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A class action lawsuit alleges Nissan door lock actuator problems cause customers to overpay for their vehicles and spend money to repair the problems.
The door lock actuators allegedly cause the doors to open while driving, lock when they shouldn’t and unlock without warning in these vehicles.
- 2013-2025 Nissan Altima
- 2014-2025 Nissan Rogue
- 2013-2025 Nissan Sentra
Nissan owners complain they sometimes cannot open the doors at all, leaving occupants to crawl out windows to escape the vehicles. The Nissan door lock actuator problems can also cause the power locks and power windows to malfunction at the same time, so using a window as an emergency exit is not possible.
Nissan has allegedly known about the door lock actuator problems since 2014 but concealed the defects from the public. And because the problems have allegedly been concealed for 10 years, the lawsuit alleges any statute of limitations should be suspended.
Nissan Door Lock Actuator Lawsuit — The Plaintiff
The class action lawsuit was filed by California plaintiff Deena Khalifa who purchased a 2020 Nissan Rogue in March 2020. The plaintiff complains the window sticker didn’t warn her the door lock actuators were allegedly defective, and she complains no Nissan representative warned her the vehicle was defective.
The lawsuit, filed for more than $5 million, doesn’t allege the plaintiff had any problems with her door locks and doesn’t claim she sought an inspection or repair from a Nissan dealer or any mechanic.
However, the plaintiff complains she has “suffered an ascertainable loss as a result of Nissan’s omissions associated with the Door Lock Defect, including, but not limited to, her overpayment for the vehicle and the cost necessary to repair the defective vehicle.”
Nissan Door Lock Actuator Recall and TSBs
In July 2015, Nissan recalled certain 2015 Rogue, Sentra and Versa Note vehicles because of door lock actuator problems. According to the lawsuit, the door lock actuator recall was “extremely limited” and included only 6,595 vehicles. In addition, the recall involved only the front and rear driver’s side door locks.
The class action lawsuit says Nissan “shifted blame to its Tier 2 supplier” because the supplier of the door latch mounting plates manufactured the parts out of specification. This “could lead to a binding of the ratchet mechanism which captures the door striker as the door closes.”
The plaintiff complains Nissan hasn’t addressed the door lock actuator problems to save money, instead issuing an “inadequate 2015 recall” and two technical service bulletins.
TSB NTB16-092 (September 2016): The technical service bulletin was issued to dealerships for several 2013-2016 models that could experience door lock problems. The plaintiff complains the bulletin was issued “discreetly” to dealers only, not customers. However, a TSB is “technical” and not meant for customers.
TSB NTB16-092 was issued because of door lock problems if a “vehicle has been setting (not running) in temperatures below 14°F (-10°C) for an extended period (such as overnight).”
According to Nissan:
“The door is difficult to close/latch, will not close/latch with normal pressure; requires additional effort to close/latch, or the door may only latch half way.”
But according to the Nissan class action:
“Instead of informing customers of this problem, Nissan secretly instructed service departments to replace the door lock actuators on the vehicles identified in the September 2016 TSB only if customers specifically mentioned that their vehicle had been sitting (not running) in temperatures below 14°F (-10°C) for an extended period (such as overnight). Otherwise, dealers were instructed not to replace door lock actuators automatically.”
TSB NTB22-104 (December 2022): This bulletin included several 2021-2023 Nissan models due to door lock problems such as a door not opening, not closing, or getting stuck.
Nissan has allegedly failed to properly notify consumers about the door lock actuator problems, refused to repair the defective door locks for free and failed to offer reimbursements for repair expenses.
According to the plaintiff, the class action lawsuit is required due to the Nissan door lock actuator problems because, “Nissan’s ongoing inaction threatens the lives of not only vehicle drivers and their passengers, but also everyone forced to share the road with the unreasonably dangerous vehicles.”
The Nissan door lock actuator lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California: Deena Khalifa v. Nissan North America, Inc.
The plaintiff is represented by the Clarkson Law Firm, P.C.