Incorrect Cable Routing Could See Nissan Altima Doors Accidentally Opening At Speed

One of the things you actively expect not to happen when you wind a window down is for the door to ping open, but that’s exactly what could happen on the current Nissan Altima.

According to the fun-lovers at the American National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the rear door latch and lock cable could be improperly routed, potentially leading to it unexpectedly interfering with the greasy bits of the window-opening mechanism. The result? The door opening, potentially at speed. Oh, what an exciting journey that would be.

Nissan has told ABC News that it knows of no accidents or injuries caused by the problem, but is recalling 363,000 cars worldwide for a simple fix. The Altima isn’t sold in the UK.

The fix, according to an article on CNET’s RoadShow pages, will just involve fitting a protector over part of the inner door assembly, but parts of the lock cable assembly and door sealing screen might also be switched for new ones.

The recall was submitted to the US Government on January 18, but the problem was first discovered last summer after one incident was reported. It couldn’t be replicated at the time. In September or October a repeat incident was called in, and this time Nissan found the improperly routed cable.

Changes were made at the factory immediately, but only decided to flag a recall after hearing of more occurrences over the next few months.

So if you own an Altima built between 2015 and 2017, expect a letter from Nissan within the next two months advising you what to do next. In the meantime, tell the kids not to play with the window switches.