My 1991 Geo Prizm door does not have interior or exterior door handles, and now the rod on the inside of the door has broken. I can't open the door at all. How can I fix this and how much would it cost?

1) Remove the plug inside the interior armrest and remove phillips screw.
2) Remove armrest and two screws that hold door panel to door frame.
3) Pop the outer cover off the interior door handle.
4) Remove the interior lock knob and remove door panel by popping out tabs connected to door frame and lifting up off of window ledge.
5) Remove the two nuts holding exterior handle in place.
6) Disconnect the L shaped linkage from the handle. The trick to getting the L shaped linkage into the new handle is to feed L shaped metal pole through hole in door where exterior handle was, leaving the lower end of this linkage in its slot.
7) Feed the end of L shaped pole through the plastic 'hinge' in new handle by folding the hinge over and pushing the end of the L through both sides of the plastic hinge at once. slide the lower loop of the plastic hinge down the L shaped pole to secure pole to handle.
8) Place new handle into door and reverse the process to reinstall interior panel.

Hope this helps Tim

Pull the vertical rods not the horizonal rods.

Sounds like either a linkage rod came off or the interior handle is broken. either way you have to take the interrior door panal off to see which it is.

Sounds like the door handle came off from inside. Open the door from the outside and remove the inner panel, you should be able to see where the door handle should connect to a small bar that opens the door. Reconnect the rod to the handle, there also should be some type of pin that keeps in in place, you may have to replace it or use a clamp.

You can get inside door handle either new or used from sellers on ebay. It should be just a few dollars plus shipping. Just search ebay for "Inside door handle 1991 Toyota Corolla."

Frank
Frank's Friendly Cars Maui Car Rental
www.MauiCarRental.biz

Order the exterior door handle AND the clip that attaches the rod to the exterior handle from your local dealership ( any part in the salvage yard will have at least as much wear as the one U are replacing ) Also order a can of touch up paint matching your car. After you have the parts and have painted the new exterior handle, roll down the window and remove the interior door panel. ( instructions have been posted at 'replace door lock buttom' ) Two nuts, one on each side, hold the broken handle in place and must be removed ( DON'T loose them ). Loosen the rod from the clip at the top to allow a bit more room, But take note on the way it is attached ( you will need to reattach the rod to new handle ) To install new mechanism put the new clip on the rod, carefully place the gasket and the new handle in place and install nuts to secure. Test the door handle and make sure it works. Reinstall interior door panel.

YOU SHOULDN'T SEE THE INTERIOR ROD MOVE BECAUSE THE OUTSIDE HANDLE HAS IT'S OWN ROD THAT CONNECTS TO THE DOOR RELEASE THAT IS REALLY SHORT. IT MOVES DOWN WHEN THE HANDLE IS PULLED UP. TAKE OFF THE THREE SCREWS THAT HOLD THE DOOR CATCH ON THE DOOR AND YOU WILL SEE THIS SMALL ROD. I HOPE THIS HELPS YOU. LET ME KNOW. GOOD LUCK

This is a problem that you should be able to fix. With the interior door panel there are 3 screws. 2 in the arm rest and 1 on the door handle(opener), take those out. There is a C-clip on the window crank that needs to be removed. They make a cheap little tool to remove those but I've heard people using a shop rag and removing the c clip. To remove it, turn crank to around 9 oclock then slide the tool or rag behind the crank also coming from 9 oclock. Any position will work, my point being the tool must slide in from behind the crank handle. Use a flat head screwdriver to gently pry the edges of the door panel away. There are some little clips that pop loose. It's okay if some break you can buy more. After that you will slide the door handle (opener) forward a little to pop out. Twist and turn the panel to get it over the door handle. There are 2 bolts that hold the handle on from the inside. They are 10 mm. You can reach the most forward one pretty easy but the back one is taken out through a hole in the metal door panel. Mine had a sticker over the hole with a big yellow dot on it. After that it takes some pretty good force to get the handle out of the hole. Don't be afraid to push on it. When it pops out take some wire cutters and cut the little plastic clip that holds the metal rod to the handle. The lock twists out of the hole. Now this is when you need 3 hands. Hold the new handle close to the opening and twist the lock into position. Don't attach the metal rod yet. Now actually put your key in the lock. This helps you hold the lock in the correct position while inserting the handle. Put the top of the handle in first and then the bottom should snap in next. Now from the inside, reach up and slide metal rod in the hole and rotate the plastic clip to secure it. Now the hardest thing is getting that back bolt in. It helps again to leave the key in the lock and rotate it so the bolt can secure the locking mechanism to the handle. Put the front bolt in reinstall the interior door panel and you should be in business. Good Luck

you can do this. you have to remove inside trim panel for access. if you still need to do, I will send you repair steps. let me know

sounds like your rod came off inside, possible broken plastic retaining clip that holds the rod on the mechanism. real simple fix, just a pain to see and get to.