Just started having problems with my driver's door last weekend. I called Nissan up and made an appointment, and asked if this has been a common issue and to see if I would be covered or not. He said he hadn't heard of this happening before and since I'm at 38K miles I'm past the warranty so it would cost them $100 just to look at it. So I decided to bite the bullet because it had to be fixed and went in for my appointment yesterday. An hour and a half later the guy comes in and says there were recalls on the door handles and something with the transmission that were fixed, and they would mail me the recall paperwork for me to sign so I wouldn't have to continue sitting there which made me very happy and was a huge relief. I talked to the head maintenance guy before heading out and told him my displeasure that my car was in less than a month ago with a transmission problem and no recalls were mentioned, so hopefully they'll work on their customer service a little more.

First cold day of the year and my driver's side door wouldn't open from the outside. It still locks and opens from the inside. After reading here, I attempted to have my dealership fix the issue, but (as usual) my dealership is being completely unhelpful and wants to charge up the wazoo just to look at my vehicle. I opened a file with Nissan directly and had the case escalated because I don't believe this is an issue I should have to pay to fix and I believe it is highly unsafe. We shall see what they say. Any tips on finding a helpful dealership that likes to solve problems instead of making life so difficult? I only purchased my '09 a little over a year ago, but I am just outside of the warranty. Anybody know of a friendly Detroit area Nissan dealer? Thanks for reading

Last weekend, after a massive 1/2" freeze on my car in Pittsburgh, my drivers side door would not open from the outside. After calling a local Nissan service department, I had to wait over a week to get in to get it fixed. This was a huge inconvenience going basically anywhere because I had to crawl over the passenger side to get into the drivers seat or have my girlfriend open the door for me when she was with me. I took my car in today at 10:30 am and was told I would be called early afternoon to let me know what was going on. By 2:30 I hadn't received a call so I decided to call the service department, only to find out that my car still hadn't even been looked at. When I dropped the car off, I told them that I saw a service bulletin, which I was told was never done to my car to prevent the handle from freezing and breaking.When the service department finally called back, the guy told me it would be over $300 to fix for a new actuator. I argued with him and said that the service issue should have been taken care of or that I should have been notified of it when I purchased the vehicle. I argued that if the service bulletin had been taken care of that I wouldn't have had this problem to begin with, and if it was addressed, that I wasn't going to pay for some other Nissan mechanics screw up by fixing it the wrong way. I continued to argue and reference the service bulletin and other recalls, which he claimed did not even apply to my car, even though I own a 2008, and the service bulletin applies to 2008s and 2009s. He stumbled over his words some more, trying to get the $300 out of me, until he said he would make some calls and let me know. He called back around 3:30 and said that Nissan agreed to pay for the replacement, which I think is utter crap. I am 23 years old, and I think that the service rep tried to take advantage of my young age to make a quick buck, thinking that I wouldn't put up a fuss or that I didn't do my homework on this issue. He said my car would be ready by 4:30, I went back to pick it up, and he wouldn't say a word to me and was extremely rude. He handed me the keys and I had to actually ask if everything was taken care of rather than him telling me what was done or anything. Needless to say, I will never take my car back to the Nissan dealer in Washington, which would have also had my dads business this spring for a new car, and the service on my moms, brothers, and girlfriends car had the issue been taken care of in a more responsible manner.

on a bitter cold Feb 2012 chicago morning i was unable to open my 2008 rogue's drivers door from the outside. the door would open from the inside. i found the Voluntary Service Campaign ( NTB09125-CP 2008-2009 Rogue: Front Door Handles ) info on this forum. the first two Nissan dealership service department service writers i spoke with told me that this "recall" expired when my car reached 36 months/3years. i told them this is not a "recall" and i have the VSC number and there is no expiration date. they wouldn't listen to me. when i called the third dealership, the service writer entered my VIN number into his computer and then set up an appointment to fix my car's front door. they fixed it, no charge. i then called nissan's customer complaint department and filed a complain against the first two service writers, and complimented the third.

I used to complain and compliment all the time the dealerships about transmission replacement, door handles repair etc. but I think it's a waste of time because it's not going to do any good or bad. Today you complained about first 2 dealerships but tomorrow someone will compliment them so it's actually going to be equal debate and nothing going to happen. I'm glad your handle been repaired at no charge so probably this is going to be a dealership that you'll visit again. That's what happened to me after all when one dealership never quoted me for repairs but started to repair them and this is the one I'll stick with. This is called good customer service )))

Leo, you are sounding quite cynical today!!

