Broken Handle

Hello everyone. I am a new member and I am in quite the pickle!

Today, I went to open my unlocked drivers door. It was 3 degrees outside, so it must have been frozen. When I pulled on the handle, something snapped. The handle now just lifts freely, it broke off the hinge or something. Obviously, I am not very mechanically inclined, so bear with me on the description!

The reason this is such an issue, is because I can not enter the truck from the passenger side. For some time now, the lock has been broken on that side. It is stuck in the locked position and I am unable to unlock it from the inside or out. I haven't had the time or resources to get that problem fixed, so I just never have a passenger!

Any tips or tricks for how to open my drivers door without the use of the handle?

 

Sounds like you need a locksmith to open the passenger side, unless you can grab the broken part of the handle with some pliers or something to get the latch to work.
I have some 1st gen door handles you can have, send me a pm, you pay the postage...

And welcome to TW!

 

A rock (or the ceramic chunk form a spark plug) and a new window from a salvage yard is probably cheaper than a locksmith... I remember AAA charged me like $80 for 10 seconds of work to pick my lock when I locked the keys in my 97 5 lug.

Figure out which ever window is the cheapest (and easiest) to replace and smash it. Since you need to open up the door (I mean take it apart, not just "open" it, lol) anyway to replace the door handle, you might as well smash the driver's window.

A locksmith or a shop can replace your passenger side lock and re-key it to match your keys, too.

 

SavvyK Happened to me one time I was lucky the way the handle broke, there was a piece of handle still connected to the rod to open the door. it was tough on the hands to open it but it got the door open. also got lucky that the local autozone had a handle in stock. But Amazon was much cheaper, if you have time to wait.


https://www.amazon.com/Toyota-Tacom...1483726185&sr=8-1&keywords=tacoma+door+handle

 

Time for a sunroof!

Joking...

If you haven't already gained access, get a pair of pliers and try to grab onto whatever is remaining of the handle. Try this before breaking any glass! If it's 3 degrees outside, the last thing you want is to break a window.

These handles are cheaply made, and the OEM handles are $75 online. You didn't mention, but if you have a sliding rear window, see if you can pop it open by sliding the glass with your palms.

 

If its that cold, just break the handle out (try not to damage the door or paint), and gain access to the rods and open it up.

 

Yep I agree with the glass breaking. IF all else fails. Iirc, the door glass is cheaper than the wing Windows(if you have an extended cab). Probly cheaper than the rears on dc's too. Plus they're not that hard to put in a new one. Also, the cheap handles will work, but are limited lifespan. I highly suggest oem handles. I've tried a few different brands, and they all fail fairly quickly. If you're tight on budget, get the cheapies, but also start saving and immediately buy oem when you can. Then swap and save the cheap one for a backup.

 

If you can afford the OEMs, do that. I bought some cheap ones off of Amazon, and they aren't great. They work, but feel like they're going to break every time I open the door.

When I broke the original driverside handle, there was still enough plastic for me to lift to open the door.

 

Just information...the black handles are plastic. The chrome ones are metal. Get chrome if you can.

 

They're all plastic!

 

Nope! I just picked up a chrome one for my 96. The handle is metal. The surround is plastic.

 

The attachment points are still plastic!

 

The plastic handle is what usually breaks, right at the attachment points. That is the weakest area.

 

I went through a number of chrome handles, take the chrome off, it's still plastic...

 

Whatever. I know the one I have is metal. It's even substantially heavier than the black one I have.

 

What is that going to prove? You can't tell chrome plastic from chrome metal in a picture.

 

If only they made metal ones. I'd buy in a heartbeat.

 

Which brand did you buy? Was it OEM, or something else? Shit, now I need one. Damned cold weather.