— Problems with Nissan Altima rear doors suddenly opening have caused the recall of 341,000 model year 2015-2017 Altima cars after consumers complained the doors opened while the cars were moving.
In 2016, Nissan was notified about an incident that involved a rear door unexpectedly opening in an Altima, causing engineers to open an investigation. Testing couldn't replicate the problem, but another car experienced the problem in the field and this time engineers did duplicate the problem.
Nissan took apart the rear door panel and noticed an improperly routed latch-lock cable, believing the problem was caused by an isolated error during assembly.
However, engineers determined the latch-lock problem was more widespread than first believed after Nissan found several reports from Nissan Altima owners.
During the Altima trim panel installation, the latch-lock cable inside the door was not routed correctly. Nissan says the slit orientation increases the chance of the cable to load the sealing screen, or vapor barrier into the path of the window regulator.
This causes the cable to interfere with the window regulator and will inadvertently unlatch the door when the window is opened.
The recalled Altimas are spread out in various locations.
- U.S. - 340,665
- Canada - 7,491
- Mexico - 3,327
- Puerto Rico - 240
- Guam - 98
- Saipan - 2
- Other locations - 11,061
Nissan doesn't know when the recall will begin, but dealers will modify the door sealing screens by installing harness protector patches to keep the cables routed correctly. In addition, the latch-lock cable assemblies and sealing screens will be replaced, if needed.
The automaker says once a dealer gets to work on the Altima, the job will likely take about an hour to complete. If for some reason additional parts are needed and they need to be ordered, Nissan will provide rental vehicles while dealers wait for the needed parts.
Owners of the 2015-2017 Nissan Altima cars may contact the automaker at 800-647-7261.
CarComplaints.com has thousands of complaints about cars, including the 2015 Nissan Altima, 2016 Nissan Altima and many other model years of Nissan Altima cars.
