# Rear Doors won't open



## carl1961 (Nov 29, 2006)

I have a 2003 nissan Frontier , after being rear ended while pulling a trailer, my rear doors will not open ( unlatch ) is there a safety thing that locks the rear doors after being rear ended, there is no viewable damage at all to my truck


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## BTF/PTM (Oct 19, 2006)

king cab or crew cab? Sorry, I just wanna be sure since I'm not positive on when Nissan started adding the half doors to the king cab.


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## carl1961 (Nov 29, 2006)

I really don't know if its called a king cab or a crew, the doors or like half doors that open separate from the front and open in the same direction at the front


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## BTF/PTM (Oct 19, 2006)

If you have four real seats and four real doors that all have rolling windows and outside pull handles, it's a crew cab.

If you have the little jump seats that fold into the back of the truck cuz they're not real seats and the rear doors aren't actually doors but kinda half size doors that you can only open when the front doors are open, that's a king cab.

what trim level is your frontier?


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## carl1961 (Nov 29, 2006)

this is a picture, except mine is white

2003 Nissan Frontier Review, Prices, Photos: New Car Test Drive


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## carl1961 (Nov 29, 2006)

supercharged engine
Frontier Crew Cab features a shorter-than-standard 56.3-inch bed (4 feet, 8.3 inches). 
and bad gas millage 15 mpg


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## jerryp58 (Jan 6, 2005)

carl1961 said:


> I have a 2003 nissan Frontier , after being rear ended while pulling a trailer, my rear doors will not open ( unlatch ) is there a safety thing that locks the rear doors after being rear ended, there is no viewable damage at all to my truck


I guess you're not talking about the child safety lock system which will keep kids from opening the doors from the inside. Assuming you're trying to open the doors from the outside and the doors are unlocked and they used to open before being rear ended, I'd think you have a bend somewhere. How's the gap (door to body) look aroun the rear doors versus the front doors? Any "wrinkling" of the bed or cab that wasn't there before? Any indication the fron of the bed hit the back of the cab? How hard a hit did the truck take?


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## BTF/PTM (Oct 19, 2006)

Carl, your truck is a crew cab. Ok, now I can finally stop asking stupid questions and try to help.

If you were rear-ended while you were pulling a trailer, wouldn't the other vehicle have hit the trailer?


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## carl1961 (Nov 29, 2006)

yes they hit the trailer, there is no damage anywhere thats why I was wondering if there was a safety thing that may lock the latches a impact to prevent someone in the back seat from being thrown out, I even disconnected the lock lever and unbolted the henges , the latch is what is holding, but both doors doing the same thing is whats strange indicating it may be a safety thing or maybe the inpack did something to the latches


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## jerryp58 (Jan 6, 2005)

carl1961 said:


> yes they hit the trailer, there is no damage anywhere thats why I was wondering if there was a safety thing that may lock the latches a impact to prevent someone in the back seat from being thrown out, I even disconnected the lock lever and unbolted the henges , the latch is what is holding, but both doors doing the same thing is whats strange indicating it may be a safety thing or maybe the inpack did something to the latches


I looked in my '04 owner's manaul and while it recommended locking the doors to help prevent passengers from being ejected during an accident, it didn't mention any automated system that locked the doors.


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## BTF/PTM (Oct 19, 2006)

How were you able to unbolt the hinges if the doors won't open? This is a very confusing thread. Do you have power locks?


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## carl1961 (Nov 29, 2006)

yes I have power locks but I disconnected the locking part when I took the cover off the door, the henges or exposed when you open the front doors


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## BTF/PTM (Oct 19, 2006)

So if you were able to completely unbolt the door hinges AND disconnect the power lock mechanism and the doors STILL won't open, I'd say the lock itself is stuck. Did you try manually operating the lock while you had the door opened up?


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## carl1961 (Nov 29, 2006)

Yes Tryed every thing
be nice if some one here worked or is connected to missan la la


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## carl1961 (Nov 29, 2006)

when I get it fixed, I'll be sure to post it in case someone else has this issue


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## LauraM (Nov 19, 2015)

*Repair Tailgate*

There are plastic pieces inside the mechanism to open the tailgate and several other posts on how to get access. I had mine automatically locking about every other time I opened it until it finally locked and would not open. I followed multiple sites and videos to carefully remove the entire component after using a blow dryer on warm only to ensure the clips would be soft and not break since it was already cold out. I was able to follow others suggestions for troubleshooting and used a bolt to replace a missing white dowel that the lock needs to stabilize it when locking and unlocking (mine was completely missing...I have read where others were broken). My repair has held now for one year and I recommend watching videos and removing the component so you can play with it. If you can't jury rig it like I did you can buy some ready made parts online and avoid the Stealership Costs. You just need to know if it is the handle or the lock. Here are some other helpful hints. 

Would like to suggest using a blow dryer on warm before removing the entire unit and then again on the unit to remove the metal dowels from the plastic clips. Later after the repair I recommend reinstalling the clips first into the tailgate and placing the dowels in each of the four holes on the main component black part so the alignment is easier for re-insertion. I added a bit of glue into the holes first and then hammered gently but hold the metal dowels with large pliers so you hammer the pliers instead of the point of the dowel. I also bought a grease tube at AutoZone to apply to the lock and mechanical mechanism and lubed it well before placing it back in the tailgate. MY DAMAGE/REPAIR required I place a BOLT where the plastic long piece stabilizes the moving part of the lock as mine was completely missing and not inside the tailgate. If my fix didn't work I planned to buy a new unit and install myself but it has worked so far and now I completely understand the mechanics of the entire tailgate. I also applied glue into the hole where the missing white plastic dowel used to be and using pliers, screwed the bolt into place (I found an approximate diameter and length bolt in my garage so I didn't have to buy one) and it fixed the problem. So glad I didn't waste any money on any parts and was able to complete the project myself with help of posts from others. SYMPTOMS for mine before repair was the tailgate occasionally locking itself and it gradually worsened to locking every other time I opened it and then it finally locked and would not open at all but I felt the handle was fine. None of the other plastic pieces were compromised nor was the handle so removing the entire unit after releasing the two bars and the two nuts allowed me to play with it and trouble shoot it. GOOD LUCK


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