# Tailgate Handle Finish Assembly Busted



## jkon (Mar 30, 2006)

Every now and then I read on this forum that someone's tailgate handle broke and they have to replace it. I couldn't figure out what they meant by it breaking until this happened to me...allow me to describe. What broke on mine is not the handle itself but what Courtesy Nissan parts names it...Rear Gate Finish Assembly, Part Number 90606-D40001. The part is all basically plastic and what broke on mine are the snap in plastic tabs at the bottom that hold it to the tailgate. When I pull on the tailgate handle to open the tailgate, the whole plastic plate pulls from the bottom. What a pain. The part from Courtesy sells for about $85.00. Wonder what the labor would be to have it done. It is just so cold here that I don't want to mess with it myself. Does what I decribe happened to me is what is happening to everyone else with their tailgate handles? My 2010 truck is out of warranty (yes I put a lot of miles on it) but this seems to be a pretty common occurence and was wondering if there was a TSB or recall on it? Thanks.


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## SPEEDO (Jun 9, 2003)

for a 10 Frontier, the t-gate handle (oem pt# 90606-EA810) I found online for $74.13, should be 4 screws that hold it on


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## Z_Rated (Apr 29, 2006)

They are studded with nuts and for the price does not include an emblem. If you have a tailgate protector, that would have to be removed first. If done carefully you can reuse both the protector and the emblem, provided you use new double stick tape. Heat from inside/underneath the protector can help with removal, but be very careful. 

No TSBs last I checked and recalls have to be safety related (as far as I know) so no recall either. Depending on the dealer you may get lucky... I've replaced mine three times for the same "manufacturing defect" and have never been charged for the finisher or emblem, but my first one broke before my warranty had expired. My issue was not the same as yours. Seems to me that the temperature there could be a factor causing the brittle plastic to break or possibly using just the handle to open and close the heavy tailgate? 

To avoid issues, learn to close/lock the tailgate with the least resistance and maybe consider two hands for more support. For example, lock it before you close it and don't "snap" the handle. In other words, treat it like a piece of plastic. Z


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## azrocketman (Oct 5, 2005)

jkon said:


> Every now and then I read on this forum that someone's tailgate handle broke and they have to replace it. I couldn't figure out what they meant by it breaking until this happened to me...allow me to describe. What broke on mine is not the handle itself but what Courtesy Nissan parts names it...Rear Gate Finish Assembly, Part Number 90606-D40001. The part is all basically plastic and what broke on mine are the snap in plastic tabs at the bottom that hold it to the tailgate. When I pull on the tailgate handle to open the tailgate, the whole plastic plate pulls from the bottom. What a pain. The part from Courtesy sells for about $85.00. Wonder what the labor would be to have it done. It is just so cold here that I don't want to mess with it myself. Does what I decribe happened to me is what is happening to everyone else with their tailgate handles? My 2010 truck is out of warranty (yes I put a lot of miles on it) but this seems to be a pretty common occurence and was wondering if there was a TSB or recall on it? Thanks.


Your truck may be out of warranty because of the number of miles but is still well within a three year bumper to bumper warranty. I'd make a run at Nissan with a letter explaining the problem. The tailgate handle failure is independent of the number of miles on the truck. State the facts without any ranting. They may surprise you and fix the problem for free. If not, you might still ask for some relief on the price of the replacement part, labor, or some other consideration.

Steve


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