Door Handle Problems Anyone?

Davink · 12-20-2004, 03:36 PM

Hey all,

Anyone got any suggestions?

I keep having the rear driverside door handle freezing shut on me. I b*tched to the dealer, the said there was some water in the greese in the handle, and that they would repack it, I told them no way, replace it - so they did.

Now the da*n thing is freezing again, you can open it if you pull hard, but then the handle is stuck out and the door wont close - the first time it happend, I had to bungie the door shut to get it to the dealer.

It is soooo annoying not being able to use that door - I tried spraying silicone in it, did nothing! I do not have time in the morning to use a hair dryer on it it is rediculous. Anyone have this problem, or any suggestions on how to fix it?

They should have listed on the sticker that the truck is use in warm climates only. I won't even get into all the noises the thing is making with the cold!!!

Help!! I even had the thing idling today for about three hours while I was at work (I work out doors, was dealing with snow today) with the heat on high, and it still did not unfreeze!!

Thanks, I just had to grip about it!

pciley · 12-20-2004, 06:41 PM

wow.. pretty upset, huh?
If they really did replace the handle, and aren't just lieing to you, then it must be one of the cable linkages inside the door that control the handle and lock. Maybe the cable or the tube that it slides inside of is bent. I would remove your door panel your self since your dealer obviously has their heads in the... sand.
Take a look and make sure that during assembly, one of the cables wasn't pinched.

Your problem is very minor and has a simple fix. Good luck!

pciley · 12-20-2004, 07:52 PM

just remembered..

Both of the rear doors on my KC, I have to pull the handle twice for the door to open. On the first pull, the handle isn't engaging and then the second it does. I am too lazy to pull the panels just for that..

I'm sure its a quck fix too. I don't have kids, so I'm opening the rear door about once a month to put the dog in to go somewhere so it doesn't really bother me.

Ape0r · 12-20-2004, 08:43 PM

Um.. you can't just jerk on it? My impression was that most vehicles require a bit of extra force to get the door handle open after a good freeze. What's really fun is when your doors ice over!

As far as defrosting at idle, the key word is idle. It only uses enough energy to keep itself running. If it were cold enough, that aluminum block could keep your coolant temperature from budging at idle... there's a reason why aluminum is the most common material used in CPU coolers, it distributes and releases heat damn efficiently!!

raskm · 12-20-2004, 10:17 PM

Today when I woke up...ALL windows froze, both crew cab door handles froze and what really mad me mad was I needed gas and the door froze so I couldn't service gas...little hot water took care of that!! The heater doesn't seem to work very well so Windows still frozen.....I stuck a credit card in the drivers side window seal to free that one up...Everythings good...nothing different than any other car I have owned...

Davink · 12-21-2004, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ape0r

Um.. you can't just jerk on it? My impression was that most vehicles require a bit of extra force to get the door handle open after a good freeze. What's really fun is when your doors ice over!

As far as defrosting at idle, the key word is idle. It only uses enough energy to keep itself running. If it were cold enough, that aluminum block could keep your coolant temperature from budging at idle... there's a reason why aluminum is the most common material used in CPU coolers, it distributes and releases heat damn efficiently!!

I have just jerked itopen, then the handle gets stuck out and the door will not close, I ended up having to use a bungie to hold it shut.

I agree with you about the idle, but if the heat is running as well, and the inside of the truck is hot as hell, it should do something.

Thanks for the input!

Davink · 12-21-2004, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pciley

wow.. pretty upset, huh?
If they really did replace the handle, and aren't just lieing to you, then it must be one of the cable linkages inside the door that control the handle and lock. Maybe the cable or the tube that it slides inside of is bent. I would remove your door panel your self since your dealer obviously has their heads in the... sand.
Take a look and make sure that during assembly, one of the cables wasn't pinched.

Your problem is very minor and has a simple fix. Good luck!

Yeh I guess you could I am pi**ed about it. I work construction, so I have many things in the truck, and although I have no kids, getting a tool box out over the seat, or having to walk is just annoying.

I have though about taking the pannel off myself, and I probably will, It just annoys me that I spend so much on something and something this simple is a problem.

It just shoulden't do it, and I am just talking really cold temps, it is not like the truck is wet or snowy, I keep it inside, so it is something inside it, and I just feel the dealer should be compitent enough to handle something so simple.

Thanks for the thought though, I had not thought about the cables.

BTW I saw the old one, so they did really change it.

Happy holiday!!

dozer · 12-21-2004, 12:21 PM

Same thing for me with the driver's door handle. Only happens when the temp gets down to 20 degrees or below. When you pull on the handle it stays out, then the door won't latch shut. Doesn't happen on any of the other doors.

I found that when I get in and cycle the electric lock button before closing the door, the door will latch shut. Then after driving around for a while, I guess it warms up and is fine. I don't have to bungee like you do. That would be a pain in the A$$!

Had it at the dealer yesterday and they said they sprayed silcone on the handle, but same problem this morning. Must be deeper in the door.

Deepwater · 12-21-2004, 12:24 PM

It is a flawed design in the doors! Just found that out last week when I had to have all four doors repaired! None of them would open and shut right!

