Broken Door Handle

[JBT]

I don't think it's possible to get the trim off with the door closed - too much interference from outer dash. Unless someone knows for sure how the mechanism works, you may have to take the trim off the pax door to see how it works to enable you to open the driver's door with a coat hanger or something.

[lowmiata]

yep it can be done just have to be gentle

start with speaker cover ;)

and work from inside out oposite to normal

[Wuey]

Having suffered the indignity of yogaing myself from the passenger seat to the driver seat in public view several times, yours truly might be able to help here.

Get a torchlight and a long steel rule. Wind down the window and pry the window rubber seal apart with your fingers. Shine the light into the cavity just to the left of the keyhole. About 20cm down, you will see some linkage mechanism. Use the ruler and gently poke willy-nilly. You might just hit the sweet spot after a few goes. The door will magically, voila, pop open. Trust me, I have done this many times.

Remove the door panel and gently peel off the plastic sheet. Look for a spring parallel to the window sill at the top. That spring should be there to hold tension on the door opener. It might still be dangling on one side. Simply latch the other side back onto to the linkage. If you're not sure how, remove the passenger door panel to see how. If the spring isn't there, it must have dropped into the bottom of the door cavity.

My spring never came apart. The door jammed due to a worn lock. I have since installed a remote opener.

[lowmiata]

yep it can be done just have to be gentle

start with speaker cover ;)

and work from inside out oposite to normal

Ryan, does the speaker cover just unclip?

sure does same way as door trim

remove pinch weld and you will have plenty of room

[JBT]

Did you get the door trim off with the door closed and get the thing fixed yet? What was the problem?

[Wuey]

Daz, did you cause any damage to your door trim by removing it with the door close?

Yes, I know the mechanical linkage inside the door does look rather kinkly and complicated if you examine it with a torch from the window sill. It took me less than 10 minutes first try and I can do it again in under 3 minutes every time thereafter. There is just merely a squre cm of the spot that you have to jab at to trigger the spring action that opens the door.