# 06 Maxima SL driver door won’t open



## dneely (Jan 20, 2021)

Locks and unlocks fine but got out of the car one day, got back in and couldn’t get out on the driver’s side. Is there any way that I can get the panel off or something to open the door or maybe a way to just open the door?


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## VStar650CL (Nov 12, 2020)

You're in a pickle with that, it won't be a job for the faint-hearted. The door would open from outside if the problem was a broken inside handle, and that means the problem is in the lock assembly. Getting at it will require removing the inside trim panel, then the window and the motor/regulator carrier panel. That may not be possible without destroying the inside panel. There are 4 screws holding the trim panel on, one behind an escutcheon at the inside handle and three underneath the plastic trim that runs beneath the master switch and grab handle. Those covers just pry loose and the screws are phillips or 10mm heads. The problem is, with the door closed there may not be enough room to move the panel inward off the plastic pawls and then get it past the corner of the dashboard. Loosening the driver seat before you start and dumping it into the back seat will definitely be necessary to get enough room to work. If you do get the panel off, then you'll need to drop the window to the level of the service holes in the carrier panel, remove the two 10mm screws on the regulator lift-bar and pull out the window pane. After that, there's a ring of 10mm-head screws holding the metal motor/regulator carrier to the door. Once that comes off, you can get at the outside levers on the lock assembly and see if fiddling with them opens the door. If not (if the lock is broken internally), you'll basically have to break the plastic covers off the lock assembly with a hammer and a long prybar until you can expose the lock cam and rotate it by force. Good luck, it won't be easy.


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## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

VStar650CL said:


> You're in a pickle with that, it won't be a job for the faint-hearted. The door would open from outside if the problem was a broken inside handle, and that means the problem is in the lock assembly. Getting at it will require removing the inside trim panel, then the window and the motor/regulator carrier panel. That may not be possible without destroying the inside panel. There are 4 screws holding the trim panel on, one behind an escutcheon at the inside handle and three underneath the plastic trim that runs beneath the master switch and grab handle. Those covers just pry loose and the screws are phillips or 10mm heads. The problem is, with the door closed there may not be enough room to move the panel inward off the plastic pawls and then get it past the corner of the dashboard. Loosening the driver seat before you start and dumping it into the back seat will definitely be necessary to get enough room to work. If you do get the panel off, then you'll need to drop the window to the level of the service holes in the carrier panel, remove the two 10mm screws on the regulator lift-bar and pull out the window pane. After that, there's a ring of 10mm-head screws holding the metal motor/regulator carrier to the door. Once that comes off, you can get at the outside levers on the lock assembly and see if fiddling with them opens the door. If not (if the lock is broken internally), you'll basically have to break the plastic covers off the lock assembly with a hammer and a long prybar until you can expose the lock cam and rotate it by force. Good luck, it won't be easy.


I know what you're talking about. Had a similar problem years back with a rear door. Had to remove the back seat, side paneling just to get at that stupid screw in the lower left side that was hidden. It would be nice for the Nissan engineers to change the door panel fastening scheme; short minded thinking on their part; they figured the door latch mechanism would never fail. HaHa!


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## VStar650CL (Nov 12, 2020)

rogoman said:


> It would be nice for the Nissan engineers to change the door panel fastening scheme; short minded thinking on their part; they figured the door latch mechanism would never fail. HaHa!


Yep, very sad. Not just Nissan, it's everybody these days. Designed to be assembled by robots and not disassembled by people.


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## dneely (Jan 20, 2021)

VStar650CL said:


> You're in a pickle with that, it won't be a job for the faint-hearted. The door would open from outside if the problem was a broken inside handle, and that means the problem is in the lock assembly. Getting at it will require removing the inside trim panel, then the window and the motor/regulator carrier panel. That may not be possible without destroying the inside panel. There are 4 screws holding the trim panel on, one behind an escutcheon at the inside handle and three underneath the plastic trim that runs beneath the master switch and grab handle. Those covers just pry loose and the screws are phillips or 10mm heads. The problem is, with the door closed there may not be enough room to move the panel inward off the plastic pawls and then get it past the corner of the dashboard. Loosening the driver seat before you start and dumping it into the back seat will definitely be necessary to get enough room to work. If you do get the panel off, then you'll need to drop the window to the level of the service holes in the carrier panel, remove the two 10mm screws on the regulator lift-bar and pull out the window pane. After that, there's a ring of 10mm-head screws holding the metal motor/regulator carrier to the door. Once that comes off, you can get at the outside levers on the lock assembly and see if fiddling with them opens the door. If not (if the lock is broken internally), you'll basically have to break the plastic covers off the lock assembly with a hammer and a long prybar until you can expose the lock cam and rotate it by force. Good luck, it won't be easy.


Thanks I didn’t wanna hear the bad news but I figured that I’d have to destroy it . I’ll just start looking for a new panel


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## VStar650CL (Nov 12, 2020)

You're most welcome. The panel doesn't need to be on the door to drive the car, so I'd just have a lock assembly ready and see if you can worm the panel loose without hurting it. Some cars you can, some you can't. Even if you have to bend it and break a few of the plastic rivets, those can usually be repaired with Permatex Ultra Gray and a gluing clamp. The one thing you can be sure you'll need is the lock assembly.


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