So my car, 2001 LS, has been holding up pretty well but recently a couple things have gone wrong with it. One of the ones that affects me the most is the fact that my interior door handle doesnt work anymore. It makes it so I have to roll down the window and open it from the outside everytime I stop. Not a good look for a Lexus driver haha. The problem started a couple days ago, I pulled the handle, it unlocked the door then made a noise and came free without opening the door. It seems like something just popped out so what Im wondering now is whether or not anyone has had specific experience with this happening because I would like to just take the plastic around the handle off and not have to pull the door apart if possible.

 

You would need to take the whole panel off in order to get to the back of the handle. It could be a couple of things. One it could be the cable that is attached to the handle came off or two the part the cable clips into has broken. There are a few threads that explain how to remove the door panels and its not all that hard. Ive done it several times on my 01.

 

So I used the instructions that RomanTPA posted on how to take the door panel apart and after removing it I found that the cable connected to the door handle was broken. It snapped near the handle and the door unlock one was still fine. Now my problem is what to do with the cable. I think the only way to fix it would be to replace the cable but my question is where would I find one and how to get the old one out. Either that or some way to fix it that's easier then taking the entire cable out.

 

to get the old cable out you must remove the door locks. They can be identified by torx screws holding them in place. Three on the side of the door and one behind the door panel. Its easy as removing and replacing, no real difficulties but if your not mechanically inclined pay someone to do it.

 

Cool, any idea where i could get another one of the cables with the ball on the end?

 

dealer item only. Otherwise junk yards.

 

Called the dealer near me, 48.50 for one little cable! My Lexus costs sooooo much when ever something breaks, good thing they're so reliable.

 

SO i got the cable, got the door panel off, tried taking off the 3 by the door lock itself and the 2 under the door panel but even then it was hard to get it to come out and when i got it to pop off a little it felt like it had some gasket so I put it back together, screwed it in and now I dont know what to do, it doesnt seem that complicated but I dont want to rip out any sealer or whatever that is or break it. Any other steps to get that out?

 

You are doing it correctly. The gasket you are feeling is the rubber seal that is on the lock mechanism which is pressed against the door to keep noise down. You may need to play with it a little but you have to pull down on the lock. It seems odd and difficult but its kinda easy once you get remove the whole lock. then you just follow the cable and its pretty straight forward. Putting it back, you must make sure the "U" object goes directly under the door handle to match up with the lever...Its kinda hard to explain but knowing this take a glance before and slowly remove the lock, it will make your life easier in the end. Lexus actually made it very easy to remove door locks.

 

Well I got it taken off. Put the new cable in, tested it with the panel off and it worked then I put the door panel back on, closed the door and it wouldn't open. Not sure what happened but now my door is closed and I think locked and I can't get it open from inside or out. I think I screwed myself...

 

pop off the door handle and yank on the cable manually. I think that "U" thing may not be placed back properly. If you can roll your window down you can look down into there and look for a U or V looking thing and push down on it, that will pop your door open. Trust me i been locked out of hundreds of cars..lol.

 

A U or V looking thing? I didn't notice that when taking it apart, what is it connected to? If I was able to fix this myself without taking it to the dealer I would be the happiest man alive haha

 

I was able to get to the door cable and it didn't open it when I pulled on it, I'm not sure if its connected anymore to the other end, then again, I'm not sure if anything is connected correctly.... I had to go to work today by getting in the passenger seat and sliding over, not an easy task when your 6'4"

 

here dude, hope you fix the thing.

http://www.shastaanesthesia.com/Lexu.../actuator.html

 

Thanks a lot man, I'm gonna try and take off the other door panel and see if I can grab that rod with something with the panel on, hopefully it works out