I agree that sometimes when you speak up and complain or compliment service it may not have an immediate impact, or it may not seem to. But I still applaude robmil72 for taking the time to to report the terrible dealer service he recieved, which I think borders on malpractice and should be reported. I think Nissan corporate does take this feedback seriously, and if one dealership is consistently recieving a few complaints per month while another does not, I'm confident Nissan would take action and at the very least communicate with them to address the issues. I've seen evidence of this over the years and I think it's just the right thing to do to try to help out future customers.

I guess this is a similar concept as voting for political candidates. You could easily take the stance that your one vote will not change anything when thousands of votes will be cast, but if everyone felt this way then nobody would vote and the system would fail - every vote does count! The same goes for giving feedback or complaints of poor service departments, the more people who actively participate the better. That's my opinion!

kerrton wrote:nobody would vote and the system would fail

That's a little bit different. Don't want to spread the conversation here about politic but system not just failed it is actually never existed. President been chosen way before people went to vote so that's different. I didn't actually mean to get anyone mad or anything like that...just had my opinion. And I think couple dealerships over here would be closed down or service dpt would replace everybody if those calls would work. I'm in the same boat as robmil and that's why I picked 1 dealership out 3 in town for myself.

There was no hard feelings here at all, your opinion was very valid and I'm glad you shared it! I just did the same it so happened that we disagreed on some points but that's ok. Keep posting!

I bought my 2008 Rogue in October of 2012 at a reputable Toronto dealership. In May of 2013 the front passenger door handle failed. Without knowing about Nissan's door handle service bulletin I took the car in and had it repaired for approximately $500 CD in parts and labour. In the last week of December, 2013 the front driver side door handle failed. That's when I became suspicious and scoured the internet for more information about this issue, discovering this board in the process. I will be visiting my dealership to ask them why they didn't acknowledge the existing issue and request that the company pay for this next round of repairs. I will also request a credit for the previous repair since the service manager never disclosed that this was a known problem in the Rogue '08 and '09 model years. I will post further information on this board as it becomes available.
I fully expect a reputable company such as Nissan to stand behind its product.

FIY, the Service Bulletin Number is 315236. A copy is available for a $20 fee on the Nissan web site:
http://www.nissan-techinfo.com/TSB/TSB_xml/nmIndex.aspx

"NTB09125 - CP 2008 - 2009 Rogue; Front Door Handles - Voluntary Service Campaign

In certain 2008 and 2009 Nissan Rogue vehicles, to assure customer satisfaction, Nissan is conducting a voluntary service campaign to
install seals to the door latch assembly and apply special grease to the door cable ends to prevent freezing under certain
conditions. See this bulletin for further details."

Nissan has officially washed its hands of any responsibility for their poor door handle design after both of my front door handles failed for the SECOND TIME. I am the second owner of a 2008 Rogue SL and for the second time in less than two years I am being asked to pay for a repair for which Nissan should be assuming full responsibility (presuming they actually care about their customers and want to keep their future business).

Both door handles had already been repaired free of charge for the vehicle's first owner under the Voluntary Service Campaign issued by Nissan in October, 2010. I purchased the vehicle in the fall of 2012 with less than 65,000 kilometres on the odometer. The front passenger side door handle failed in February, 2013 and was repaired at my expense with no mention of the recall by my service writer. The front driver side door handle failed in December, 2013 and remains unfixed as I try to obtain satisfaction from my dealership and/or the manufacturer. I spoke to Nissan customer service today and was told they would not pay for the second repair - it is my responsibility.

This is shocking and disappointing to say the least and has completely changed my opinion of Nissan and its products. Clearly Nissan is not willing to stand behind its vehicles nor take responsibility for a manufacturing defect that is, by their own documented admission, entirely their fault. As an unwitting buyer I am left, literally, outside in the cold, unable to open the door to my car.

Based on the service records quoted by my dealership and Nissan customer service, I can expect these door handles to continue to fail, on average, about every 18 months, incurring a personal expense of approximately $500 PER DOOR PER REPAIR. Based on the current odometer reading of 87,000 kilometres, I would normally expect to be driving this vehicle for up to four more years. Under the circumstances however, the only recourse left to me is to fix the broken door and sell the vehicle before the doors fail again.

Obviously I have no interest in ever owning another Nissan product given the company's total indifference to my plight and denial of responsibility for their own engineering failure.

Well my front 2 doors won't open. Damnnnn ittt.

I don't understand...is this all because of that special "lube" that is supposed to go onto the inner tabs of the door handle itself? And if there is no lube on this part it will freeze in winter?

I cannot believe Nissan not standing behind something like this...and I am nearly ready to go on my rant again about car dealerships and threatening to call every local news station for 200 miles.

