Loose door handle -- easy fix? (1 Viewer)

[Caddisfly]

Today I discovered that the exterior door handle on my '04 Tacoma is beginning to loosen. The whole piece (plastic trim included) moves out about an eighth of an inch. I couldn't find any obvious screws, so my guess is that I'll have to remove the door panel.

The door panel on the Tacoma looks a lot more complex than the ones on my Land Cruiser. If I have to remove the panel, do any of you have suggestions on how I can do so without butchering the plastic? Do I need a special tool, or will a flatblade screwdriver work?

Thank you.

 

[LukeZero]

Go to the dealer and ask them to print off the exploded view of the door panel. This will let you see where the fasteners are located. Then go to AutoZone/Advance Autoparts/NAPA/O'Riellly/Checkers/etc and get a trim removal tool. Looks a lot like a plastic putty knife with a little chunk out of the leading edge. Once you've popped off the inner door panel, you should (with the window up) be able to see the door handle mechanism and what holds it to the metal door skin.

I don't know if you'll find something that is broken and needs replaced or something loose that can be tightened.

Good luck,

Luke

 

[hoch]

I had this happen on my Tacoma. It was on the passenger side door. All of the doors are pretty easy to remove. The trim removal tool is definitely recommended, however, I just yanked the door off. Oh, make sure that you have removed all of the screws beforehand. There is usually 3 or so.

Mine just turned out to be that one of the screws holding the handle on had come off. If yours is the same, then look for it inside of the door on the bottom. I applied some loctite to it so that it wouldn't happen again.