1st Gen Door Problems

Hey there, so I just had a problem with my driver side door of my 2001 Tacoma. As of now it will unlock and open from the inside and will actually still lock. However from the outside the handle is completely loose without any tension in it. Anyone have any ideas as to what it could be? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

There is a rod inside that the handle pulls to unlatch while pulled from the outside. Take the handle off & adjust where it grabs that little rod. It's become loose & not grabbing where it is supposed to.

I didn't do this, 3wks later I broke my passenger door outside handle due to no tension on the inside of the door. New handle from the stealership: $130, adjusting the pull action: $free.

Still haven't replaced it, but I wish I fixed it when I noticed it instead of ignoring it.

 

If the adjustment described above works for you, then great. But if you do end up replacing the outside door handle, I strongly recommend the OEM part vice a parts store part.

 

There are some really small clips on the end of the rod. Those are dealer only items I believe and really easy to break. I had some sticking problems a while back and I sprayed the linkage and the lock cylinders with Houdini lock lubricant. That stuff is the bees knee man. NO problems ever again after using that stuff.

 

I second OEM handles. I have placed three sets of rockauto handles on my dad's 98. LOL

 

Good to know- I now plan on OEM based on everyone's feedback. Looked on ebay/Amazon, they're available for just above $100, saves ya 30 bucks from the dealer at least.