| Mister Purple |
| Over the past year, I have taken my 2003 Murano to the dealership no less than nine (9) times to work on my rear hatch. In stead of the click you should hear when you try to unlock the vehicle, it makes a little whirring sound and remains locked. The dealership says they have replaced everything in the rear mechanism and they don't have a clue why it continues to do this. Has anyone else had this problem? I Hate to have to go to another dealership 30 miles away to get something done, but that may be my next option. My current dealership has one of the mechanics crawl into the back of the vehicle and remove the interior panel to unlock it every time. It works well for about a month or two and then here we go again. |
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| njjoe |
Mister Purple-
If your dealer has had 9 opportunities to fix the problem, and he has replaced the entire latching mechanism, and the problem is still not fixed, then it is time to find a more competent dealer. I wouldn't worry about the 30 miles as much as I would the nine wasted trips.
-njjoe |
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| Gonzo |
| Odd, haven't they replaced the locking mechinism yet? I would also call Nissan to see if they can offer any assistance. I've heard that after a call, the dealer can suddently "fix" something. |
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| zebelkhan |
| Maybe it is a power issue? Can you power the solenoide directly and see if it works? |
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| Apache |
I bought a 2004 just over a week ago, and after a week the rear hatch ceased to unlock. Symptom is the same a Mister Purple described.
What is interesting is when I was taking delivery I insisted on getting copies of all repairs made on the vehicle by the dealer, and I noticed on the report that a few weeks before I took delivery, the dealer had "fixed rear hatch lock."
It seems to me that I'm going to go through the same ordeal even if I take it to the dealer to fix it (still under warranty). I don't want to visit any dealership 9 times to fix a rear hatch lock. If anybody else has a permanent fix please help us.
Thanks.
New member, great forum!!!! |
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| Apache |
OK, I fixed my hatch problem in about 30 min. Half the time was spent on trying to reproduce the problem. I determined that the unlock mechanism doesn't return all the way home when you hit the unlock on the fob. The whirring (pong) sound is the motor trying to overcome the stuck mechanism. I could reproduce the sound by holding the latch and hiting unlock on the fob.
I removed the inside hatch panel and removed the lock. I
Interesting finding is that the lock returns about half way and then stops. If you push it down slightly you can open the hatch.
After removing the lock I inspected and couldn't find exactly what caused it to jam, but I'm pretty sure the motor has nothing to do with it.
I greesed all moving parts inside the lock with faucet greese, and put it back together (it seemed like some moving parts lacked lubrication, it was just metal on metal). I'll see how long this goes.
I'm new to this forum, but once I figure out how post photos I'll post some photos of what I did. |
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| Mister Purple |
My wife and I worked with it some last night and may have come up with a sort-of solution. Like Apache said, the handle mechanism is not returning to the "open" position. By manually putting the handle in the open position and then hitting the unlock button, the hatch will unlock and open. Pulling the handle in the opposite of the normal opening movement is much better than constantly going to the dealer, but this still should not be happening. I will see if I can work some wonders with grease.
Thanks for all your inputs! |
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| Apache |
| OK. So much for a fix. The hatch locked again two weeks after I released it. I've been driving with locked-down hatch for close to two months now. I'll take it to the dealer for repair soon. |
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| Mister Purple |
| The "fix" has been working like a charm for me. The only change to what was stated previously is that I have to return the handle to the normal closed position, lock the vehicle again, and then unlock the vehicle. This has worked every time for me. Good luck and let us know if you come up with a real solution. |
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| Apache |
I took my MO in to the dealer today to look at the problem. I made it clear to them it's an intermittent problem so I don't want anyone to climb back there, release it, and say it's fixed.
They checked and said there is a problem with some pin in cable between the lever and actuator which prevents the latch from returning home (probably the same rusty pin described elsewhere in this forum). They have parts on order so I'll find out in a few days if that fixes it. This will be warranty fix, but I wouldn't want to make multiple trips to the dealer to get this right.
I'm sure Nissan would have spent less making this pin rust proof than they will pay on this warranty repair. Perhaps expensive warranty repairs would motivate for them to get it right next time. Will keep you posted. |
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| Apache |
OK. Dealer ordered parts and "fixed" this hatch problem. The lever definitely felt firmer since then. But that was in Jan 2006.
Just last week after a snow storm I hit the unlock button on key fob, and then heard the telltale sound: poinggggg!!!
