Hows it going guys. I believe some mechanism inside the door latch is messed up. The lock switch works fine. The lock switch closes and pops open when I unlock but the door itself won't open. The door handle feels different, there's no tension when I pull on it. I'm not sure how the handle works but maybe a spring or a plastic connector broke that triggers the door to open when i pull the handle? Its a 2008 g35xs would the stealerships cover this and any idea how much it'll run my pockets if I had to pay for this.
Please guys any insight or fixes? I drive my girl and I to the university everyday and its pretty awkward to have her sit in the back.

Thanks.

 

Comon nobody? should I just head over to the dealership and see whats up?

 

I have the same exact problem on my passenger door. Door will open from inside, but from outside , the door handle is dead .

 

^mine is dead from both inside and out. I can't open it in anyway. I just called the dealer and unfortunately for me my warranty is over and he mentioned the price to be around $450.... forreal? I feel like its just a spring that broke. The locking mechanism still works fine just the handle won't work...

 

I imagine a good portion of the dealer quote is for the labor time to get the door panel off and gain access to the mechanism (which I agree is as you suspect, just a clip or a spring that broke). Anyway, if it were mine, I'd be calling a locksmith or even AAA if you've got their card and see if someone can open the door with a slimjim or something. My thinking is that perhaps they can grab a portion of the linkage that is still working. Once the door is open, it should (relatively) be cake from there. Something you could do to learn what MIGHT be happening, is open up your driver side door panel and see how the whole mechanism operates. Good luck and keep us posted.


Oh, and you may one day regret not having an excuse any more for making her ride in the back.


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Is it cold where you live?

I had this happen 2x on my G, both when it got really cold after rain or slushy snow, both times 2 winters ago. Basically the first and second time everything froze up and the door lock actuator crapped the bed, so when I pulled on the handle all the cheap plastic connections nissan uses broke (i did not pull hard, or try repeatedly). The first time, the latch on the door got stuck in the closed position so the door wouldn't close, then when I pushed it open and shut the door it was then stuck shut. I was just outside of warranty, but way under on miles and Infiniti did it in good will. The second time was covered by the 12 month warranty on parts, this time the outside handle stopped working first, then the inside handle a few days later. It actually happened a third time, but the dealer paid because the parts weren't faulty, but some lazy tech did not replace any of the seals/gaskets inside the door (he also left his lunch scraps in my backseat). Also, my initial quote the first time was ~700 including the actuator, cables, and handle. A lot of that was labor since they had to get the door to open, remove the panel, and then remove the window/window tracks, and motor to get to the handle. I have done a similar job 2x on a Civic and I think it took me ~3 hours.

IDK if you would have luck with a slim jim, I think the latch is actuated by a cable like a bike brake. I think the cable design is part of the problem, I think the cable can freeze in the sheath so when you pull the handle, it snaps the little nubs off the end of the cable. I would not say it is a common problem, but it is not unheard of, I have a friend with a Rogue who had this happen 2x, I had it happened 2x, I found numerous complaints elsewhere online, and there had been a recall for similar issues on the Titan based products. I think Nissan should start doing hardcore cold weather testing Honda style, maybe its not a common issue, but it should be basically unheard of, how hard is it to make a door handle work when it is cold out? Everyone else seems perfectly capable of doing it.

 

Ah man it was actually snowing/raining that night, Went to the supermarket with my girl and went back to the parking lot and the rest you already know, door didn't open. How under on miles were you? I'm at 46k just out of warranty I believe... Maybe push it with the dealer or my best bet is to find a shop to do this? Just wanna know the best and ideal AND Most importantly CHEAPEST option for me right now so I can get this out of the way.
How hard would you say the fix is on a scale of 1-10.

 

This happened to mine last summer,,(2011) it was a latch assembly i think,, but can't find paperwork on it..rear pass. door would not open from outside. i had Elite coverage, so it was covered.. sorry i usually same ALL paperwork, on car but can't find this warranty work with actual part numbers.....

 

From the looks of it I don't think this will be a self-fix for me... I've got full coverage on car insurance, would it be smart to say someone wanted to break in etc and broke my door handle. Idk how I'm going to drop
4-5 bills at the moment. Got 4grand of tuition due this month for school and thats been killing me. or... just ride with no front passengers for a while.

 

I doubt that would be very effective. Besides being outright dishonest, how much is your deductible for a claim like that?

Too bad, but it sounds like you may be chaffeuring for a while longer.

 

haha I don't even know but I just put that out there I'm not actually gonna do that. But yeah thats what it seems like. When you got like 25 grand of student loans you don't wanna pay for dumb stuff like that you know what I mean

 

Well does anyone know what part I should get for the fix if I were to attempt a self-fix?

 

There are several parts that can be bad, so it is hard to say what to actually get until you know what broke; you could need multiple pieces. The fact both inside and outside handles do not work means it is most likely a broken plastic connector which could be the result of a frozen cable. You will honestly have to remove the door panel to figure out what all you will need. You may be out just a few bucks for a connector, or out many for a lot of parts; to hard to tell until you open it up and figure out what broke.

As mentioned before you can remove the driver side to better understand what is going on and what all could be broken. This will allow you to see what all has to be unscrewed or unclipped to get the panel off to better prepare you for removing the passenger side. Plus, it will allow you to pull the handle and see what actuates the lock mechanism so once you have access inside the passenger door you will know what to pull to get the door open. Once you have the passenger door open you can figure out what broke and get the part/s needed to repair it. Good luck to you as removing a door panel with the door close can be a bit taxing; doable, but taxing. A helpful hint for getting the panel off with the door close is to unbolt and disconnect the passenger seat, and take it out the car; it will give you more room to access the panel.

 

I appreciate your input and yeah as much as I wanna do this it has been snowing and been freezing lately here in Buffalo, NY and.... yesterday night my DRIVER side started acting up. There was way too much tension when I pulled the latch to open my door....I can hear the latch grinding on something every time i pull the handle.. I'm afraid my driver door may give in as well wth man. I don't think they can claim a car to be reliable when you can't even get inside the car. I'm upset with the infiniti right now. I've own the car for a lil over a year while my 2nd gen TL-S which i had for a while never had faulty part problems like this
I'm going to head back to nyc next week or so but was planning on taking the amtrack or plane. anyone know if I'll have a better quote from the dealers back in Brooklyn?
Thanks

 

I don't think this is typical of the brand in general. I'm wondering if there is something else that's contributing to the issue for the cars that are experiencing it; maybe if the window seals are overly weathered and don't seal out moisture properly, or if the cars have had (aftermarket) work done on the insides of the door area.