I’ve got a 2012 Corolla with a door/handle problem. If I’m inside the car and I pull on the door handle, it’ll get 80% of the way there and stop. I can pull as hard as I want to and it won’t open. I try 4-5 times, and then all of a sudden it’ll release like it was getting caught on something. On the outside, I’ll pull the handle 1-2 times and it’ll open. It doesn’t give me any restistance, it just doesn’t open until repeated attempts. This morning, it escalated from 1-2 pulls to “I won’t open at all from the outside.” I had to crawl through the passenger side, pull the inside handle 4-5 times, get it unlatched and go back around to get in the car. Not a sustainable option!
I’d replaced the door lock actuator about 18 months ago - and I’ve replaced each element of the equation on other cars I own (interior and exterior door handle) so I feel like this is probably in my grasp to repair on my own, but I wasn’t sure which part might really be the problem.
Any ideas? This setup is obviously not sustainable for very long. Thanks!
Almost sounds like someone used a slim-jim and tweaked the rods a little or the door latch is failing… But you are defiantly going to have to do some deeper investigating as mentioned above…
I pulled the door panel off, and there’s nothing obvious. The door latch for the outside is threaded in the hole correctly and doesnt have any obvious obstructions. The interior door handle is properly attached to the cables to open the door. Not sure how helpful a photo I can get, but nothing screams “I’m broken!”
Just a thought. Open the door and lift up and down on the door and see if there is any play in the hinges. maybe the door is sagging a little making it harder for the latch to work properly.
Did you try opening the door with the door card off? What do you see when inspecting the door mechanism? Maybe try lubing the mechanism and see if that helps. I had a problem with the trunk latch mechanism sticking until I lubricated it.
The actuator has a cord to the interior door handle and the exterior door handle is connected by a rod that slides into a hole on the actuator. When I open the door successfully and then try it again while the door is open (I’m never experiencing any resistance when it’s open) I can see a little piece of the door latch move, so the actuator seems to be part of the latch rather than just the lock.
+1
I knew a guy who bought a 2 door AMC Hornet. After a few years, the doors sagged to such an extent that he had to have an indy mechanic “lift” the doors, and install new hinges. Because it was an AMC product, the engine self-destructed a couple of years later, freeing him from having to do the door routine once more.
I’ve had problems with the interior door handle on my own Corolla, early 90’s vintage. The door lever and the starter motor have been by far the most unreliable parts for the past 30 years. I think the starter motor problems were resolved by 2012, but the door handle, apparently not … lol . Referring to Tester’s diagram above, in my case the problem was the lever you pull to open the door from the inside. That lever has small pins which fit in a slot & act as a sort of hinge, allowing the lever to rotate, but not move laterally. The pins aren’t robust enough for the job, and tend to shear off. Suggest to take a careful look there.
