Drivers Side Door Handle Rod out of Linkage... how do you repair?

[benwa]

My son recently slammed the drivers side door of my 2005 Chevy Aveo and now the handle wont open the door from the inside. The aveo has manual locks. I've taken the door panel off successfully but I'm having trouble putting the door handle rod back into the linkage. The end of the rod is "hooked" shape and should hook into something. The problem is that the metal portion of the door frame is covering up the linkage so I can't see what I'm doing. I also dont have a schematic diagram of the drivers side door panel so I have nothing to go from. Can anyone help?

I have one other problem as well. I can't press down the door lock manually when the drivers side door is open. I can press down the door lock manually from inside the vehicle but not when the door is open. What could be the problem and how do I fix it? Thanks!

Benwa

[MetroMPG]

A handy tool for this situation is a "dentist mirror" type of inspection tool:


Any auto parts store would have those. Think that might help? (Sorry I can't offer any more concrete info about the hidden linkage itself.)

I have one other problem as well. I can't press down the door lock manually when the drivers side door is open. I can press down the door lock manually from inside the vehicle but not when the door is open. What could be the problem and how do I fix it? Thanks!

That's not a problem, it's a feature. The designer wants you to lock the door with the key after you close the door, not when the door is open (so you don't accidentally lock your keys in the car). Some cars will let you push the lock button down while you hold up (open) the outside door latch to get around this.

[petrified.rabbit]

the clips are kind of obvious once you see them.. they are bog plastic, and have a rod size hole in them :P

best i can offer:

[benwa]

Do you know what the linkage looks like? The component that the rod goes into somehow? I have a mirror and I can see some of the components, but I have no idea what I'm looking for.

[petrified.rabbit]

should look something like this:



or this:

[rodo]

...I'm having trouble putting the door handle rod back into the linkage. The end of the rod is "hooked" shape and should hook into something.

Here's what the rod clips on the Aveo look like.

You can loosen and attach them easily by feel. Just rotate the clip off the rod and the rod will then lift out of the hole. They're usually tight, so can be a little hard to push off, but still done by hand. The clip will remain attached to the lock, handle, bell crank, or whatever part the rod is moving. When done, just reinsert the rod and rotate the clip until it snaps over the rod.

The clip in the photo is the one used on the inside door handles. Others may have a different orientation, but will operate exactly the same way.

If the rod detached when the door was slammed, there's a good chance the clip was busted; feel for it along the bottom of the door if it is not still connected to the latch or rod. You'll have to find a replacement if broken.

BTW - my local Chevy dealer doesn't sell these clips separately... which is dumb. They're fairly standard in the industry and are occasionally broken or lost during servicing, so suspect they do actually keep some on hand for their own service department. I broke one dropping a front door handle onto the pavement. A handle with a new clip was only $6 USD or so, but a week away special order. However, one of the clips on emergency brake release rods of the first gen Dodge Durango happens to be a perfect match (well, other than color - black vs green) and the local Chrysler dealer does sell these separately.... actually the parts guy gave it to me rather than mess with the paperwork.