So I got the door cable out (thanks spyder!)

My next "puzzle" is the door handle. How can I remove the 2 rods?

 

now this one I don't know. Never took it apart that far. I would help but my car is not avaliable to me for a couple of days, getting some stuff done. Hopefully somebody knows. Good luck.

 

maybe i just brute-force the rods to get them out... going to try that this weekend

 

i see that you have taken out the door handles which makes taking out the rods easier.

i used a screwdriver to flip the plastic hooks that attaches to the rods. it helps to have small hands also. you flip the plastic hooks upward if that makes sense.

dont just pull the rods w/o unhooking the rods or it will get bent.

good luck

 

No force needed! you don't want to bend the rods or worst break the plastic clip the holds it on. All you need to do is unlatch the plastic clip. At the end of the while clip, push it towards the car and it should unclip. The rod should just pull out afterwards. Very easy. The pink one should be the same method.

Where in Socal are you?

 

me from norcal

 

haha, I don't know why I think we are all from socal. I'm actually from norcal (bay area) as well. I'll be up in a few weeks, if you still need help.

But you look like you are 75% done. Did you figure it out?

 

This is bad.
I removed door panel. Unscrew door handle, and accidentally "close" the door.
Now the door is like halfway locked. I cannot unlock it, even when I put the door handle back in place from outside.

Not sure what i can do to fix it... help

 

turns out, the door was locked.
I used the key to unlock it and its now opened..

 

just finished installing the actuator... take longer than expected.

thank you all for the helpful tips i just saved a couple hundred bucks

 

I have a 1992 es300, and the driver door does not open. The key turns to lock it but will not turn to unlock it. The interior lock switch also will turn to lock but stops and is 'stuck' when you push it in the unlock direction. I was told it was the actuator, but I'm not sold. I think that mechanically it should still unlock in some way. I think that something has become disconnected inside or is broken. So my questions are: what does everyone think is causing the problem, and how can I get the panel off to try and fix this myself if it won't open. I am tempted to use my AAA and have a locksmith come out and try and pop it using a slim jim or whatever they use to see if they can get it from the interior mechanism. Any way, any thoughts?

 

I appreciate all of the info here. I have a further problem in that I cannot open the door and the lock is jammed. Any way to get the driver door panel off with the door closed? Just had the car at the dealer for a new key and the remote was acting funny. Now my daughter brought the car home and said the door would not open. Try all ways to unlock it and may have forced the interior lock so hard that it popped. I hate to take it back to the dealer it is so far and they will claim no responsibilty I'm sure and maybe they are right.

 

I am in the same boat, I will let you know if I figure something out. It is going to be a PIA to get the panel off with the door closed.

 

NEWSFLASH! You dont have to replace the door locks just because the plastic barrel broke. I used the same fix I learned earlier this year for split hoses. Just put the two pieces of the barrel together, wrap it with a few turns of electrical tape, and fuse it with a heat gun. I guess a hair dryer would work, or a butane lighter if you're desperate or brave. I broke the barrel on the lock cable today while replacing the driver front door doorcheck. There's not a lot of friction against that barrel, so the fused tape fix worked fine. And a lot easier and cheaper than replacing door locks.