Nissan Pathfinder Liftgate Not Working – How To Fix

By Max Anthony •  Updated: 09/20/22 •  3 min read

A common problem with the Nissan Pathfinder is that the liftgate won’t open. When this happens, you have to manually open the liftgate by pulling it down or lifting it.

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This can be a pain if you are in a hurry and need to go somewhere quickly. So, how do you fix it? Here are some simple steps to take when your Pathfinder liftgate isn’t working properly.

The signs that your Nissan Pathfinder liftgate is not working properly include the gate not closing properly or opening at an angle. If you find that your Nissan Pathfinder liftgate is not working properly, you may fix it yourself.

The first thing you will need to do is remove the hinge pin on the liftgate and pull the latch plate out of the hole in the door frame.

Then you will need to remove the cover plate on top of the liftgate and then remove two screws that hold down a piece of trim on top of the hinge pin.

You will then need to pry up on one side of the plastic housing that surrounds the liftgate motor with a flathead screwdriver and slide it up and out of its housing.

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Then use a pair of pliers to pull out one or two wires from underneath where they are connected to a motor inside this plastic housing. This should free up your Nissan Pathfinder liftgate from its hinges.

Now you need to get out the screws that hold down a piece of trim that is placed on top of the plastic housing. Then use a flathead screwdriver to lift up and out of the side of that housing.

This should free up your Nissan Pathfinder liftgate from its hinges.

Causes

There are several reasons why your liftgate may not be working properly. You can check the most common problems below.

Door Latch Issues—If your door latch is broken, then it cannot properly hold the door open. To fix this, you will need to replace your door latch.

Power Window Issues—If there is a problem with your power window motors, then they cannot work properly and will not open or close the windows at all. To fix this, you will need to replace the power window motors or the entire window motor assembly on your Pathfinder.

Faulty Liftgate Motor—The liftgate motor is on the back of the vehicle and can become damaged if there is too much weight on it. It’s also possible that there may be debris in the liftgate motor which is preventing it from turning properly or working at all.

To fix this, you will need to clean out all the gunk inside of it before putting everything back together again.

Wiring Problem—If there is a problem with your wiring, then you won’t be able to open or close your liftgate at all. This is a very common problem with older vehicles and can be caused by many things, such as an electrical short or a faulty fuse.

Faulty Motor—The liftgate motor is on the back of the vehicle and can become damaged if there is too much weight on it. It’s also possible that there may be debris in the liftgate motor which is preventing it from turning properly or working at all.

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Max Anthony

Max is a gizmo-savvy guy, who has a tendency to get pulled into the nitty gritty details of technology and cars. He attended UT Austin, where he studied Information Science. He’s married and has three kids, one dog and a GMC truck and a Porsche 911. With a large family, he still finds time to share tips and tricks on cars, trucks and more.

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