Broken door handles--within door

Have an 01 Tribute... Inside door handle broke about a year ago...been rolling down window and opening from outside handle...well a couple days ago, the outside handle broke...any ideas on a fix...son is mechanically inclined, we can buy parts & fix...what parts??

Which door will not open??
Most common fault with Tribute doors not opening is a broken latch/lock assembly. It is not available as a separate part but will come with the inner and outer handles/cable which sounds like you need inner handle also. Mazda parts catalog simply calls it the door lock.
There are about 9 different part numbers depending upon application. Dealer should be able to determine correct part needed by the VIN. PM with the last 8 digits of your VIN if you like and should be able to pull up the right part. Prices range from $175 to $230.

Ive got a interior drivers side and both for the pass side.

To 01Trib,

I have a 2002 Tribute and the inside latch of the driver side door broke on me this past fall.

Fortuantely, I work at a company that has a lot of mechanics, and one of them concocted a fix to the problem. It saved me the $350 fee the dealer wanted to charge.

Like you, I had to roll down my door and use outside latch to open door, but what we found during the fix, was using the MANUEL LOCK button on the door latch on the inside, would have opened the door though it would have been ackward.

I had the same driver's door handle problem. Cost about 250 to fix. What killed me is that there are about 6 plastic fasteners that needed to be replaced to hold the door panel together. 6 little pieces of plastic: cost? $60.00. My service centre was charged $46 by a Mazda dealer, for 6 little pieces of plastic!!!

I lucked out compared to some of you. My driver door handle broke while still under warranty. Took days to get a new one into the shop.

The six retaining clips do not need to be replaced unless they were broken. The clips are a two part assembly. When removing the door trim panel 1/2 of the clip will come off with the door panel and other 1/2 will stay in the door sheet metal. Simple matter to remove the part from the door sheet metal and assemble onto the door panel before reinstalling. If trying to reinstall the door trim panel and not putting the clips together beforehand they will definitely break. Learned that the hard way first time I did one.

My '01 drivers door, inside handle failed few weeks ago.  I pulled the cover behind the handle and found a broken block of plastic. Looks like part of the cam that actuates the cable pull (cable was fine). 
 
Based on zekeindc's advice , I tried to open the door by pushing the manual lock back to the left.  This was easy to do with the cover off, a bit harder when I put cover back on.  I think I'm going to get very good at pushing the back of the door lock button w/ my right thumb to open door.  I may even trim the cover some to allow for easier actuation.   :-)
 
I can use to $ saved to buy new rotors and pads.  They last about 30k miles.  Pads worn, rotors at min.   :-(
 
This has been a great car overall, still love it.
 
Jmat

Had same issue with door handles. Driver side broke first, little plastic piece broke off the inside handle.  Inner handle can be purchased separately from the dealer for approx $45-$50. Use Vin# as Huey indicated.  I brought the inner handle to the parts counter so they could see exactly what it was I wanted to order.  I also at first rolled down my window and opened door from outside, then I wound up trading the left rear inner door handle with the driver handle until I bought a new one.  It works fine but if you lock the door while you are inside, you have to manually unlock the door before you can open it to get out, as rear doors do not have the ability to unlock by simply pulling on the handle as front doors do.
 
I also love the car.  It has 308,000 miles on it and still running fine, (knock wood).

I had this same problem with the interior door handle, the handle broke right off.

I fixed it myself though, without taking the door panel off.

I bought the inside handle from the dealership for $110 (what a rip off, its all plastic!!!) and I took apart the molding to the handle. I then took a screwdriver and pried out the old door handle thru the molding (it is only held on with clips fastened to the door). I put the new one in, the only problem I really had was getting that little wire thingy into the new handle (fake nails and all) and I snapped it back in place, screwed the handle molding on and I was done. Took about 45 minutes. Dealership wanted to charge me over $300 to fix it.

There is no need to take the entire door panel off.

I have a 01 trib and the passenger handle broke a month ago. the driver side went the following week. I took the thing appart and found the plastic assembly broken. Have been opening using the manual lock ever since. The cost to replace is in the hundreds which I do not think is worth it. I will continue souring dump yards for crashed tributes.
ek

FREE FIX !!! I fixed the door handle problem myself. No parts. There is a hook-like configuration in the rear of the handle. I created a place for that hook to grab and move the lock button the necessary distance to open the door. To repair, remove the door handle assembly. You only have to remove the assembly, not the whole panel. Here's what I did... I drilled a small hole through the back of the lock button where it is beefy, directly under the point where the cable connects. I inserted a small threaded bolt through the hole from the top of the lock button. I used 1/8"bolt that measures about 1" long. Any longer and it will interfere with the other mechanisms. I had to grind down the head flat at the top (to clear the assembly housing) and I also ground it down to clear the re-enforced area on the lock. I pressed the bolt through the hole (tight fit, but you want it snug). I re-installed the assembly and it works like a champ! I consider it better than factory an really easy. I will gladly detail further if you would like to email me amp1117@yahoo.com

Sounds like tonyp may be onto a free fix that will work. If you want to just replace with the updated OE part that has been redesigned and beefed up about a dozen times for this problem and others then still does not need to cost an arm and a leg to do. If the problem is only with the inner handle and not outer then the little plastic hook breaking is all that is wrong and a replacment inner handle will solve the problem and most probably will never have an issue with it again. Inner handles retail for $82.39 per side or a bit less at $65.91 if ordered from www.onlinemazdaparts.com. For drivers front door use OE part number ec01-59-330p. For passenger front door use ec01-58-330p.

I have had several requests to further detail the door handle repair that I came up with.  I'm sorry that I didn't post photo's.  I feel that I did detail the repair sufficiently and further suggest that you print and read it while you have the handle assembly in your hand.  Still have trouble, just email me or send me your phone number.  I'll be glad to assist.  amp1117@yahoo.com

This seems to be a common problem.  Both my husband and I drive 2001 Tributes and can't open the door from the inside (driver's side).
You should file a complaint with the NHTSA:
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/
 
Maybe they will do a recall and we can all get it fixed for free!

'01 Tribute here also. Had the same problem. Handle just popped one day as I was opening it from the inside to get out. Did the window roll down - open from outside thing for a while before I finally got it fixed. Luckily I have a great mechanic and it only cost me about $110 and $80 of that was for the parts! I try to avoid the dealer at all costs!!

Thanks to all who responded.  Took vehicle to dealer to get an estimate.  They said around $300.00 bucks!-whew!  They also removed and kept the defective linkage!  I didn't realixe this until a few weeks later when I took off the door jam.  Gonna try the junk yard route.

quote:

ORIGINAL: babyhuey

Sounds like tonyp may be onto a free fix that will work. If you want to just replace with the updated OE part that has been redesigned and beefed up about a dozen times for this problem and others then still does not need to cost an arm and a leg to do. If the problem is only with the inner handle and not outer then the little plastic hook breaking is all that is wrong and a replacment inner handle will solve the problem and most probably will never have an issue with it again. Inner handles retail for $82.39 per side or a bit less at $65.91 if ordered from www.onlinemazdaparts.com. For drivers front door use OE part number ec01-59-330p. For passenger front door use ec01-58-330p.

 
Good info! Just had my inside driver''s door latch break......looks like the problem with mine was the plastic hook of the manual lock button has broken. I''ll see if I can repair it myself, as $300 for a replacement of small plastic pieces is just too high....