Nissan Door Defect Lawsuit: Vehicles Covered and Repair Costs

A proposed class action filed in March 2025 accuses Nissan of hiding a door lock actuator defect in some of its best-selling vehicles for more than a decade. The Nissan door lock lawsuit, Khalifa v. Nissan North America, Inc., covers 2013–2025 Altima, 2014–2025 Rogue, and 2013–2025 Sentra models, and alleges the faulty actuators can cause doors to open at highway speeds, lock without warning and trap occupants inside, or unlock on their own.¹ The case is in its early stages. No class has been certified, no settlement has been reached, and there is no claim form to fill out.²

Which Vehicles Are Covered

The proposed class includes anyone who owns or previously owned a Nissan Altima from model years 2013 through 2025, a Rogue from 2014 through 2025, or a Sentra from 2013 through 2025, equipped with the allegedly defective door lock actuators. The complaint was filed by plaintiff Deena Khalifa on March 24, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (Case No. 3:25-cv-02777).¹

What the Alleged Defect Does

The complaint describes a “latent defect” in the door lock actuators that shows up in several ways:

Doors flying open while the vehicle is moving, including at highway speeds.
Doors locking spontaneously and trapping people inside, with some owners reporting they had to climb out through a window.
Doors unlocking on their own, leaving the vehicle open to theft.
Power locks and power windows failing at the same time, so the windows can’t be used as an emergency exit.

The lawsuit says roughly 151 complaints about the issue have been filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration since 2014.² Two incidents cited in the complaint stand out. A 2019 Rogue owner reported that all four locks failed with her five-month-old inside, and she broke a window to reach the child. A 2018 Rogue owner said she couldn’t get into her own vehicle while trying to escape a threatening stranger in a parking lot because the actuator had failed.³

What Nissan Is Alleged to Have Known

The complaint argues Nissan has known about the problem for at least a decade and chose not to disclose it. It points to a July 2015 voluntary recall that covered only 6,595 vehicles — certain 2015 Sentras, Versa Notes, and Rogues — over driver-side door latch mounting plates from Canadian supplier Magna Closures that were not built to specification.⁴ The lawsuit calls that recall “extremely limited” and says Nissan blamed a supplier rather than addressing a broader design flaw.

The complaint also points to two technical service bulletins Nissan sent to dealers rather than to consumers:

TSB NTB16-092, issued in September 2016, covered 2013–2016 Altima, Sentra, Rogue, Pathfinder, and Versa Note models. It addressed doors that became difficult to close or latch after the vehicle sat in temperatures below 14°F for an extended period, and told dealers to replace the door lock only when the customer described those specific cold-weather conditions.⁵
TSB NTB22-104, issued in December 2022, applied to 2021–2023 Altima, Frontier, Pathfinder, Rogue, and Sentra models with doors that would not open, unlock, or close properly. Dealers were told to run through a diagnostic checklist and replace the actuator only as a last resort.⁶

According to the lawsuit, the bulletins show Nissan was internally aware of a persistent problem while continuing to sell the vehicles without warning buyers. The complaint also asks the court to pause any applicable statutes of limitations on the grounds that Nissan concealed the defect for more than ten years.⁷

What Repairs Have Cost Owners

Owners aren’t cheap to make whole. The Clarkson Law Firm’s investigation page says consumers have reported paying up to $400 per door to replace a defective actuator, and multiple doors can be affected on the same vehicle.⁸ Independent estimates for a Rogue range from about $294 to over $1,000 depending on model year and door, with dealer prices sometimes topping $2,300.⁹ For the Altima, one estimate puts the cost between $301 and $365 per door.¹⁰ The lawsuit alleges Nissan has offered no reimbursement to owners who have already paid out of pocket.

What Owners Should Do Now

You do not need to sign up, register, or file a claim to be part of the proposed class at this stage. In a class action, owners of the covered vehicles are included in the proposed class automatically. If the case is certified or settles, affected owners will receive formal notice with instructions at that point.²

What’s worth doing now, if you own one of the covered vehicles and have had a door lock issue:

Save any repair invoices, work orders, and diagnostic reports. Note the date and mileage when the problem occurred.
File a complaint with NHTSA through its online complaint portal. Those complaints are part of the record the lawsuit already relies on.
Hold onto the records whether the case ultimately settles, Nissan issues a broader recall, or you decide to pursue an individual claim.

1
ClassAction.org. Khalifa v. Nissan North America, Inc., Class Action Complaint
2
ClassAction.org. Nissan Door Lock Actuator Lawsuit Filed Over Alleged Defect Plaguing Altima, Rogue, Sentra Models
3
Carscoops. Nissan Hit With Class Action Over Faulty Door Lock Actuators
4
The Car Connection. Nissan Rogue, Sentra, Versa Note Recalled to Fix Faulty Door Latches
5
NHTSA. TSB NTB16-092
6
NHTSA. TSB NTB22-104
7
CarComplaints.com. Nissan Door Lock Actuator Problems Lawsuit
8
Clarkson Law Firm. Nissan Locks Investigation
9
YourMechanic. Door Lock Actuator Replacement Estimate – Nissan Rogue
10
RepairPal. Door Lock Actuator Replacement Cost