The door handle wont open now. The key goes in, taking quite a bit of finesse to get it to go in and turn, but once I unlock it, the door handle won't lift up at all. Even when its locked, the same problem still exists. I've read that there are ways to fix this problem, but I dont really feel like replacing that entire mechanism for the money that it costs. Is there way to lube it or tighten/loosen something to fix it? first off, I know that u need to pull that black plastic thing off the backside of it from the inside, and loosen those two bolts. From there, I dont know what to do. So, does NE one have pics or a really good description on how to fix the problem? Any help would be appreciated. It seems like every time something gets fixed on this car, something else breaks. I am beginning to really tire of this.

 

Try spraying WD-40 in the key hole, it works for me. Make sure not to get any on the paint.

 

If I were you, I'd start HERE

 

Once you get those two nuts taken off of the inside, you can pull the handle off from the outside of the car, enough so you can get access to everything that you need to disconnect. I believe there are two rods, one for the lock mechanism and the other for the door opening mechanism. A flat head screwdriver will come in handy here. There is also a wire, for the alarm, that needs to be disconnected. The whole job is pretty straight forward. If you are someone mechanically inclined you shouldn't have any problems.

Once you get that all off, take everything apart, clean it up, and grease all the moving parts when you put it back together. When I bought my car, the passeneger handle was really really hard to move. I took it all apart and greased everything, and its been working fine. You may have the same problem.

 

My driver side door handle broke this summer. It was disassembled by a friend of mine who owns a paint and body shop. He played with it for two hours before telling me to buy a new one which I did. Took him two seconds to install, but now if you lock the door from the outside you will never open it unless you take the thing apart and half the time the alarm goes off. Its not my daily driver so I have just left it alone until the great rx7 mod project but would also like to know how to disarm that alarm and hear if anyone else has had a smilar problem and solved it.

 

Just FYI, I have the same problem.

I did this as well a while ago and after about a month it went back to having the same problem. My .02, just fork out the cash and replace the parts.

 

how much does it cost to replace all those parts? I read somewhere that it can cost quite a pretty penny.

 

Mine was to the point that I thought I would break the handle by pulling on it so hard just to try to open the door. Just bought some white lithium grease and sprayed the crap out of it. Now it's better than new!!

 

Anyone have anything to use on sticker residue? I've tried "Goog-off" and a miriad of stuff but nothing works to get this shiznit off. I don't wanna scrub or use paint thinners and mess up the paint job. Any suggestions anyone? Thanks in advance.

-HeX

 

Used ones (exterior handles) go for around $100 to $150. When I checked on new ones from the dealer about a year ago, they were $250.

 

does replacing that exterior door handle include all the parts for the mechanism as well? Because if it does, and my door handle doesn't want to fix itself from lubin' it up, then I might have to pick up a handle. Damn. more money, just to get into my car. And I asked before in another thread, but I dont know what white lithium grease is. The only stuff I have is WD-40, and this silicone lube that is supposed to help metal to metal contact work better; hinges, locks, etc., kinda like WD-40. Think this stuff should be okay? and what should I spray? do I need to take it apart? or did u just take the handle off, and start going trigger happy with lube?
Answering the ques that HEX has, I used a nail polish remover that does NOT have Acetate in it, on my brothers car to take the pin stripe off his civic, and it worked well. Didnt mess up the paint either, just had to buff it out a bit afterwards. Picked it up from a shop that professionally removes and applies decals, and I guess its nail salon stuff or something.

 

White lithium grease is just grease the comes in a spray can. I wouldn't recommend using WD40 because it really isn't that good of a lubricant. Its too thin and won't last very long. As far as what you should grease, just take the handle off and dissassemble the whole thing, and grease all the moving parts. I guess you could try spraying it down while it is still assembled and attached to the car, but you might not be able to get at everything.