fixing my front door door handle

Hello, are you certain the door handle is engaged with the door latch mechanism? Without seeing it, it is impossible for me to guess what is going on - but clearly something isn't attached properly. https://repairpal.com/auto-repair-near-me Click the link or call us at 877-913-1554. We'll gladly find you a certified RepairPal shop in your area.

We had this problem: The replacement handle was clearly not engaging with any springing return mechanism. The big hooked end on the replacement handle needs to HOOK over something when you insert it and push it towards the front to SNAP into place. Looking into the hole there was nothing there for it to hook on! Had to take off the door panel for sure to study it. After hours of blind feeling trying to find what was supposed to be there I stumbled upon the ROD that comes down from the inner frame piece of the door handle to actuate the door latch mechanism. Reaching through the holes after the door panel was removed I could pinch the rod with my fingers then push it downward and feel and hear it releasing the big door latch part. But I found it impossible to figure out how the PULL OUT of the handle was translated into PUSH DOWN of the ROD! At last I found a picture of the impossible-to-see inner door handle frame part in this You Tube: Vibe or Matrix Door Lock and Handle Repair Fred Lyst 06m06s Finally I can understand the coil spring that provides the spring return force on the door handle. Somehow in our car there was something missing that would keep the Tongue piece (that the big hook needs to capture) so far up that it was unavailable to hook. Now you need two people: one is reaching inside pulling down on the rod until the tongue is seen through the hole by the other person and can be hooked. The other person sees the tongue and can push/wiggle in the new door handle then push it forward until it snaps at the front. Whew. Confounding factors are the TINY HOOKS on the inner frame part that need to be perfectly hooked over the door sheet metal. If you don t see the tiny hooks outside the car they may have become squashed inside and may make it impossible to put the screw back into the lock part! Tolerances are tighter than they appear in everybody s YT video IMHO so wiggle gently and don t try to tighten everything until you think thinks are perfect. YMMV! Good Luck!