Door won't open from the inside

[97blkt4r]

I have '97 4runner and the other day all of a sudden my driver door will not release to open the door when I pull the handle from the inside. Outside the door opens fine. I took of the door panel off, but it's hard to see if anything looks broken. I tried closing the door and opening it from the inside by pulling on the rod that goes to the inside handle and it openend if I pulled hard. Does anyone have an idea of what piece would have broken off, or needs adjusting?

 

[brian2sun]

You need to take the door panel off and have a look. A plastic clip probably broke and you'll just need to zip tie it back on. You can search around for how to take the door panel off, I'm lazy after Easter dinner and don't feel like explaining it right now.

 

[broncosi]

I agree, there is a small plastic clip that holds the door rod in and ties it into the handle. you might be able to get one from the dealer. The rod is also bent at a 90 degree angle at the end where it should hook into the handle 'holster' this could have come out as well.

When you pull the handle on the inside, is there any pressure? Does it feel like anything is attached to it?

 

[97blkt4r]

Yeah, I did take the door panel off. The way the door is, you can't really see the area opposite the inside door handle (because metal from the door is in the way. The end of the metal rod that attaches to the handle appears to be fine, but I can't really see the opposite end. As said above, when I pull the rod itself, it will open. There is some pressure on the handle, but I'll have to check if it's less pressure than the other working doors.

 

[JeremyH]

It's time to get in and out DoH style!

 

[97blkt4r]

It's time to get in and out DoH style!

Haha

 

[97blkt4r]

Check the child safety lock. There is a small switch near the door latch that when enabled, allows the door to be opened from only the outside.

This is the driver's door, they don't have child locks, right?

 

[004Gunner]

Did you have to remove the door release rod from the plastic door handle when you pulled off the panel? If not then the rod must have disconnected from the handle

 

[004Gunner]

This is the driver's door, they don't have child locks, right?

Haha yeah that's right. I just deleted it because I thought you were talking about the driver's side rear

 

[97blkt4r]

Did you have to remove the door release rod from the plastic door handle when you pulled off the panel? If not then the rod must have disconnected from the handle

I didn't remove the release rod. When you pull the handle the rod still moves with it, but it seems like all of a sudden, the rod needs to be pulled farther than the door handle pulls it. Strange problem, there must a clip or something that is broken, but I'm surprised that when I tug the rod going to the handle, it pops open.

 

[97blkt4r]

Haha yeah that's right. I just deleted it because I thought you were talking about the driver's side rear

Haha that makes sense.

 

[97blkt4r]

I'll post up a video soon, that might help.

 

[97blkt4r]

Alright here is a short video:

YouTube - door problem.wmv

 

[97blkt4r]

Video with the interior door panel completely off and the interior handle locked into the door frame might be better. Everything appears functional there. When everything was hooked up before this video was the interior handle moving at all?

Yeah, I was going to take video of that aswell, but you couldn't see much of the locking and releasing components because of the sheet metal of the door. I'll have to see if the sheet metal that is in the way can be removed or if it is apart of the door.

When everything was hooked up before there was not play/moving with the interior panel.

 

[97blkt4r]

First of all let me say thanks bootown for taking the time to take a picture to help me out. Haha I should of wrote what we are looking at in the video. The first part is looking down at where the rod connects to the interior door handle. The second part is looking down through the slot where the window slides up and down, to see the the other end of the rod (opposite side of the hinges of the door).

I actually, based on someone elses advice, tried bending the rod where it already has bends, so that the rod would cover a shorter distance (figuratively speaking, it is a way of taking up the slack), and this worked. The only thing is after pulling the handle, it doesn't automatically go back parallel with the door (I just have to push it flat after pulling it). This might be able to be fixed with playing with the amount the rod is bent. I guess over time and use, the rod straightens out and just need to be bent back. I did notice a plastic piece that looks like it broke off something laying next to my car in the street, but I don't know if that is from my car.

Thanks everyone for your help on this!

 

[jlaho]

Just in case it helps someone - I had this same issue happen. I couldn't open the driver's door from the inside. I took most of the internal mechanism apart only to eventually find that the 69749-89101 plastic clip had broken. Its a small plastic clip that the metal rod snaps into near the middle of the door. Without it, the rod will move up rather than forward when the inside lever is pulled. I used a ziptie to replace it and restore functionality.

Hope this helps.

 

[walkercars2]

This happened to me when changing my actuators. You’ll need to look inside for frame, and chances are the rod just slipped up or a clip broke