My 2002 Dodge Intrepid's driver door will only unlock by winding the window down and using the exterior latch to open the door. What will it take to fix this problem. It's annoying and frustrating to have to do this. I would like to know if anyone else has experienced this and I would like to know how to repair it.
I just had the exact same thing happen with my 2001. Thought briefly about trying to open up the door panel and fix it, but I assumed that the inside part of the plastic door handle had broken, and I would need parts anyway. So, I took it to the dealer for repairs. Four hours and $256 later, I drove away with it fixed. Seemed a little high, but a lot of aggravation was avoided.
If it was the inside door handle that became disconnected, the repair material for that is readily available from several different sources, including...of all places...cosmetics supply stores. It's an acrylic plastic patching compound, two-part liquid/solid.
That happened to me, too. The linkage connects to a small "eye" in the door handle, and is kept from pulling out by a clip. The "eye" walls are rather thin and they can crack.
Thank you very much for sharing your experience with me, It will help me make this necessary repair. How difficult was it to remove the door panel to make this repair?
It's been about three years (I had to remove the door panel to do something else and broke the eye out of the handle myself). Wasn't hard, you remove the screws and lift the door panel up, to disengage the hooks that hold it in place.
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