Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (door latches, locks, hood and tailgate latches).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2005 Nissan Titan owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2005 Nissan Titan. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked unattended, she heard an abnormal clicking sound coming from the door locks. The contact opened the door and noticed smoke coming from the ignition switch. The contact was unsure if there were any warning lights illuminated. The contact's husband disconnected the battery. The vehicle was towed to the residence. Additionally, the vehicle failed to start and the windows and lights became inoperable. The locks continued making the abnormal clicking noise. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 165,324.
I have Nissan Titan 4 door 4x4, live in california, it seems that when the temperature drops the door locks get lazy and when I engage the remote to lock or unlock you can hear them clicking a bunch of times but never actually unlocking door so that I can get in. Sometimes as I am driving if I roll down any window and back up it will make the locking noises described. Then when I stop vehicle, put in park, key out of ignition, the driver door lock stays locked while the others unlock. My truck has roughly 40,000 miles on it. Its been to the dealership 3 x and they have witnessed the issue, claim they fixed it, and it happens again a few weeks later. Call me strange, but it seems to happen on the coldest days and gets better when warmer. What really freaked me out was that I had a child in the truck one time and I could not get the doors back open to get in. …
2005 Nissan Titan. Door latch failure during cold weather below freezing. Live in smallwood ny, so time period of this weather is October - April. Locked out of truck while children in car and unable to get to them because all doors were frozen. Keep in mind I have not washed the truck in several months. There is a Nissan TSB that they will replace door locking mechanism if vehicle is under warranty. Nissan USA: tbns bx56aa / TSB 05118. However if vehicle is not under warranty they quoted me at $400+ per door x's 4 doors. This is unreasonable and a severe safety hazard for most of the country that experiences weather below 32degrees f. It is a known failure that Nissan USA knows about. This should be a mandated recall. Below are links to a Nissan Titan online forum with multiple other complaints about this. …
I own a 2005 Nissan Titan crew cab which has faulty door latch mechanisms. When temperatures become near or below freezing some or all of the door latches fail to operate properly. When it occurs it causes the doors to stay latched, if it occurs on all the doors at once you cannot gain entry to the vehicle. They also malfunction in the opposite, opening but not latching leaving the door able to swing free. I brought this problem to my service manager and they said this is the first time they had heard of the problem. They applied a gross amount of silicone spray to the locking mechanism hoping to resolve the problem. The door has malfunctioned twice since then with the cold temperatures. I have a small child and I feel this is an unacceptable problem that could result in injury.
I own a 2005 Nissan Titan crew cab and when the temps drop below freezing the door handles or latches freeze up and you can not shut the door, you have to hold them closed with your hand while driving. There was nothing that I did leading up the the failure other than maybe wash my truck. I was told that there was no recall for this problem and that I would have to pay $500 out of pocket for something that could end up killing a child. I took a friend of mines child to school today and the door opened and when I closed it evidently did not latch because the cable was froze up. Good thing that he was in a car seat and buckled in cause when I turned the corner the door flew open. This is ridiculous and someone needs to step in and do something before someone gets hurt.
I have a 2005 Nissan Titan and it has a problem with the door handle cables freezing up. It makes it impossible to open the door and if the door is opened, it will not close securely. I was able to get into the truck but the door came open as I was driving. Luckily, I always wear my seat belt or it could have gotten very ugly. I took it into the dealership on jan 4, 2011 and was told they could replace the cables for about $400 per door since it was out of warranty. This is a serious safety issue and needs to be addressed immediately. Apparently it has been an ongoing problem on titans since 2004 and has never been corrected. Something needs to be done before someone losses their life. Thank you.
Nissan Titan seems to have a problem with the door locks/cables failing in cold weather. I was putting it off as just a freak occurrence on my vehicle, until I was giving a ride to some children and the door would not latch properly. I needed to strap the door closed to the opposite side door. Then I looked on the internet and it seems to be a problem many others are having. Obviously Nissan used some sub par quality equipment. I can understand that maybe they got some bad parts , but they need to fix this problem. I paid almost 500 dollars to get this fixed which I thought was outrageous but for the safety of my children it had to be done.
Drivers door is difficult to open when outside temp is below 15 degrees, and when I get the door open and close it, it will not open again when I close it trapping me inside. I have to crawl over the passenger seat to get out. I think that this is a safety concern because if the vehicle caught on fire I would not be able to get out or if I got stuck on train tracks etc. Nissan is aware of the problem and even has a technical service bulletin on their website. The bulletin is ntb05-118a. I contacted Nissan and the rep stated that it was not their problem.
In cold temperatures the driver side door on our 2005 Nissan Titan crew cab is extremely difficult to or will not open. When it does open it sometimes will not latch when closed so the door would swing open if the vehicle is operated. If it does latch when closed it is impossible to open from the inside. This is a serious safety issue because it would make it impossible for the driver to exit the vehicle from the left side in case of emergency. This happens anytime the temperature is 30 degrees f or below.
Door latches freeze and will not open, or if able to be opened, will not latch in freezing temps. Otherwise, if the door is secured, the latch freezes trapping the occupants of the vehicle! What if there is a fire? What if my family is involved in a crash? Does a child have to fall out of a moving vehicle and get killed before something is done about this? You folks have been aware for some time now, why haven't you done anything? This is a very blatant safety issue. My next step is to call my attorney.
Door Lock & Latch complaints in other Titan years
Frequently asked questions
How common are door lock & latch problems on the 2005 Nissan Titan?
NHTSA has 23 complaints about the locks & latches of the 2005 Nissan Titan, 3% of the model year's 891 complaints. The component named most often is doors › latch (9 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2005 Nissan Titan door lock & latch problems?
No. NHTSA lists no locks & latches recall for the 2005 Nissan Titan, though it has 4 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2005 Nissan Titan door lock & latch problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 45,000 miles, and 29% before 25,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.