Rear door won't open.

[coolride]

The back passenger side door handle doesn't do much anymore. The previous said, "the child safety lock is not the problem." Claiming, that she remembered being able to make the haggled mechanism work, to open the door.

I see two rods under there. One moves quick to the latch and the other is headed more straight down. (How do I open this door?)

 

[mrrsm]

This video may be able to show you an alternative way to open ALL the doors IF the two Relays inside of the BCM Fuse and Relay Box under the Left Rear Passenger Seat are defective. @MAY03LT shows a method of fixing this problem with the replacement of the Driver's Side Door Module:

Be advised that the MANUAL DOOR LEVER on the outside may have been pranged (By a Very Frustrated Person) so hard as to bend itself into FUBAR involving the Push-Pull Rods hidden under the Door Panel... and so the only way to get to it will be to slip the panel off from inside (easier said than done) ...and work those Rods Manually to finally open the Door.

 

[coolride]

I can just grab the left side rod with a pair of needle nose pliers. That rod didn't want to open the door.

 

[Blckshdw]

I'm assuming the interior door handle also does not open the door? If you can reach the rod with some pliers, giving it a tug to unlatch the latch could work.

 

[coolride]

The interior handle also doesn't open the door.

 

[Matt]

I can tell you that the bracket that holds that handle on the inside of the door is rusted and broke. I had the same thing happen to mine, but I was able to open the door from the inside. I have no idea how you would go about opening without being able to access the inside of the door.

 

[mrrsm]

If you decide to tear into this mechanism to replace the Pranged Door Handle or apply some Lithium Grease to the Rod-To-Nylon Bearings under the Door Panel... This Video has some great Step By Steps as an instructive way to easily get into things.

(Please Turn Down the Sound or the opening monologue will DEAFEN you) :

 

[coolride]

I was just looking over things, and the locking lever (on the inside of the door) doesn't seem to work properly. On the other doors it clicks in and out of position nicely, but not on the one broken door. I'm not sure that I believe the previous owner's statement that "it's not the child safety lock."

 

[Blckshdw]

Hopefully there's enough room for you to get the interior door panel off with the door shut, so you can access the actuator and try to get that open manually. I've removed the door latches in the front doors, but not the rear with the child locks, so not sure if you're able to easily toggle them by hand or not. I'd imagine there has to be a way, as long as you can reach it...

Sounds like the previous owner tried to hit you with a Jedi mind trick, "This is NOT the issue you're looking for!"

 

[TequilaWarrior]

Can you pull up the top of the interior door panel? It should clip into the window channel on the inside. If you lower the window all the way are you able to pop the top of the interior door panel loose? You'll likely have to unscrew every screw you can get to and pop the trim ring from the interior door panel first before trying to pull the panel upwards. It's not likely you'd be able to remove it completely, but popping the top of the panel loose may allow you to pry the door panel away enough to manual activate the latch mechanism directly.

 

[Blckshdw]

There are large white clips holding the door panels to the door itself. All of those have to be popped loose first, before you can lift it out of the channel at the top.

 

[coolride]

Hopefully there's enough room for you to get the interior door panel off with the door shut, so you can access the actuator and try to get that open manually. I've removed the door latches in the front doors, but not the rear with the child locks, so not sure if you're able to easily toggle them by hand or not. I'd imagine there has to be a way, as long as you can reach it...

Sounds like the previous owner tried to hit you with a Jedi mind trick, "This is NOT the issue you're looking for!"

Yes, there is enough room to remove the panel from the inside. It wasn't much trouble at all.


With the panel removed, I was able to disconnect the short control rod from it's plastic retainer clip. And then remove the handle mechanism from the outside.

And yes, the child safety lock was in the "lock" position. It is a small black plastic part in the lower right hand side of the mechanism. I just doused this with WD40 and have to leave for work. Can I buy the steel bracket for the handle alone? Or do I have to buy the whole handle assembly?

 

[Blckshdw]

Can I buy the steel bracket for the handle alone? Or do I have to buy the whole handle assembly?

Unless you can find one in good condition from a junk yard, I think you may be stuck buying the whole handle assembly.

 

[TequilaWarrior]

Yes, there is enough room to remove the panel from the inside. It wasn't much trouble at all.


With the panel removed, I was able to disconnect the short control rod from it's plastic retainer clip. And then remove the handle mechanism from the outside.


And yes, the child safety lock was in the "lock" position. It is a small black plastic part in the lower right hand side of the mechanism. I just doused this with WD40 and have to leave for work. Can I buy the steel bracket for the handle alone? Or do I have to buy the whole handle assembly?

Before you get too much into getting a new bracket, review this thread:

Rusty rear door handle

This past fall I noticed streaks of rust running down the driver's rear door on our Envoy. Being white it was quite noticeable. A body shop estimate approaching $500 to repaint the door and the fact the door handle assy is plastic prompted me to investigate things on my own. The short story...

gmtnation.com

I believe it is the same issue, yours is just more advanced.
Depending on your relationship with your local U-Pull-It yard or local recycling yard, you may be able to extract just the bracket you need. <aside>My local scrapyard is literally just that - a scrapyard. But they usually leave the cars they get out in a back section of the yard. Almost nobody goes there for parts - but I walk the yard every time I'm there and usually end up grabbing odds & ends (clips, hoses, bulbs, fobs, covers, etc...). They usually just wave their hands over the pile of parts I bring up and charge me a few bucks (literally). So it may be worth your while to visit a scrapyard.</aside>
As for the child lock and latch - one of those rods should pop the door open even with the child lock engaged. If the door is "unlocked" then the exterior handle rod should open the door - unless the whole mechanism is frozen from rust.

