How to remove door handles only, not the whole

This would involve most likely rolling window to the bottom as far as it will go and then opening door. Remove door panel and trim and use a flashlight to look for the fasteners holding this to the door. This should have 1-2 rods that are held in place by plastic locking pieces and clip to the outside of the rod and I side the whole in the handle.

remove the interior door panel thern two 10mm headed nuts ,this will remove the whole handle as one unit which it is .

u can access thes handles by removing the door panel. u then unhook any cables and wires to the panel and then peel back the noise supressor film and then can u actually see the handles an bolts attaching the handle an a couple of linkage rods attach to it. kind of an easy job....good luck

No you don't have to buy the whole door panel, I just purchased the drivers inside door handle for my 2000 300M off of ebay, which is a really good place to start looking for one.
When you remove your door panel and look behind it where the door handle comes through you will see the four plastic studs (for lack of a better term) and four washer like clips holding them in place, you can carefully lift these clips with a flat blade screwdriver working them upward to remove the bezel with the door handle attached from the door panel, these can be reused if this step is done properly.
The tricky part (not all that tricky) is actually removing the handle form the bezel, here you will need a razor knife or a regular knife with a good point on it and a pair of needle nose pliers, hold the bezel so the door handle is facing away from you, roll it forward so you are looking at the bottom of it, this is where you will need to open the hole for the pin holding the handle to come out. It should be fairly easy to see where you need to add the hole. Once that is done use the needle nose pliers to remove the pin by sliding it out of the hole, remove the old handle and replace with the new handle, slide the pin back through the hole and you're almost done. Once the pin has been reinserted you will need to close the hole, to do this, heat the tip of the screwdriver until it is hot enough to melt the plastic, then use it to melt and push some plastic back over the hole you created. You should have no trouble doing this.
Now you can put the bezel back on the door panel and then the door panel back on the door. Don't forget to hook the rod to the new door handle before attaching the door panel back onto the door.
Then you're done!
Removing the door panel: You will have 3 screws to remove at the bottom of the door panel, 3 or 4 behind the speaker cover, on in the door handle (the part you hold to close the door) and one behind the door handle itself. Remove your door handle carefully, if it does not come off relatively easy look to see if you may have missed any screws. I do not guarantee I have told you all the places the screws are, it will be up to you to be sure you remove all of them before taking the door panel off.
I hope this helps, good luck!! James

no you do not!! just remove inside door panel and you have access to the studs that hold handle to car. just remove the nuts and replace handle.

There is a clip holding the handle in place. It is just behind the handle and not easy to see.
This video should help, even if the vehicle is different (oh, and it is not a trick or hack as those are overused terms these days):
Window Crank Removal Trick

The control panels are often held in place by either spring tensioners or some built into the plastic frame of the panel and can be pried up and out. They pretty much depend on gravity to keep it in place.
Once free of the panel, turning it may allow it to be passed through the hole in which it normally resides.
I would try first to pry with an old credit or bank card before resorting to metal tools.

Yes that whole plate needs to come off. Be careful as some of those torx heads are just for show and not actual screws. The door handle also needs to be removed. There are three screws for the handle, usually a torx head. The door panel will then unclip and with the window down you can push in and pull up gently on the upper door trim (hard plastic part) to release the door panel from the door.

The Door Panel Has Got To Be Removed.
Start By Removing The Handle Cover You Mentioned On The Handle Careful Not To Break It . A Small Screwdriver Can Help.
Next Remove Black Piece By The Window By Pulling It Strait Outward. Then Remove The Screw Cover On The Actual Handle You Use To Close The Door. Remove The Screw From Below It And There Is One Under The Front Edge Of It As Well. There is 2 screw along the bottom edge of the door as well. then remove screw up by the mirror. now remove this little plastic clip right on the side closest to the outer edge by pressing the center and pulling the whole thing out. Then There Are 2 10mm screw that hold on the door latch remove and slide the whole handle forward and it should come free. Now Reverse all these steps with the new handle in place.
THIS SEEMS HARDER THEN IT IS I PROMISE.
If You Have Any Questions What So Ever Please Feel Free To Post Then And I Hope I Helped At least A Little.

hi there undo the phillips screw inside the handle the gently slide the whole handle outer casing to the right about 1 cm, it will help if you push it into the door as you do it to give it a little bit of help the feed the whole mechanism through the hole in the panel hey presto!