Has any one ever heard of both pass side door handles breaking in the same week? Mine did and now they stick out 1/4" when relaxed and door shut. Do I have to replace the whole thing or is there a piece that can be r/r'd. I took the inner panel off and cant tell easily what's the prob. Any help/ experienced users? Thnx....

 

The door handle latch assy is likely broken. Access to this is usually difficult at best. If you don't have a Acura shop manual, I would suggest taking to a good body shop for help. I looked at the 95-98 shop manual and it doesn't look horrible, but definitely more than a stroll in the park. Used parts from a salvage yard will save a lot of bucks. I would guess $150-200 labor + parts for a skilled shop tech.

good luck

 

this is common among the 1st gen TL. i have all mine like that excep driver door *knock on wood*

 

this happened to my rear driver door one day when i tried opening the door. what broke is a little plastic nib that the handle spring pushes onto to fully close the handle. I fixed it like new but i dont have any pics. basically i took the door panel off and took a loooong spring coil and wrapped it around a piece of metal that connects to the handle and wrapped the other end to part of the door itself, just anyplace that stretches the spring. This way the spring coil pulls the handle back flush with the door and you're not out $200. I work in lab so i got the spring from there but you can find them at your local hardware store. next time i have to fix a door i'll take pics and put up a DIY. good luck

 

I have to fix one of mine actually, maybe this week I will do it and do a writeup on it. It doesn't look too bad to pull the whole handle assembly off, but what undyroos said is probably the easiest fix.

 

Unsane: if you can do a write up along with pictures, that would be fantastic! It is a common problem among our generation so it will help many.

 

Thanks to all. I will try the spring method this week. I have the manuals forom Acura on cd amd they show it all. If I can I will take some pics. Thanks again y'all.

 

Dude, please do a writeup with pics. It's not a major probem but it has happend to me too! BOTH passenger side handels are busted like that??? Driver side is fine. I would love to see how to fix this

 

I tried it out last week, bot a spring on there, and got it to work a couple times in one of the rear doors, but it didn't hold, so it is back to broken.

I'm gonna try it again, maybe tonight, and if I can get it to work I'll post a writeup on it.

 

HOw did the repair go on your door latch?
I have the same problem and would like to fix mine also. How do I take the panel off the rear door?

 

I have the same problem with my rear door, how do I take off the door panel?

 

I took the time to get a diagram from my Acura dealer on how to take the rear door panel off to repair the door handle. Once I got the panel off and unplugged the window control and light I was able to remove the paper cover and see the door handle assembley from the inside. I was quite easy to remove, only 2 bolts hold it in place and the engineering was quite simple. I removed both bolts then the handle assembly came out easily.
The plastic piece that the spring was attached to had the tip broken off, so the spring moved off the piece and became unspung. I as able to put the spring back in place, and I put a dab of epoxy over the spot where the spring end connected to the plastic piece.
I hope that the epoxy and tension hold the spring in place. I re- assembled the door handle and bolted it back in place and it is working as good as new. This was not a hard repair, just time consuming, it took 2 hours, I took my time and slowly removed parts until I could get to the door handle assembly. I also did a search on ebay and found a salvage company that had the part for $30 plus shipping, but the trick would be to match the paint.
I think this part could also be ordered at the dealer. The front door may be a little harder,
but this repair can be done at home. I would try it before spending $200 at a repair shop.