 

[Matt]

Can I buy the steel bracket for the handle alone? Or do I have to buy the whole handle assembly?

Unless you can find one in good condition from a junk yard, I think you may be stuck buying the whole handle assembly.

IIRC I got the bracket from the local pull a part.

 

[coolride]

I just ordered on Amazon, the replacement door handle. I'll remove the new bracket and put it on the original assembly...(For 15 bucks it's better than a trip to the parts yard.)

Sorry about the font.
Depo 332-50017-271 Rear Passenger Side Exterior Door Handle

 

[TequilaWarrior]

I just ordered on Amazon, the replacement door handle. I'll remove the new bracket and put it on the original assembly...(For 15 bucks it's better than a trip to the parts yard.)

Sorry about the font.
Depo 332-50017-271 Rear Passenger Side Exterior Door Handle

It's a rarity to find a new part cheap. I would've done the same.

 

[mrrsm]

Your Photographs are EXCELLENT and could never be improved upon. Judging from how high up the concentrated Rust on the Stamped Sheet Metal Bracket is located... I'm beginning to suspect that either this vehicle may have hailed from a Flood Zone with exposure to Brackish or Salt Water....

... or the other possible alternative would be that once the handle got "Pranged" so badly that it wound up getting bent outwards in such a way that it was constantly being exposed to Rain and the Elements. Naturally, this would have greatly accelerated its Rusty Demise. If you could find a Complete Door at a local Salvage Yard... it might be cheaper in the end to purchase it ...and then scavenge it for the Replacement Parts required to rebuild the present door.

 

[coolride]

No, it's not from a flood zone. It's from the rust belt. The door handle was probably in that "pranged" position for a long time (maybe a year.) Lots of exposure to the elements. Right now, I'm keeping faith in the WD40.

 

[coolride]

Doh! They just delivered my part. It doesn't feel cheap...Looks and feels solid. It's hard to know now, how the plastic will hold up at 25 below zero. But I'm only after the bracket, and that looks good too.


The original assembly has this foam rubber gasket. It probably soaked up water and then slowly promoted the rusting away of the steel bracket. These handles don't have a soft rubber weather seal to keep out water? That's a surprise. It hard plastic all the way around. Maybe I'll add a bead of silicone.

 

[Blckshdw]

There's plenty of plastic parts on the exterior of our trucks, so I wouldn't worry about how it will hold up to low temperatures.

 

[coolride]

See the black plastic gasket on the back side of the door handle? Does this belong on the inside of the door skin? I re-installed the handle with the new bracket and it pops out and away from the door at the bottom. From the dust on the inside, it looks like maybe there was a gasket but nothing fell into the bottom of the door.

Do I have to bend the bracket to stop this pull away affect?

 

[coolride]

At look at the inside. It does look like maybe there was a gasket there at one time. Just a guess though. You can see that the bottom of the steel bracket does not grab the door skin.

 

[Blckshdw]

Hmm, I don't think you should bend the bracket. For comparison's sake, I would try putting the new handle in, see if it also pulls away like that, and for a little more time and effort, pull the panel off the driver's side rear door to visually compare how that handle's mounting points look.

 

[coolride]

The bracket fits the new handle just as it fits the original. I could try that though.

 

[TequilaWarrior]

At look at the inside. It does look like maybe there was a gasket there at one time. Just a guess though. You can see that the bottom of the steel bracket does not grab the door skin.
View attachment 91490

That REALLY looks like the old bracket ~used to~ catch the door skin below the opening. You can see the what looks like contact marks directly below the new bracket...

Coincidentally, it should be nearly impossible for water to infiltrate to this bracket if it were installed the way I think it should be. The recess in the door skin should cause any water to flow away from the opening altogether, leaving the interior of the door dry.

 

[mrrsm]

Actually... if you look closely at this EDIT excised from your own image... The wavering reflections just above the Oval Cutout in the Door Panel gives an indication that the Panel itself looks a bit Wrinkled... which could have occurred from harsh lifting of the Pranged Door Handle by the Original Owner.

If the New Bracket you just installed Fastens into a location in the Interior Metal Skin or attached inner brackets inside of the area just above the Oval Cavity and this 'Wrinkling' is in that same area, then this condition could explain Why the New Plastic Door Handle Unit refuses to lay flat and sits outwards at the Odd Angle apparent in that same image. You might glide your hand over that same surface area and then compare the look and feel of it with the same area on the opposing Rear Door.

 

[coolride]

It was a "fiddlee" job. But I carefully bolted the new bracket to the back of the original door handle assembly, and it's holding together fine.

Actually... if you look closely at this EDIT excised from your own image... The wavering reflections just above the Oval Cutout in the Door Panel gives an indication that the Panel itself looks a bit Wrinkled... which could have occurred from harsh lifting of the Pranged Door Handle by the Original Owner.

If the New Bracket you just installed Fastens into a location in the Interior Metal Skin or attached inner brackets inside of the area just above the Oval Cavity and this 'Wrinkling' is in that same area, then this condition could explain Why the New Plastic Door Handle Unit refuses to lay flat and sits outwards at the Odd Angle apparent in that same image. You might glide your hand over that same surface area and then compare the look and feel of it with the same area on the opposing Rear Door.

View attachment 91499

There's no dent. That's just a strange reflection.