Okay, so I have been having to open my driver door from the outside. It seems like the door handle assembly is not attached to the mechanism that opens the door. It also seems that the mechanism is up inside the metal of the door. I have a loose wire with handle attached that when I flex the handle nothing happens. Do I have to have it attached to the door to work or is something wrong with it? How do I fix it?

San Diego, CA

 

Common problem on that body style. There is a cable that goes from the handle to the latch. The cable could be stretched out. Another possibility is the inner sheet metal has broken where the handle is attached.

 

A picture is worth a thousand words
I suspect the sheet metal is ripped where the inside handle mounts
That's what happens if the cable is too loose for a long period of time

 

Mine 49 does not have key mechanism on driver side, hole is closed. Key mechanism exhist only on passanger side.