Joined
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3,999 Posts
Tools Needed:
New door handle
Car trim tool OR flat head screwdriver
Cross head screwdriver
Gorilla tape
Ratchet
Ratchet extension
10mm socket
8mm socket
T30 star bit
Magnetic bolt retriever
Let me first say, I’m sorry your door handle broke… because it is not a fun install. It isn’t all that difficult of a process, but due to the lack of access to the inside of the door handle area it is certainly a tedious procedure. I hope you have small hands! That all being said, anybody can do this one.
The problem with our door handles is that they are plastic – even the threads that the mounting screws attach too. And that is normally where they break. My six year old nephew actually broke mine by tugging on it when the door was locked. And sure enough, the metal mounting screw simply pulled out and broke the plastic threads holding it on. So if he can break it, anybody can.
So let’s get started. I’ll be discussing my rear driver’s side door handle. The process is the same for the rear passenger side door handle. However, the front door handles are different, and I believe they are much easier. Lucky me. Here is my broken handle – the side of the handle towards the front of the car is what broke, and this is commonly where they do…


And here is my new replacement door handle. It is not an OEM door handle, but it is a factory replacement. When I had both off of the car, I couldn’t tell the difference between the two. I purchased it off of eBay for $22 shipped…


First step – remove the door panel. This is the easy part. There are two mounting screws hidden behind little covers – one behind the interior door handle and one just below the door pull. These little covers flip DOWN. I previously had broken one off on my front door when replacing my speakers by trying to flip them up, so I wasn’t going to make that mistake this time. Flip the little covers down with a car trim tool or carefully with a flat head screwdriver, and remove the screws with a cross head screw driver…


Next there are four screws that need to be removed – three along the bottom of the door panel and one more up the side towards the front of the car (not pictured). Remove these screws with a cross head screwdriver…

Now you need to remove the push button retainers on the lower part of the door panel, or whatever they are called. There are four of them – three up the rear side of the door panel, and one more up the opposite side towards the front of the car (not pictured). To remove these, you simply press the little button in the middle in towards the door – not hard, just enough for it to click. If you push the buttons all of the way through, no big deal – you’ll just have to fish them out of the bottom of your door later. I usually just use a cross head screwdriver to push the buttons. You can then give the bottom of the panel a little tug or use a trim tool to pry it out a bit and the fasteners should fall out. Here they are…

***Note: These push button retainers are famous for breaking and the dealer charges way too much for them. You can buy replacements from ClipsAndFasteners online very cheap. I keep extra boxes of all of them.
***Another note: Just noticed my dog snuck into that pic. He’s such-a-good-boy!
Next up, remove the door pin. These simply unscrew. I have BT pins, but just the same as stock pins – just grab and unscrew them…

It’s beneficial to have an extra set of hands on this next step, but certainly not necessary. And warning for those with tinted windows: since the window must be up, be careful that you don’t yank the panel into your window and scratch the tint. The bottom of the door panel is now loose and the top of the door panel is just held on by two round push retainers and one flat push retainer. I recommend starting at the rear of the door panel and give it a good tug to pop out the flat push retainer that is at the very top of the door panel. Then with a good grip on the door panel, give it a good tug away from the door and the two round push retainers should pop right out. It kind of pulls out and up. But hang onto the door panel – it’s not completely disconnected yet. Here it is partially removed – note the two white round push retainers on the panel and the two green receivers on the door. You can also see the receiver side for the flat push retainer at the far left edge of the image…

***Note: These round push retainers are also famous for breaking. Again, dealer = expensive, ClipsAndFasteners = dirt cheap. Keep some of these around.
Now you just need to disconnect the latch release bar and the wiring harness for the door switches. Unsnap the blue plastic clip that holds the latch release bar, then disconnect the bar from the door panel. And simply remove the wiring harness by pressing on the release tab and pulling the plug…


Now the door panel is free! But wait, where the hell is the exterior door handle?!

