Hey guys,

My passenger door latch has randomly stopped working. I've been searching everywhere and I'm finding a lot of topics about doors being stuck shut and not being able to be opened from the inside or outside of the vehcile.

My situation is more unique however. Passenger door opens and closes just find from the outside - so I would believe that everything is fine in terms of the common door handle issue. Inside the vehicle is a different story. The inside latch is not stuck and still has the exact same travel but simple does not unlatch the door to allow it to be opened. Power locks both on the door and on the fob work and the locking mechanism on the passenger door can be seen locking and unlocking normally - again with full travel to not hint at any issue.

Does anyone have any experience with this or some educated guesses before I start stripping down the door? My guess would be that cables inside the door have lost some of their tension so when you pull the inside latch there is too much slack in the system to allow the latch inside the door to release.

Any info on this would be appreciated, thanks!

 

There are some cables that connect the door handle to the latch mechanism that may have gotten disconnected or the plastic part is worn out. Check out this thread for replacing the window motor. You'll see the cables in the pictures of post #8. It also serves as a good guide for taking the interior panel off.

https://my350z.com/forum/maintenance...ml#post5779466

Good luck!

 

NOT unique. Known issue. This is one of those "not IF, but WHEN" the nylon on the handle breaks and the cable falls off. I stocked up on interior door handles and have a spare for each door for the NEXT TIME it breaks. (Thinking about stocking up on exterior handles too.)

 

be like them duke boys and climb out the window

 

You nailed it! In my case the plastic piece connecting the cable to the interior handle sheered right in half. Couple zip ties later and she's working again.

Thanks!

 

Zip ties! The home mechanic's Band-Aid! Yeah, that door handle nylon is just rubbish. Exterior handle has issues as well. Those and window motors. The Nissan people who engineered "door stuff" must have been put on a severe budget restraint. Glad that worked for you.