Drivers Door Won't Open from the Inside

[DragonDesign]

The title says it all. I went to open my door to get out of the car the other day, and no dice. The handle pulls back with normal resistance and everything normal, only it won't unhook the latch. I looked at the assembly on the side of the door and this is what i see:

the latch is 2-stage, so when you push the thing down it'll click once and then again when you keep pushing. When you pull the handle it pulls back a little engaging piece so everything will pop back up into place and the door will open. Mine doesn't seem to pull down far enough and it won't let the spring pop the piece back into place.

Here's the wierd part, every once and a while the latch will work just fine as if nothing is wrong, then other times, I have to put the key back in, roll down the window, and reach out like an idiot to open the door from the outside. Anybody else have this problem, or have a solution? i'll lube up the handle, but i dont know if that will do it.

 

[itsnotmydaddys]

real common issue. Its the handle itself breaking slowly. The plastic starts bending a little then it eventually snaps off. You have to replace the handle. check -----> for team ford parts and order the handle.

 

[black_lincoln]

yup.. very common.. had to to thru the rolling down window to get out of the car phase TWICE...first the handle itself broke on the inside then i replaced that and then the assembly on the inside broke ... it was about 100 bucks to fix the handle .. and the dealership wanted 1200 to fix it when it broke on the inside because they said they had to change the whole assembly.. so i went in and fixed it myself for 7 dollars just gotta take it easy on all the handles and think that its gonna break every time u open the door.. lol.. really sucks.. this car has made me to paranoid it aint even funny..

 

[Blip01]

Dragon, I just had the same thing happen. When you get the new handle you'll find that the handle is installed at the factory with rivets. These were easily drilled out. You can then find some parts at Lowes or HD to replce the rivets. I forget what they were called exactly, but they are in the hardware dept. and they look sort of like a rivet but they have a screw on end. The ones I found were just about an exact fit, although I did have to drill out the hole in the little lock button slightly.

In the meantime you can remove the handle and lock lever and that will leave the end of the cable that unlatches the door exposed. You can just pull on the end of the cable to unlock the door. Kind of rigged, but it beats rolling down your window everytime you need to get out. I know what it's like. LOL!

edit: found the parts I used. Cam phone, sucks, sorry.

 

[Blip01]

 

[DragonDesign]

Awesome, I'll have to buy parts now, but at least I have an idea whats doing it. Come to think of it now I did notice that the chrome plating on the handle has been a bit rippled. So to clarify, I only need the inside handle assembly, not anything further down the line into the door? I've noticed ever since I got the car that the drivers side door requires more effort to open than any of the others, both from the inside and outside. I'm sure that escalated the problem with this inside handle, although I'm not sure how to fix it without buying a whole new assembly...