Hi guys

New here to the forum, tried to do a search for answers but didn't come up with anything really. Yesterday as I got out of my Nitro the inner drivers side door handle popped and I assume the inside spring broke

Anyhow I have never tried to remove the door panel and honestly don't have a clue on how to go about doing so. I don't see anything like screws, pins etc holding it in place which leads me to believe that I basically am going to just pry or pop it off. Maybe its held on by pins on the other side?

Anyhow if anyone happens to have a video step by step guide on how to remove the door panel and replace this inner door handle I'd appreciate the help.. Dodge wants like $180 to replace the part + labor now I am not a mechanic but I also figure it cant be to difficult to replace. Looking at the replacement part on line there doesn't appear to be much to the actual mechanism..

Thanks in advance.

 

I had to replace the outer and inner door handle on my toyota camry a year ago, i messed up on prying the interior door off taking the clips underneath off the wooden board inside. The clips connected to the metal interior of the door. There will be screws to take out also. The hard part is just getting it off intact, the handle itself is just a screw off and screw on deal. I'm not a mechanic either but i dove in and learned on my own. If you want a youtube video just search up "replacing vehicle door handles". Almost every car is universal when it comes to them.

 

There are a couple of Tork screws you do have to remove. Inside the well of the armrest you'll see a little round plug, remove it by carefully using the tip of a pocket knife or a tiny flat blade screwdriver under one edge. Oh yeah, roll the window down before you try to take the panel off. The other one is at the back rear corner of the door. Pry the plug out and you'll see the screw. Next you will need a door panel removal tool (http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...uestid=4622184) is an example; don't cheap out and try using a flat blade knife, you'll just damage the door panel and break the clips. Look at the tool, it's like a 2 prong fork, put it around the clip a pry it up (as you pry the door panel away, you can feel around where the clips are. When you pull (pry) it away, don't do it all from one spot, you want to pull the panel away at the bottom first evenly. Once you have it loose, the top edge of the door panel is J shaped, so you're going to slide the panel up to unhook it from the door. Make sure to be nice to the plastic (or paper) weathershield between the door and the door panel, you'll want it intact when you put it back together. Wather out for the wires also, they're not very long and you'll probably have to unplug them to give yourself room to work (don't cut them!). Reassembly is just reverse the steps, connect wires, hook panel on door, push clips back into holes, put screws in, replace plugs. Done. Have fun with it. You should not break any clips, I used to do it for a living and only broke one or two when I really forced them.

 

This was an easy fix for me. I didn't locate a video or anything, but it took about 20 minutes. If memory serves, once I got the panel off the door, it was a simple unbolt the old and bolt on the new. I paid about $50 for the handle on eBay. Haven't had a problem since. I hope by now, you've already got the problem fixed.