I couldn't believe my ears so I repeated unlock multiple times and hatch would not open!
Of course I did the "fix": Pushed the lever to return home fully and unlock again; and it worked.
I hope this helps others who may be searching for solution to this problem. |
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| Gonzo |
| I'll admit I didn't read this thread 100%, but did you ever try to lock and then unlock the MO with the key fob to see if that solves the issue? |
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| Apache |
Yep, tried that multiple times in the past. It didn't help.
The only thing that helps every time is to push the lever back home, and then unlock with keyfob again. No need to even lock before unlocking (as Mister Purple had to do). |
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| SIM |
| The hatch handle grabs a lot of dirt and sand and is not sealed on all models up to 2005. My dealer changed the mechanism on my '04 because the hatch would not open. This mechanical device uses a plastic dented part to get the door open and when sufficient dirt and sand grinded it, it simply stops to work. The dealer told me that this cheap plastic part was replaced with a metallic one in 2005. The 2006 and 2007 models use a sealed electronic button that will not be contaminated. |
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| Apache |
| Did the dealer replace your 04 with the better metallic part or he reused the same plastic? Mine is 04 too, and whatever this dealer ordered has not fixed the problem. |
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| elliotgb |
| Maybe you could contact NissanUsa and insist that a regional represenative get involved. I did this before with a Subaru that I had and I got great results. The regional rep would work directly with the Service Manager to hopefully get the issue resolved. |
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| SIM |
The dealer replaced my '04 gear with the newer metallic and better quality one according to what he told me but I did not see it being installed. I trust him though. Both th manager and the mechanic are friends that I go for a beer with every now and then so I don't think that he would have lied to me.
In fact, what he told me is that he replaced the entire handle assembly. There is no way to replace the little dented plastic gear only. Nissan already know that this is a problem on older models because they completely changed the design in 2006. |
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| vtalum2001 |
| My murano has the hatch issue and it's been having that for a while now. My solution has always been pushing it back towards the front of the car, aka the original state before shutting it close and it has always worked. I somhow do want to find a more permanent solution to this and contacted the dealer for repairs. They said they would charge $200 for labor and about another $100 for parts. That seems to me is ridiculous for what the issue is. I have heard other people resolving this issue just by cleaning, painting and lubricating the spring-pin handle assembly. Is that what i should do here?? And if that's the case, does anyone have the pictures/instructions on how to open the handle assembly and put it back together? i think people have been saying it's relatively easy, right? Thanks in advance for your input/tips. |
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| SIM |
If you have the plastic driven handle then it will fail completely given enough time. Mine was hard to open at first, I had to lock it and unlock a few times to be able to open it later on. You can feel that the handle does not grab the release completely and finally it simply snaps without touching anything and the hatch stays closed for good.
The process took maybe a year or so before it failed completely.
Get it changed before the end of your warranty. It is covered. |
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| Apache |
vtalum2001
It's an interesting way of describing the same fix. I don't bother pusing it home before closing the hatch. I only push it home when unlocking it (after it's failed to unlock), and it always works.
I've opened the back panel before and removed the whole assembly for inspection when this problem started. It was easy. I just don't know what needs painting or lubrication. Plus I was still under warranty so I decided to let the dealer worry about the fix.
I'm out of warranty now so I'll be interested in any solution you find.
SIM
Do you know if the metallic one is available to buy from dealer or elsewhere? |
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| vtalum2001 |
Apache
I've been having the problem for a while now and if you are saying you have opened the whole entire back panel and put it back togehter easily, how did you do it? was it hard?? how long did it take you? I'd like to try to do this myself if i could, as i am outta warranty now and the dealer is charging 200 for labor and 100 for parts. I only have powertrain left. So what should i do?
thanks. |
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| Apache |
vtalum2001,
I didn't take detailed step-by-step photos, but see the attached. Back then I thought the problem was the lock actuator shown in the picture, but I didn't find anything wrong with it.
To remove the back panel open the hatch and remove the four screws/tacks on the lower part of the hatch where it has the latch/lock mechanism. (i.e. the side that sits on the bumper)
The upper portion of the panel doesn't have any screws and so it pops right out with a little pull force. I think there may be two other screws elsewhere, but I can't remember. It's pretty easy to find though.
Once the panel is released from the hatch disconnect the inside light cables and you'll have access to all the lock/actuator/cable assembly.
I hope this helps. Let me know how it goes and whether you find anything that is repairable. |
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