This is where it starts to get a bit tricky since Chrysler decided to make this difficult to access. First, you need to partially remove the watershield. It is held on by some strange gummy goo stuff. Start at the very back and top of it and begin peeling it away. A trim tool is useful for this. Try not to touch the gummy stuff or let it get dirty because you’ll need to stick it back on when you’re done. Peeling the back half of it is good enough since we are only going to be working on the very back part of the door…



***Reinstallation note: When I was putting the watershield back on, I wasn’t super happy about the gummy stuff holding, so I added some Gorilla tape for good measure.
CONTINUED....
New door handle
Car trim tool OR flat head screwdriver
Cross head screwdriver
Gorilla tape
Ratchet
Ratchet extension
10mm socket
8mm socket
T30 star bit
Magnetic bolt retriever
Let me first say, I’m sorry your door handle broke… because it is not a fun install. It isn’t all that difficult of a process, but due to the lack of access to the inside of the door handle area it is certainly a tedious procedure. I hope you have small hands! That all being said, anybody can do this one.
The problem with our door handles is that they are plastic – even the threads that the mounting screws attach too. And that is normally where they break. My six year old nephew actually broke mine by tugging on it when the door was locked. And sure enough, the metal mounting screw simply pulled out and broke the plastic threads holding it on. So if he can break it, anybody can.
So let’s get started. I’ll be discussing my rear driver’s side door handle. The process is the same for the rear passenger side door handle. However, the front door handles are different, and I believe they are much easier. Lucky me. Here is my broken handle – the side of the handle towards the front of the car is what broke, and this is commonly where they do…


And here is my new replacement door handle. It is not an OEM door handle, but it is a factory replacement. When I had both off of the car, I couldn’t tell the difference between the two. I purchased it off of eBay for $22 shipped…


First step – remove the door panel. This is the easy part. There are two mounting screws hidden behind little covers – one behind the interior door handle and one just below the door pull. These little covers flip DOWN. I previously had broken one off on my front door when replacing my speakers by trying to flip them up, so I wasn’t going to make that mistake this time. Flip the little covers down with a car trim tool or carefully with a flat head screwdriver, and remove the screws with a cross head screw driver…


Next there are four screws that need to be removed – three along the bottom of the door panel and one more up the side towards the front of the car (not pictured). Remove these screws with a cross head screwdriver…

Now you need to remove the push button retainers on the lower part of the door panel, or whatever they are called. There are four of them – three up the rear side of the door panel, and one more up the opposite side towards the front of the car (not pictured). To remove these, you simply press the little button in the middle in towards the door – not hard, just enough for it to click. If you push the buttons all of the way through, no big deal – you’ll just have to fish them out of the bottom of your door later. I usually just use a cross head screwdriver to push the buttons. You can then give the bottom of the panel a little tug or use a trim tool to pry it out a bit and the fasteners should fall out. Here they are…

***Note: These push button retainers are famous for breaking and the dealer charges way too much for them. You can buy replacements from ClipsAndFasteners online very cheap. I keep extra boxes of all of them.
***Another note: Just noticed my dog snuck into that pic. He’s such-a-good-boy!
Next up, remove the door pin. These simply unscrew. I have BT pins, but just the same as stock pins – just grab and unscrew them…

It’s beneficial to have an extra set of hands on this next step, but certainly not necessary. And warning for those with tinted windows: since the window must be up, be careful that you don’t yank the panel into your window and scratch the tint. The bottom of the door panel is now loose and the top of the door panel is just held on by two round push retainers and one flat push retainer. I recommend starting at the rear of the door panel and give it a good tug to pop out the flat push retainer that is at the very top of the door panel. Then with a good grip on the door panel, give it a good tug away from the door and the two round push retainers should pop right out. It kind of pulls out and up. But hang onto the door panel – it’s not completely disconnected yet. Here it is partially removed – note the two white round push retainers on the panel and the two green receivers on the door. You can also see the receiver side for the flat push retainer at the far left edge of the image…

***Note: These round push retainers are also famous for breaking. Again, dealer = expensive, ClipsAndFasteners = dirt cheap. Keep some of these around.
Now you just need to disconnect the latch release bar and the wiring harness for the door switches. Unsnap the blue plastic clip that holds the latch release bar, then disconnect the bar from the door panel. And simply remove the wiring harness by pressing on the release tab and pulling the plug…


Now the door panel is free! But wait, where the hell is the exterior door handle?!

This is where it starts to get a bit tricky since Chrysler decided to make this difficult to access. First, you need to partially remove the watershield. It is held on by some strange gummy goo stuff. Start at the very back and top of it and begin peeling it away. A trim tool is useful for this. Try not to touch the gummy stuff or let it get dirty because you’ll need to stick it back on when you’re done. Peeling the back half of it is good enough since we are only going to be working on the very back part of the door…



***Reinstallation note: When I was putting the watershield back on, I wasn’t super happy about the gummy stuff holding, so I added some Gorilla tape for good measure.
CONTINUED....