Go to the dealer and get the UPDATED new Cables and latch Mechanisms for all of your doors.
I just had to replace all of them on my truck. Nissan changed the design of these parts and how they were running the cables.
They have all new parts for them now, sometime late last spring they did this I was told. I have not had any problems with my doors not working right after all the new updated parts were installed.

The parts for this repair were on back order, my dealer had to take the parts off one of the Titans he had on his lot, most all trucks that are on the lots should already have the updated Cables and latchs etc.

Unless the truck was built before MAYof 04.
It is not safe to drive the truck with the doors not latching or shutting right!
I had to drive my truck into the dealership while holding the drivers side door shut because it would not latch! On the freeway no less!
You will not be able to fix this without all of the new updated parts! (cables and latch mechanisms).
Hope this info helps some of you out!

Deep.

jfischer · 12-21-2004, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deepwater

It is a flawed design in the doors! Just found that out last week when I had to have all four doors repaired! None of them would open and shut right!

Go to the dealer and get the UPDATED new Cables and latch Mechanisms for all of your doors.
I just had to replace all of them on my truck. Nissan changed the design of these parts and how they were running the cables.
They have all new parts for them now, sometime late last spring they did this I was told. I have not had any problems with my doors not working right after all the new updated parts were installed.

The parts for this repair were on back order, my dealer had to take the parts off one of the Titans he had on his lot, most all trucks that are on the lots should already have the updated Cables and latchs etc.

Unless the truck was built before MAYof 04. It is not safe to drive the truck with the doors not latching or shutting rigfht! I had to driver my truck into the dealership while holding the drivers side door shut because it would not latch! On the freeway no less!
You will not be able to fix this without all of the new updated parts! (cables and latch mechanisms).
Hope this info helps some of you out!

Deep.

My truck shows a build date of 03/04 so just in case this problem arises for me, is there a TSB on it or did the dealer just tell you?

Titan4x4Aggie · 12-21-2004, 02:12 PM

simple fix: move to texas

this week it's supposed to get it's coldest of this year: mid 20's!

HAHAHHAHA. love texas, read my signature for more details.

Hughey79 · 12-21-2004, 02:19 PM

Well, I have the exact same problem here. My front passenger door will not open unless you either open from the inside or jerk really hard on the handle. Then ofcourse it wont shut. I did however use the locking method and so far it is staying shut.
Our weather here is below freezing and wind chills are in the single digits and below 0 so it will be quite some time before it thaws out.
Is this new cable system capable of fixing this or is it just water deep down somewhere?

Davink · 12-21-2004, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deepwater

It is a flawed design in the doors! Just found that out last week when I had to have all four doors repaired! None of them would open and shut right!

Go to the dealer and get the UPDATED new Cables and latch Mechanisms for all of your doors.
I just had to replace all of them on my truck. Nissan changed the design of these parts and how they were running the cables.
They have all new parts for them now, sometime late last spring they did this I was told. I have not had any problems with my doors not working right after all the new updated parts were installed.

The parts for this repair were on back order, my dealer had to take the parts off one of the Titans he had on his lot, most all trucks that are on the lots should already have the updated Cables and latchs etc.

Unless the truck was built before MAYof 04. It is not safe to drive the truck with the doors not latching or shutting rigfht! I had to driver my truck into the dealership while holding the drivers side door shut because it would not latch! On the freeway no less!
You will not be able to fix this without all of the new updated parts! (cables and latch mechanisms).
Hope this info helps some of you out!

Deep.

Hey Deep,

Was this happening to you in the cold, or in any kind of weather? I agree with you it is a pain in the a** and very UNSAFE. How did you find out about the fix? Any TSB or something that I can shove in the Service Manager uh.... Face?

Thanks vor the responce, and Happy Holidays!

Deepwater · 12-21-2004, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hughey79

Well, I have the exact same problem here. My front passenger door will not open unless you either open from the inside or jerk really hard on the handle. Then ofcourse it wont shut. I did however use the locking method and so far it is staying shut.
Our weather here is below freezing and wind chills are in the single digits and below 0 so it will be quite some time before it thaws out.
Is this new cable system capable of fixing this or is it just water deep down somewhere?

It has nothing to do with the water, that is what the service manager said to me.
He said that when it's cold the interior cables and latch Mechanisms bind up! Frost will do this, He said that the new cables are routed differently with the new updated Mechanism parts, Thus he said it was a cable routing problem.

He did find a bulletin on it, my truck was the first one with this problem in his shop. Your dealer should be able to find this bulletin to.
This is the fix for this problem, Nissan has already installed this update, it is on all current trucks because there was a problem with it.
I hope this info helps you out.

Deep.

Deepwater · 12-21-2004, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davink

Hey Deep,

Was this happening to you in the cold, or in any kind of weather? I agree with you it is a pain in the a** and very UNSAFE. How did you find out about the fix? Any TSB or something that I can shove in the Service Manager uh.... Face?

Thanks vor the responce, and Happy Holidays!

My service manager did a search and found a Bulletin on it he said, so there is one. Everyones dealer should be able to find this.

We had below zero temps here in MN. last weekend and all of the doors worked great! Zero problems opening and shuting them!

Before if it was about 20 f degrees out the doors would not open and if I was lucky to get one to open it would not shut at all!
It is a joke in my veiw! But at least there is a fix for it!

Happy Holidays to you and yours also, God Bless.

Deep.