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I took the hatch panel off per R50JR's instructions this morning (I was waiting for cooler weather, as my shop isn't air conditioned). It came apart pretty easily with a minimum of broken panel clips, and I found that lock actuator isn't working. When I removed the bar from the actuator (that goes from the actuator to the latch) and pushed over on it manually, the hatch opens normally. I priced the actuators thinking they'd be cheap, like a passenger door actuator. Wrong - They're $250 or so. I decided to do a little more looking online and found this thread: https://forums.nicoclub.com/lift-rear-gate-latch-problem-parts-help-t455161.html I took apart the actuator and found the same broken gear tooth as Gcohen6 describes. I removed the broken tooth, reassembled the actuator, and reinstalled in the the liftgate. It works now - the broken tooth must have jammed up the actuator. I don't know if it will work indefinitely, but for now it's functional and thanks to R50JR's instructions getting the panel off to get to the actuator isn't hard, so I'll replace the actuator if this one jams up again. Thanks again for everyone's help.

Today’s Nissan is not yesterday’s. Quality doesn’t even come close. Growing up my parents had a Datsun b210. That damn thing went to hell and back. With me in it a few times. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

When you replaced the bulbs, did you replace them with the stock type (I'm assuming they're incandescent, if they're replaceable) or with LEDs? LED bulbs cause weird issues in some circuits. If that's what you did, I'd try incandescent bulbs first--and while you're in there, make sure you got everything buttoned up properly the last time (all the plugs fully seated and all that). I'm not surprised the dealer tech said to ditch it. They're used to working on much newer stuff, and likely regard your '03 as a dinosaur. With their labor rates, the price of having them try and figure it out would get silly quick, especially if they start firing the parts cannon. The manual Hawairish linked is your best bet. Good luck and let us know how it goes! The later manuals tend to be heavy on the "press this button on the diagnostic tool you don't have, now press this button," but there's usually at least a circuit diagram to get you started. My dad took his Tundra in with parking lights that wouldn't turn off (probably a bad BCM). Toyota quoted something ridiculous to diagnose and repair, so he drilled a hole in the front license plate and installed a battery cutoff switch from the auto parts store. Park, turn the battery off, lights turn off. Fixed.

@Sharar, welcome to the forum. A few things come to mind: Have you tried things without the new bulbs installed, or with the old bulbs re-installed? To confirm, the 4wd light is on but the truck doesn't engage 4wd? Have you been able to definitively confirm if it is or isn't in 4wd? How's your technical aptitude, or willingness to learn? Factory Service Manuals (FSM) are available online, for free, and are an extremely valuable resource. Not talking Haynes/Chilton, but the real Nissan Dealership stuff. Manuals found here: https://www.nicoclub.com/nissan-service-manuals Specifically, look at the Transfer chapter (https://www.nicoclub.com/service-manual?fsm=Pathfinder/2003/tf.pdf). Your "All-Mode" system is ATX14A, and there's a self-diagnostic mode described on TS-62. If the dealer inspected the solenoid and it functions fine, you should still confirm if that returns a diagnostic code. Keep in mind many diagnostic codes don't indicate a problem with a specific part, but part of the system pertaining to the part. The All-Mode system uses numerous inputs. Re-iterating my first question, if you have a known change to the system (bulbs), revert that and re-test. Hopefully it's something trivial, but if it working fine before modifying the switch, then I'd be starting with the switch.

AC springs ordered! Thanks AC for the ridiculous shipping rates. I’ll be sure to never use you guys again. Also ordered generic camber bolts