J30 door problem

[juiceman]

Talk about wierd

93 J30t, 70K miles, no accidents etc

Today i got out of the car and went to shut the door and it would not shut, latch would not catch

I ran in the Fedex office and came out

I got in the car and used the remote to lock and unlock the door and this allowed me to shut the door. Only problem now is that I cannot open it

1. Door will not open

2.When using the remote the lock will almost open but then catches and locks all the doors. Similar to the feature if I lock my door manually the others lock also

3. The air bag light flashes, the pattern is the same as the self diagnostic everything ok pattern. I am assuming it has to do with the door lock setting the airbag into self diagnostics

Here is the question

How do I get the door to open so I can then remove the panel to diagnose the problem?

Has anyone experienced this problem before?

This is a real pain because I have to get in thru the passenger side and of course I sold my Civic last week so I do not have another car to drive

Thanks for any recommendations

Have a great and safe holiday weekend

Dave:help

[j30t]

well i dont know the story behind the problem with my passenger door as it happened before i got the car but if you lock the door from the inside it wont open with the keyless entry you have to insert the key into the door. Try using the key and not the remote.

[juiceman]

Key won't work either

[Q45tech]

Slim Jim the door with special Nissan tools then replace the broken lock mechanism. Rods bend and break plastic clips. Mostly a dealer solution.

[juiceman]

Can someone other than nissan do it

A local lock smith?

You mention special nissan tools, do you think that an actual nissan dealer can get the door open? then I can remove the catch and tape the door shut and get home to repair

The dealers in Tampa area are rip for parts and I would pay well over sticker just for the part

Man does this happen often? What a pain

[VimyJ]

From my files:

" The first symptom of the door latch failing is this: When you close the door but leave the car unlocked, you will return and the alarm goes off when you open the door. That happened on both of our Js. Basically the alarm sets by itself when you close the door....

....The door latch is quite a troublemaker. It causes anything from setting off alarms to being unable to open the door! A new, updated latch is available from TJ for $23. This is truly a pain to install. Minimum 3 hours. The door lock actuator attaches to the door latch (you have to remove and reinstall it when you replace the latch). It's about $65 from TJ. ...

... When you order the door latch, order some new clips for the door panel in case you break any. Also, order a new door check (door stopper, whatever) if yours doesn't hold very well. ... "

Thank you to the original author(s).

Hope this helps.

[juiceman]

Thanks, it will help when I can get the door open

Had fever all weekend so car sat, I guess I'll have to play dukes of hazard until I can get it open

[juiceman]

I got it open!

VimyJ this is one for the book or maybe your site

This procedure is done with the window down

Took metal duct tape and separated the weather strip in a area that would allow me to shine a light into the door and see what I was doing

On the latch side just to the outside of the window track you will see the top of the latch assembly there will be a metal lever on this part of the assembly. The lever is on the inside closest to the outside sheet metal

Using a long screw driver or metal rod (i used a small metal square I got from Home depot for $2.00, more rigid side to side than round) push on the lever. You have to catch it just right and make sure the door is unlocked otherwise it will not work. Be sure to use something small enough so that you do not damage the window.

Viola, opened, I lubed the mechanism and tested funtion to make sure it would continue to work until I got the updated latch assembly

I know more people will eventually benefit from this

I cannot take full credit, I got my start from Infiniti of scottsdale who said you have to feel around with a screw driver to get open, honestly they said nothing more. I explored and won

I fell like I can conquer the world now, what a rush to accomplish something

[VimyJ]

Excellent work, Juicy!!!!

Feels good, eh?

With the lubrication you might totally avoid having to replace the latch.

Your post is going into my files with your permission.

[juiceman]

Absolutely!

Finally I am an official contributor!

[juiceman]

Replaced door latch today

Was smart enough to get door panel clips as suggested, as three broke so i used all new and save the old.

Took alittle finagling but finally got it out and replaced. Actuator was working fine so i did not replace this.

Instructions from http://www.carstereohelp.com were right on and made removal easy

still had the Airbag light flashing diagnostic mode with no trouble codes and could not get off. Did a search on this site and found the instructions to reset the Airbag diagnostic. I guess when the door switch broke and the lock mechanism was working when the door was able to open and I somehow put the airbag into diag mode.

All is well and thanks to Frank at Scottsdale for the help.

NExt job, Tension rod bushings.

[carlos_knology]

Good job juiceman. Will have to file your fix away in case I need it someday.

Carlos