Today I looked at the handle on the rear drivers side door. The door opened fine from the inside, but the outside handle didn't always work. You really had to pull it up hard to get it to function.

So I went looking.......

First removed the door card. Little screw behind the "secret" flap in the door pull assembly. Remove the outer handle trim. This allows you to gently lift the "wooden" panel/trim at the front end of the door, by the door pull assembly. Then slide the panel/trim forwards and it disengages via the two metal tabs that hols it in place. Remove the two screws which are then exposed.

Now you can remove the upper section of the door card, by just sliding it upwards, as it just hooks over the top lip of the door.

Then remove the three screws from the underside of the door pull/ armrest. These screws may be concealed beneath little plastic covers, which should just pop out using a small screwdriver.

Now you can prise the door card away from the door, held in place with plastic rivets, along both side and at the bottom. Use a large flat blade or similar for this and you might not break too many of the rivets/clips.

Unplug the speaker, and switchgear plug from the back of the door card. No big need to go dismantling or unplugging the puddle lamp as there's enough slack on the wire to place the door card aside on the seat.

Next you need to peel the foam lining that's affixed to the inside of the actual door. It's held on using a sort of permanently soft mastic/adhesive, so it can be stuck back in place when you're finished. Peel enough back to give yourself access, via the opening, to the lock mechanism. There is also a clear plastic liner in the opening that needs to be peeled back also.

Looking inside to the uppermost, innermost corner, you'll see the inside of the outer handle with a rod running downwards to the lock mechanism itself. When you pull up on the handle, it pushes this rod downwards. The end of the rod has a plastic clip that attaches to a stud on the locking mechanism. In my case, the rod wasn't pushing downwards far enough, but the fix is easy.

The plastic clip can be prised off the stud and screwed upwards or downwards on the shaft as required, thus shortening or lengthening the travel on the shaft.

So, in my case, a few turn downwards and a little dab of grease on the stud to help refitting it and the job is done. It's tight but do-able. There's a window rail running past the lock which I was able to use to get a bit of leverage on the clip, both when removing and refitting.

Close the door and test the results, before you put everything back together.

Result! The door opens using the handle, with no strain or effort at all.

A few pics are included which might explain things a little better.

 

I need to do this!