At any rate, explain to them that you are first going to lodge a complain with Nissan North America, followed by a complaint to the OWNER of the dealership, followed by phone calls to every news station in the state that will listen, followed by every radio station, then a phone call to the BBB to report shady business handlings, and don't forget Google reviews and posting on every Nissan forum the world has ever conceived (and make sure you tell them you are registered on a half dozen nissan forums).

I would make it abundantly clear to the dealership that I would wage a personal damned war against them for the rest of my natural life. I would pay people $50 to stand across from the dealership wearing sandwich boards advertising reasons why they should NOT shop at that dealership. I would pay to have fliers mass mailed to customers in the local sales area for that dealership, explaining why they should not be spending their hard earned dollars at a place like this. OH...and don't forget skywriting! lol. The point is, aside from doing anything illegal, I would do everything in my power to change their minds.

exzacklyright wrote:Well my front 2 doors won't open. Damnnnn ittt.

Is it cold as hell where you are?

My door would not open after cold weather nearly a year ago. Who expects to be unable to open a car door. I never really experienced this in the past and not on my Nissan maxima I had for 16 yrs. So why a 3 yr old car? Major pain in the asphalt.

Your lucky. My dealership was charging me $600 to fix the door that won't open inside or outside. It was the left rear passenger door next to the baby seat. They said it was the actuator. I said BS in my mind. Didn't look like anything was opened to diagnose the issue.

Anyways, I had to use a piece of plastic to jimmy the child safety lock so I can at least open it on the inside. Then I took my door apart. I was able to McGuyver something up, it was scary for awhile because I messed up the inside and it could not be opened inside or outside.

I then stuck my skinny arm inside the door and felt around and now it works normally ever since. I posted my experience in the forum somewhere. Took me all day to fix but saved me $600 for now.

I am careful when opening my doors in winter weather now.

if Nissan doesn't get its act together, its going to destroy its customer base. and its as serious as ever.
OEM rotors that wear way too fast.
OEM calipers that have bad piston seals.
doors/locks that lock people in/out of their vehicles.
astronomical transmission issues.
and small issues here and there.

if someone started a national campaign or lawsuit, id love to jump in. thats how passionate i am to get nissan to own up to all the BS

Here we go..
1-15-2014 We have had so far a record cold and nasty winter. I have owned my Rogues since 2008 new.
This year the driver door popped the cable off during a cold spell (below zero). Went to dealer with a "Voluntary
service" note about Nissan knowing there was a problem and how to prevent future problems. It cost 60.00 just to look see and the "repair" was no charge. It is now 2-11-2012 and not only the driver door has failed during our current severe cold snap but also the passenger door. I now have to climb through the back door and open the front doors with a coat hanger.
The people that rely on me for recommendations when buying cars think this is a hoot- I DO NOT.
Returning to Bob Rohrman Nissan in Chesterton, Indiana Thursday 2-13-14 at 8 AM and will report on that result.
Davis

ps. Just spoke to my attorney. Not being able to extract someone from a car due to known malfunction is a huge liability for Nissan and as he calls it...."EZ pickings". I,for one, do not want to be that victim.

Going to Chicago auto show tomorrow.. took a day off. I WILL be in the face of NISSAN reps.
AND pointing out to customers the failings.. I'm taking my Rogue..I've got all day to hang out at the display.

mstrmstr wrote:Going to Chicago auto show tomorrow.. took a day off. I WILL be in the face of NISSAN reps.
AND pointing out to customers the failings.. I'm taking my Rogue..I've got all day to hang out at the display.

i wish you luck! you got balls bro!

Climbing into your car through the back seat at 63 when it's 4 below does make you testy...best of all it's not illegal
Thanks IM

In my Bob Rohrman dealership as we speak fixing both my front doors.

Will cost 115.00 which brings my one month total to $175.00.
They will not honor the Doorhandle VSC.(NTB09125 - CP 2008 - 2009 Rogue; Front Door Handles - Voluntary Service Campaign).

I did go to Chicago Auto show yesterday with several friends. The NISSAN displays were lame and the "reps" were uninformed. I found one car that no one could get the trunk open on. It was like talking to a wall that only knew how to smile and give out handouts.
I was, however, impressed by the Hyundai and Honda 2014's

I am now to the point I cannot trust my Rogue.
After three door handle failures in a month My Nissan love is heading for divorce.

Well I'm seriously pissed..

My 2008 Rogue does this every week now. The ball pops out of the handle slot when the cable does not retract.
I'm 100% sure its the actuating spring being too weak. The dealer repaired once under warranty and three times now at my local body shop.
Its been through the worthless TSB . The attachment point is just cast potmetal and cannot modify to work.

Let me tell you it is a pain removing door trim and the window just to access the handle!!!

I have no where to turn except to an attorney..

