Ok, i'm gonna fix my door handle tonigh ,but how do i take off the interior panel? The first time i did it, i broke it really good (hence the need to fix it now). There is apparently a screw behind the window switch? How do i get to it? Is it under the rocker part or the surrounding plastic trim? Thanks fellas.
~Tom

 

if you are talking about the outside door handle and it's loose feel..then yes opo-off that little plastic piece on the inside and tighten the bolts and the problem is solved. The plastic piece can be popped off with little pressure.

 

No i'm sorry, i meant the interior door panel. I want to fix the vertical handle that contains the windows switch (hence the question regarding the window switch).
~Tom

 

hmmm, i just got done puttin my door panels back on(stereo install), are you talkin about just getting the door panel off itself, or the black strip with the window control and door handle??

 

It's actually very easy. You are right, there is a screw behind the window switch. To get to it you pry out the switch with a tiny screwdriver or awl, and shine in a flashlight. You'll see the screw staring at you. If I remember right, 2 screws on the front edge, one on the back, one under a cap in the middle, one in the door handle tray and the one behind the window switch. When the tray around the interior door release is out along with the screws, raise the panel about a half inch straight up and it will fall in your lap. Reach behind and unplug the window switch and you are done. It comes off easily, so if it seems snug keep checking.

 

this is all from memory, so i may miss a thing or two......there are several screws that you'll have to remove before popping the panel off:

1. there's a couple of screws around the outside of the panel
2. there's one in the center of the panel. you'll have to pop off the little cover.
3. then there's one in the door handle tray. again, you'll have to pop off the little cover. and i don't quite remember, but i think that this tray will have to come out, too.
4. finally, there is a screw behind the window switch in your broken handle. you'll have to pry the window switch out to get to it.

then, the 2 triangle trim pieces on the front & back side of the window (above the door panel) will have to be removed, too, before the panel will come off. once all these screws & trim pieces are removed, the panel should only be on there with a few plastic clips. just use a flat putty knife or something like that to pull the panel straight out at each clip (otherwise, you may end up breaking the plastic clips), and voila!! the panel is OFF.

now fixing it is a whole other story. i used a fiberglass repair kit (fiberglass strips soaked in that resin & hardner) and it seems to have held up OK for awhile, but i think it may be a little loose again, so i may have to redo it. i think there are a couple of ideas floating around on how to fix it. search the forum. good luck.

 

well i had to fix mine because it was loose. i found that the screw the the bottom of the handle was loose and the hole where the screw behind the window switch was broken. it was a lot simpler than i thought it would be. i just tightened everything and for the broken peice i just put a washer ( the largest that would fit) on the screw. it worked so im happy. hope this helps you a little

 

all this may be helpful, but on mine the interior pull handle itself has broken off with a rough plastic surface on one end. The other end seems to have been disconnected by someone, and when a stranger tries to pull the door closed, it comes off in their hand. Uncool. Fixing it is raising in the priority stack.

 

Wow, a couple more weeks and this thread would've been dead for 6 whole years...

 

wtf, dawn of the dead thread!