Broken door handle

Like title says, my passenger side door handle broke and I'm looking at replacements on rockauto.com. With mine, when I use the key to unlock the door and I turn once, it unlocks one door, if turned twice, it will unlock all 4 doors. Does anyone have any input on this? Just want to make sure it will work the same. Thanks guys.

http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/toyota,2001,tacoma,3.4l+v6,1375343,body,outside+door+handle,1024

 

I think that is how Toyota designed the unlock feature... if you had a key FOB it would take 2 clicks to do the same thing. As to the outside door handle breaking, it broke at where the lever and rod attach. This is a weakness of the design but it can be mitigated... there is so much resistance built up in the latch mechanism from old hard grease, dirt etc that needs to be cleaned out an relubed... it takes may 1/2 hout to take the latch out and clean it and out it back. if you do do this it should take 1 finger on the outside latch to open the door when you are done.

 

Your handle broke, or the door lock mechanism? They are two different things. If just your handle broke, you replace just the handle. Not the lock. Everything would work the same.

Edit: Also was going through door handles like it was going out of style. Eventually cleaned the lock mechanisms themselves, as well as handles and anywhere else using pressurized windex. Then silicone grease. door handles are like butter now.

 

As stated above, definitely clean the latch mechanism! If you don't, you will break the new handle in short order. First cold day, the old greese will be extra stiff and the plastic in the handle extra brittle, and snap. The OEM handles are tougher than the after market ones, but they will still break if you don't clean the latch.

 

I think I have gone through 4-5 door handles over the past 17 years. I'm a pro at replacing them now. Definitely clean the mechanism out real good to keep it from gumming up on you.

 

My finger has a calcified spot from where I've been opening up my broken door handle for the past year. I should probably sandpaper down the jagged edges.

 

I can't get my head around what this means. Help me out?

 

Haha certainly, I sprayed the piss out of the electric locks with windex. Probably not the smartest things, but you cannot take them apart so I gambled. Anyhoo, I sprayed a ton in there and subsequently using an air hose blasted 160psi in as well pushing the windex through. What came out was black windex. I went until it was clean.

 

I broke my drivers side door handle, I never fixed it and spent the past year and a half climbing in through the passenger side haha

 

Dear lord fix that door!!

 

One of these days, you'll all of a sudden find that you've gotten too old to do that, you can fix it then.

 

My Drivers side just broke today. Passenger broke 6 months ago. seems like a trend.

 

Can you do this with the door panel removed? How to do this? My passenger side handle is kinda stiff.

 

I also have poverty spec so I insert key into lock to open

Embarrassing people staring at me

Whatever

Hat said all my handles are 17 year old OEm

I can feel my driver side will break

As long as it stays intact till next owner takes it over

 

I took the latch mechanism out to clean it. You do have to unbolt the bottom of the window channel to get it out, but it's not too tough.

 

Do you think I could get away with a squirt of Silicone?

 

I doubt it. I tried blasting the latch mechanism with brake cleaner and then lubed it, all with it still installed. Put a new handle on, and less than six months later the new handle broke. Second time I took the latch out and cleaned it good. The door now opens with just my little finger easily lifting the handle. It's really not very hard to remove.

 

Are there any places I can look at instructions? I might do this since my door panel is off anyways

 

I don't know of any, but there are probably some out there somewhere in internet land. It was pretty easy to get unbolted, but couldn't actually get it out until I took the bottom bolt on the window track out. This allowed the bottom of the window track to move enough to get the latch out. The rubber part that is in the track kept it in line at the top, so it went back together easy.

 

I was just about to say this. Once I cleaned everything out and lubed it all up you can open the door with one finger.