My 2008 Rogue had it's first dead driver side door problem. Went to the dealer to get it diagnosed and was shocked at the price to fix it. Skipped ordering the lock actuator for now while I did some research. I'm certainly not alone! It doesn't look like anyone is having much luck getting compensated these days from Nissan, so i'm going to try to fix it myself. I found a link of a guy who bought a $10 universal lock actuator for his Nissan Murano and did a little video of how he installed it. I've never opened up a door before, but even if it takes me all day it'll be worth it to save $500. Has anyone here tried one of these universal lock actuators on their Rogue? Are the workings of a Rogue door very different from a Murano?

video I found:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb32XcrdZas

An example of the universal lock actuators i'm talking about:
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Heavy-P ... op?ie=UTF8

Well this s*** just happened to me last night. Opened the driver's door to start the car and warm it up before I left and go to close the driver's door and it just pooped back out. It didn't close. Would NOT close. I looked at the latch on the door and could easily move it with my finger.
So Pissed!!
It is 0 F degrees in Chicago. I can only pray this is because of the cold and nothing actually broke.
I got back in the car and f*** with it locking it manually and automatically, nothing was working until it did finally lock and the door stayed closed.
Had to climb out the passenger side door!!

I had the door handle recall done years ago, but that apparently was just for the door handle seal. My door handle moves in and out.

This happened to my wife a few days ago and she had to go out the passenger side. This morning none of the doors would open when she got to work! Her manager had to come down and open the back door for her to climb through (child locks on). This on a 2012! Oddly enough today my warranty expires today! However, I am over by 4,000kms and Nissan won't do crap. This is the same issue with the 08-09's so the 12's are not covered. What crappy piece of @#$. This is the last Nissan I will ever buy.

Well mine thankfully started working again. I can open and close the drivers door without issue. It warmed up a lot.
It will be 0 degrees again on Sunday or Monday, better not happen again

It did this to mine last winter but ever since I lube up the rubber around each door using Silicone lube it hasnt frozen shut again. If you want to try this make sure to use silicone lubes because it doesnt dry, crack nor affect the rubber in any way....according to the auto parts guy. I apply it maybe once or twice a month and so far so good.

Happened here yesterday evening.

2008 Rogue AWD SL with Intellikeys,
I went through the carwash a few days ago, it was maybe 10F outside yesterday evening,
wife was out for some business and car was parked on the street for a few hours.
She got in to drive home alright, but then she called me from the (detached) garage because she couldn't open the driver's door.

Tried everything, inside or outside handles, key in door-lock, unlock-button and combinations thereof, nothing worked.
You could hear something 'clicking/clonking' inside the door when using the key fob to lock/unlock but it stayed shut.
Same this morning.

So I put a space heater inside in the driver's foot-well pointing at the door and ran it for an hour,
inside was nice and toasty and the door handles worked again.
Guess it was the cold and maybe some residual moisture from the wash.

The door handle TSB was done last summer, seems it didn't help...

-S

This happened to me last week.
2009 Rogue S
105,000
cold climate.

JUST out of warranty, drivers side door would not open from the outside.
Nissan dealership denied Service Bulletin fix, saying the car had already been fixed under that bulletin in 2010! WTF!

Cost me $385.00. Dealer said I was "lucky" because they only had to rebuild and not replace parts.

I KNOW this will happen again, just like "limp mode", but what can you do? I am too large to Dukes and Hazzard my way in and out of the car.

This morning my 2008 Rogue with 136,000 miles on it developed the front door problem...on both front doors simultaneously! We are having an unprecedented cold spell in NW Washington, but around here that means a few nights in the teens. Last night was in the mid teens and now the doors will not open from the outside. I did notice that the handles themselves are rather loose feeling. I assume that I have the door handle problem addressed in the tsb. I am waiting for a call back from our Nissan dealer. Since they were invaluable in getting us a new cvt many years ago, I expect they will get this fixed quickly and for free. I will post an update with my results.

About a week ago we had a really cold night. When I went out in the morning the drivers side door handle would not work from the outside. All of the other doors worked fine. I went to my own mechanic first and they told me it was going to be a few hours labor plus the cost of parts as they really had no idea what the problem was. I then did some online research and found out there had been a recall. I contacted Nissan and was told that my vehicle had been repaired before I got it so that if it is the same problem they would not cover the cost unless the Nissan dealership could prove the the repair was not done right the first time. Today I went to the dealership and looked at it. After paying $100.00 for them just to look at it, they said it was not the same problem as the recall as the door handle was broken. They then said it would be over $500.00 to replace the door handle!
I really do not want to pay $500.00 on top of the $100.00 I have already paid but I do not have any skills when it comes to repairing cars myself.
Any ideas/suggestions?