Nissan Is The Target Of A Class Action Lawsuit In America

Not every day does a car company get sued for a vehicle whose doors can open while driving, but that’s exactly what’s happening to Nissan now.

The Japanese automaker is facing a class-action lawsuit in California, accusing it of hiding a known defect in door lock actuators. These parts could pose a serious risk to drivers and passengers if they fail.

The lawsuit covers several popular models, including the Altima (2013–2025), Rogue (2014–2025), and Sentra (2013–2025). According to the lawsuit, the defect can cause the doors to suddenly open while the vehicle is in motion, or some cases, not open at all.

The lawsuit involves Dina Kalifa, who purchased a 2020 Nissan Rogue in California on March 13, 2020. She claims that Nissan failed to inform her about the potential actuator failure, and had she known, she would not have bought the vehicle.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has received multiple reports of actuator failures in Altima, Rogue, and Sentra models. In one case, a 2018 Rogue owner said she was unable to get into her SUV while fleeing a man who was following her around a parking lot because her door wouldn’t unlock.

In another case, the owner of a 2019 Rogue reported that all four door locks failed simultaneously while her five-month-old baby was locked inside, so she had to break a side window.

The lawsuit alleges that Nissan knew about problems with the lock actuators. In July 2015, the company recalled 6,595 vehicles, including the 2015 Sentra, Versa, Note, and Rogue, due to driver’s door failures.

The lawsuit further alleges that the doors not only could open while the vehicle was moving but also spontaneously lock or unlock, with some owners reporting that they were trapped inside the vehicle. In some cases, the automatic doors would stop working at the same time as the locking mechanism.

Kalifa claims that Nissan violated the California Consumer Rights Act and the Unfair Competition Act and that he was unjustly enriched and is seeking a jury trial.

• Also See: Nissan Will No Longer Accept US Orders For Two Mexican-Made Infiniti SUVs