself or using a coat hanger wont be too much help as they are too flimsy, try a pry bar. i work in a body shop, and i can tell you these are the most frustrating situations!!

user name001

Getting it out with it latched , u need the door panel off which you have off, you will need patience, a case of beer, and picks and prybars...
1-drink 3 beer and no more! presision is difficult when tanked
2- get your pick in there and pop the white plastic cover off
3- start poking and prying at any movable arms in the latch in hopes u will get lucky and unlock it.
then there is plan b, which consists of drinking the rest of your beer and prying every peice off that latch you possibly can till you reach the stricker and pry up on the hook to break off the hook from the latch and striker ( obviously buy your new latch befor attempting any of these two procedures .. good luck

Brl24

First off, thanks for the reply man. I couldn't fit it into my night yesterday, as I'm just finishing up repairing the fantastic wheel well rust.

I'll be grabbing some beer and taking a stab at this tonite.

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

if it's seized, it needs to be replaced.

Brl24

I don't know if it is tuner, it moves about half way then will not move any further. I spent a good hour trying to get it to unlock without breaking anything, with no luck. So I'm pretty sure there is no way around getting a new latch at least.

There is very little access to the latch even with the door panel off, even breaking it is going to be very hard to do. I called nissan today to see what they wanted for a latch and actuator, about $160 for each haha!

Im def not into paying that to fix this right now, I would like to get it off without for sure wreckIng it, to at least see what's wrong. If I cant, the panel is going back on for a couple months and I'll deal with it, I rarely have ppl in the back seat.

michaelm815

I ripped the latch assembly out of a junk yard car for 30 bucks. It's better this way too because you can take out the new one while observing and learning how it comes out and not worrying about effing up your own car, then when you go to take your old one out of your car you will know how to do it quickly and without breaking something.

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

Junk yard x2

I do find it hard to imagine one seizing up on a car that's used regularly. Unless you only ever push unlock ONCE on your car, and never unlock all the doors.

You can check your power imput to be sure you're getting the signal to the actuator. Just unplug it and put a test light or mulitmeter one probe in each terminal, hit the lock one way then the other, make sure you have power both ways ( power and ground switch depending on function)

If you do, you can be pretty darn sure that you have a bad actuator.

that's about as in depth as the diagnosis goes.

user name001

But not receiving the correct voltage to the actuator shouldnt cause it to not be able to manually unlock it, you just wouldnt be able to unlock and lock with power. being that he cant manually unlock it, it has to be seized somewhere correct?

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

I haven't had one apart, but your theory is correct. If the lock mechanism is completely mechanical, with no electronics in it, then yes, if it's isolated and still not working it has to be the lock mechanism.

Again, haven't had a Maxima one out before, so I dunno.

Brl24

I'm kind of baffled as to how this just randomly jammed, and won't unlock since I do use the car everyday and unlock all doors regularly.

I'm gonna see if I can find one at the junk yard this weekend, that way I can look at it to see how it works. If I remember correctly, although the last time I checked the local yards there wasn't a single maxima haha(no wants to give up on these beauties). If I can't find one, I'm just gonna remove the drivers side latch and use it to reference.

Something just seems fishy about this....

user name001

It happens with vehicles.. more than less. at least its not your driver door! im also looking for a few misc. things for my 00 and out of the 10+ local yards, none have 5th or 5.5 gens! crazy i know! i even put a search out through my work and and havent had a single reply! and that seaches the entire province! They tend to seize in the winter time and thats why its important to lube your latches etc. with lube that dispurses water. i wish u luck!

piggylover1985

I had the same problem with one of my rear door, what happened is that blue piece of plasic in the picture of the latch that you see, there is 1 side where the outside door latch hook into the rod, it got alot of wear on the plastic, making the rod not pushing down far enough to unlatch the door. You can either buy a new latch or what i did is turn that blue piece of plastic 180 degree around and voila, it works awesome now :-)

user name001

That has nothing to do with the door locking or unlocking as that "blue peice of plastic" is the rod seat for the exterior handle. ^useless for this thread

simons

I have a 2004 Maxima with the same problem. In the spring the rear left passenger door handle felt like there was some resistance and it would take a couple of pulls to open the door. Then the next day it wouldn't open at all. The inside handle operates ok but the door won't open. Also, the lock handle will only move halfway open unlocking but is ok when locking.
The first problem is getting the inside door panel off with the door closed, does any have any hints which won't damage the panel?
I took the rear right passenger door apart to see if there is any way of getting at the door latch, but there seems to be a plastic cover over the mechanism.
I found that the door catch is spring loaded, which means pulling the handle only releases the catch and a spring opens it up. The cables aren't directly connected to the catch to pull it open. If I closed the catch I could hold it closed while pull the door handle and it wouldn't open.
If I can get the door panel off I will still have to butcher the mechanism to get it to release.

knight_yyz

iTrader: (40)

If the latch was not in the correct position when you closed the door it can jam and won't unlatch. The latch was probably a little damp when the door was opened and it did not move to fully open, froze, then the door was slammed to shut it. Now the latch is in the wrong position. I'm not sure how you can unlatch it except by brute force. You cannot remove the latch while the door is closed, it's held in with 3 torx screws from the outside. If you hit a junk yard, all the latches are the same from 00-03, just the inside panels are different.

I've had mine freeze up in the winter and found it impossible to open the door until it warmed up. You will have to figure out which of the rods is hooked to the mechanical latch and get some vise grips and give it a damn good pull. It is probably going to damage the rod and the latch.

Brl24

Mine is still not fixed, I have had the panel off for a while and I yanked and pulled on the thing, beat it with a chisel and it just won't go.

I went in the ditch this winter and crumpled that door so I'm going to be swapping in the one pulled of my parts car. My plan to get it off is to take my angle grinder a d cut the door handle out and keep cutting until it comes off.

This has been a massive pain in my azz for a long time.