Now that I have your attention.

I did the $5 actuator fix, it worked excellently for months. Today somehow I think the shotty $5 actuator has either seized, or something else so now my drivers door is stuck locked. I can still get in through the passenger side to access the driver's seat, but because I cannot open the door to remove the panel I'm stumped. Any ideas on how I can remove the panel without being able to unlock the door to open it?

I do not own a slimjim to unlock the door.

Thanks

 

They're actually super easy to break into. Not that I'm gonna explain how..

 

I don't get. If u can get in the pass side than u can unlock it from the inside

 

With the drivers side actuator frozen, you cannot lock nor unlock the door

 

Well, you can call the dealers to see what they suggest.

 

I don't even think u could Jimmy it anyway. It doesn't have the pull up style locking mechanism.

Since its broken anyway I'd suggest jus forcing it to unlock from the Inside.

 

OK so I am now genuinely ****ed and thoroughly pissed off. I have the outter handle and lock removed, and have taken out the drivers seat (which was a major PITA without being able to go through that door). I am still completely stumped. I am going to see what Infiniti suggests tomorrow, and if it's something ridiculous I am cutting away my door panel to gain access to the inside locking mechanism...

 

Don't do it. Bring it to the dealer.

 

I just had the same thing happen to me last week. In my case (and I'm willing to bet that it is same in yours) the rod from the aftermarket actuator simply slipped on the screw that was holding it and door was not unlocking all the way. I was actually able to remove the top of the door panel and pull the unlock wire to unlock the car.
What you need to do is:
1. Remove all 3 bolts that hold the door panel
2. Pry up the door panel from the top. There are no pins holding it, you can just simply pry it up with a screwdriver and pull it back to access the cables.

Good luck.

 

I think you've hit the nail on the head with this one. Thanks for the insight man I will keep you guys posted, maybe even add a DIY remedying this if it occurs frequently.

 

Stupid question...did you try the key? I'd pop the trunk, crawl thru and drive to Nissan and have them fix what ever is wrong!
Gary

 

Not a stupid question at all, because embarrassingly I didn't try it until after an hour of tampering with it. No the key doesn't work unfortunately, I think what Joker has suggested is going to be a winner, I am just done messing with it for one day. It's still 100 degrees out here in Phoenix, one can only sweat so much with only so much Gaterade LOL

 

He mentioned that he can access the car through the passenger side door. So crawling through trunk would be as useful as crawling through heater vents.

 

Have you tried Joker suggestion yet? should be cool now

 

After work I tried it out and it worked! 2mins and I was able to open the stupid door. It seems like JOKER said, the cheap actuator rod's screw thing slipped. I am going to put a small square of rubber to help with friction so that this garbage doesn't happen again. I hope that the keywords in this thread will help those with the same problem in the future.