Jodwin

So I have had this car for 9 days now and everything has been going great so far just got the windows tinted today and when I pulled into my driveway and went to get out of the car door the door handle wasnt working...

My buddy and I were rewiring the stereo for the car and he noticed the plastic piece that is on the drivers side door that snaps off was coming loose so when we took the door panel off he noticed that something was obviously not right with the way the handle was working, now keep in mind the handle itself actually works fine it is something internal that feels like is almost not connected properly or something is actually broken, I am going with something is broken that is plastic or some sort of arm that makes the door handle coincide with the actual lock inside the door panel.

Now I normally wouldnt make a post out of this because my friend luckily is very good mechanically with this type of thing and I would call him but he is working out of town for the next 3-5 days. The worst part about it is that the door wouldnt open!!!! So I was basically stuck in the car and just lightly pulled the door handle until it finally felt like it caught onto something.

Sorry for such a long write up but I am pretty much clueless about what type of part to look for and where to look for it, Does anyone know where I should begin until I can get in touch with my friend?

Any help with this would be greatly appreciate, Sorry for such a long drawn out post but, again I am clueless when it comes to cars but I want to get this fixed asap!!

~The1~

I would like to hear a solution to this as well because both of my front doors have this problem, I have to pull them pretty far back before the door will open but since they work I havent worried too much about it, but anyhelp would be appreciated.

Jodwin

Yup luckily I am at work right now and it seems like when I pull the door handle all the way back it almost feels like its about to break and then it opens I can tell its on the verge of going.

Cmon guys where are all you awesome techs and lexus freaks!!!

Jodwin

Well after doing some research and talking to my buddy, I called Discount Auto Parts on a whim and they guy sounded like he new exactly like he knew what I was talking about and he said what I need is a "Door Lock Rod Clip"

That should hopefully take care of the issue ill keep you posted.

~The1~

Ok thanks, Im in the middle of nowhere right now so when I get a chance ill look into it

Lexucan

See, you're more resourceful that you thought you were!
Hope it works out for you. The problem you describe I've seen posted on this forum many times. It seems it's a pretty common problem on the ES. That's why, even though (knock on wood) I haven't experienced the problem myself, I NEVER use the outside door handle to pull the door open. Once I lift the door handle to open the door and the door is unlatched, I let go of the handle and hook a finger around the edge of the door and pull it open that way, NEVER by pulling on the door handle itself. The doors are heavy and pulling on the handles to open them can weaken the inner mechanisms. Call me ****, but hey, it's worked so far. Another thing I won't do is to pull or push on the window to open or shut a door. With no frame, the windows can pretty easily become misaligned. The body of the door is the only safe place to pull or push on to open or shut a door. Once you get used to doing it that way, it just becomes second nature. The hard part is to teach your passengers how to open the doors properly.

Jodwin

Well I finally got the issue FIXED!!!! It was actually loose where the rod connects and I tightened it up manually but its tight and isnt going anywhere the door handle is very tight and now opens the it is supposed too and the outside door handle is working fine. We were almost sold on the fact that is was the power lock actuator and it wasnt it was the rod was loose and we found a way to tighten.

At the end of the day it cost me NOTHING WOOOO HOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lexucan

Awesome! The most satisfying kind of repairs are the ones that don't cost you a dime!