Driver's side door doesn't open

[jawnjawn]

For some reason, my driver's side door doesn't open from the inside, but all my other doors do. To get out, I have to roll down the window and open the door from the outside. Is there any way to fix this? Thanks.

[Mazda_Powered]

good chance the wire disconnected from the handle, take out the one screw holding the lever in, and check if its still attached, and if it is, it could be unhooked from the door latch itself, which involves taking off the door panel (no big deal) and tinkering with that. hope this helps.

JACK

[mannydingo]

If the inside door handle is still connected, take off the door panel. If it's not disconnected at the door latch either, remove the entire door latch and pull the whole system out. This is super easy so don't worry. You pull it out the door holes. Check to see if the part of the latch that swivels back and forth when you pull the inside door handle is grabbing onto a protruding piece of metal. I had that problem on my 99 Mercury Tracer (same as a Ford Escort). I got a screwdriver and big hammer and forced that piece up into the slot that was in the swiveling part. That's only if that's the problem in your car. First check simple things like disconnects of those metal lines. Don't worry about breaking something if you get to the point I mentioned since you might need to replace the unit anyway. You won't have anything to lose at that point. Mine now works fine.

[D323]

I cant see the rod coming out as those are a pita to pull out of the connector.

I can see the plastic breaking or something that holds the metal rod on there.

Just do as the others listed above, once in there, its realitively simple, and you should be able to fix it no problem.

[MazdaRacer]

does the inside handle fell like butter? if it's flopity flop, then it's definetly disconnected or broken there, if it's tight like the others or you can *feel* it's still attached to something, then open up the door panel.

If you do find you need to repalce the latch assembly, make sure to get the same latch from the same model (i.e. DX for DX / LX for LX) as they are different. But if you have a DX (non power) might want to upgrade to the LX power lock latch.

[mannydingo]

I cant see the rod coming out as those are a pita to pull out of the connector.

I can see the plastic breaking or something that holds the metal rod on there.

Just do as the others listed above, once in there, its realitively simple, and you should be able to fix it no problem.

That metal rod(or metal line) comes out of that plastic without breaking it. It's a matter of twisting it correctly. It's 10 times easier when out of the car but can be done while inside too, if I remember correctly.

[jawnjawn]

How exactly do you open up the door panel?

[mannydingo]

Remove any screws that hold the arm rest. Look underneath. Take off the screw that holds the door handle. I also think there's a little screw hidden behind a piece of plastic. That little piece of plastic goes along the outside edge of the door panel. Just get a flat screwdriver and open it up. It's a reallly small piece less than an inch big. I don't have a 1st gen anymore so I'm doing this from memory. After all screws are removed just pull outward on the panel. It will feel like you're breaking something but you're not. You're just popping off the plastic grips. You'll see when you pull it part way off.