Nissan Repair: back door wont open, door not opening

Question
I have a 1995 Nissan Sentra. Oneday, the back door would not open from the inside. I was able to open it from the outside but once I closed the door, that was it. It will not open at all from the inside or the outside. Any ideas about how I can look at this myself? Thank you.

Answer
Hi Debra -

What happened is the linkage came off inside the door, probably the plastic clip.

What you need to do is to open the door panel. Of course this will be a challenge now that the door cannot open. The best way is to roll the window down and get a slim jim and try to open the latch from above. Once that is done, then you can proceed to remove the panel by unsnapping the edges (use a putty knife) and there may be some screws by the door handle and arm rest. If you have manual windows, the window crank is held by a clip behind the handle. All this has to come off. Once the panel is removed, then find the disconnected linkage and plastic hold down clips. I imagine the clips need to be replaced, probably why it broke in the first place.

This is a tedious job, but with patience - can do!!

Hope this helps, if you get stuck, you may email me at cjiwash@yahoo.com

Aloha
calvin