door handle failure

There will be one or two plastic plugs in the underside of the arm rest. Pop the plugs out to get access to the screws under there. Also, there may be a screw in the trim bezel behind the inner door latch. It may be worthwhile to invest in a trim removal tool, it looks almost like one of those tools for digging weeds out of the garden - screwdriver handle with a blade with a notch in it. You can also use your fingertips or a putty knife. Starting at the bottom of the door panel, carefully pull the inner door panel away from the door and work your way around the leading and trailing edge of the door. After all of the clips are free, unplug the courtesy light (if there is one) and the power window/lock controls (if you have them) and then lift the panel straight up to unhook it from the door frame. You will see a plastic film covering the opening held in place with putty. When you pull the plastic away, it is less likely to tear if you use a quick jerking motion, like ripping a band aid off. Repair any tears with duct tape. The door latch is connected with clips to rods, see if any are disconnected or jammed.

Good luck!

Getting the door panel off is the easy part. If, as on MY '97 Camry, which experienced the same problem, the clip and rod have separated, you'll have to put on a new clip to hold the mechanism together. It's fairly straightforward to see and figure out, but getting a clip into this limited access area is a pain. I ended up fabricating a substitute for the clip (which had disappeared) and putting it in place with some difficulty. Good Luck!

What is it with Toyota door handles? Great cars, but the only vehicles I can recall when people have broken door handles have all been Toyotas. Is this just a coincidence or a weak link on Toys?

-Dave

I've seen it on many makes, foreign and domestic. I remember a guy who had to enter his Audi on the passenger side beside the driver's door handle was busted.

I've seen the problem with other makes as well. I think that most of the time, it comes from trying to force the handle when the door is locked or from trying to slim jim the car.

I'm sure. Maybe it's because I know so many people who own Toyotas vs. other makes. Either way it's probably more from abuse than anything else.

-Dave

I suspect this is the case since my son has a habit of trying to open the door at the same time as I'm trying to unlock it. In fact this was when it happened I think.

Ray,

I disassembled the door and can barely get a peek at the door latch mechanism through the round hole opposite the rod that attaches to the door handle. There is a rod coming up from the latch or someplace that has a pin at the end at a 90 degree angle. This pin goes through a protrusion from the outside door handle and sticks out barely on the other side of the hole. The pin has an indentation at the end which looks like it takes a retaining ring to lock it in place so it won't fall out of the hole. I have tried e-clips, different sized retaining clips to snap onto the pin but have been unsuccessful. They are all now at the bottom of the door somewhere and I am unable to find them anymore.

Do you have any suggestions on how to keep that pin from falling out of the hole?

Never mind. I realize now there is a plastic clip that effectively makes the pin larger so it fits through the hole. That clip is broken and I have removed it to get a replacement.

The clips for the various rods in the door should be self-locking, with not extra retainer clips needed to hold the rods in place. If possible, I would fish out all of the loose pieces out of the bottom of the door so that they do not rattle. Use some of the sticky black stuff that holds the plastic liner on the end of a stiff wire, then peel the black goo off of the wire and re-use to hold the plastic liner in place.

The clip was purchased at dealer for $4.44. I installed it today and it works fine. All that's left is getting the door covering back on. Thanks for your help.

You're welcome! Good luck putting the door together!