foolishdreamer

We have a 96 4-door DX(manual locks/windows) and yesterday the left rear door's outer handle stopped opening the door. No big deal, but my wife thought to herself, "I wonder if the child lock is messing up and causing this handle to not work" and so she opened the door from the inside, flipped the child lock switch, and closed the door. Two screaming children can cause brain farts like this, but I still wish she would have asked me first...
At any rate, the door can now no longer be opened at all. Ever tried removing a 20-month old from a car seat through the front door? Or putting one in? So how do I get the door to open or access the guts without being able to open the door? Can the door panel be removed with the door closed? Can the black handle surround on the outside be removed?
HELP! Please! And thanks!

92ehatch

I think you can get the handle off the inside door panel with the door closed.

Once you have that off try reaching your hand inside the door and pulling the bar that the outside handle uses or moving the child latch switch.

Former User

Yes. Start by removing the rear seat cushion and left seat-back.

Removing the trim around the door may also be necessary.