Before you take handle out, you must hold handle in full travel position while you turn the shutface screw. This stages the counterweight so you don't need to "fish" a hook into the door.
For anyone else going through this... I used the little hook/lip on a paint can bottle opener to pull the little metal tab out. Everything else about this video is spot on. Make sure you unscrew the set screw completely loose. If its still under tension it wont work.
Thanks for posting this! Life saver! I used an awl with a bent or curled tip. If it doesn’t want to catch (it happened to me) you tighten the set screw up, pull that metal tooth as you mentioned and at same time loosed the set screw again and you will feel the “tooth” set in place. Then you put the handle in as you described with pressure and tighten the screw at same time. Worked great!
Just wanted to say THANK YOU!! ❤❤ been fighting with this damn thing. Oh door panel was off, so I could push it from the inside, but gotta push really hard. Good work man and thanks again
You can also access those teeth if you remove the door panel. You can actually get your hands on them and push thats what I did. Hold the tooth fully pushed until it stays in place on its own may have to adjust the set screw in an out to get it to set right. Messed with one door for about an hour then did it this way the other door took about 10 min.
Your video worked great for the first rear door. However, I tried the second one, but the latch must closed and the door shut and latched. It appears that the child safety latch was on so now I can't open the door as it has no outside handle, and indoor doesn't work because of child safety. Any ideas how to get the door open without being able to get to the set screw?
So…you’re doing it wrong. Starting from when u put the handle back in, u just tighten the 5mm as you’re putting pressure on the handle. Then all of a sudden the handle will just pop in. Pushing the handle into the door is the key to this magic.
Wrong. If you pull the handle out at the wrong time (i.e. the shut-face screw wasn't all the way out; AKA loosened all the way) then the jaws that hold the handle in will NEVER go back together right. The video is correct in this regard. If you loosen the screw all the way till it can't turn anymore THEN pull the handle out, you can do it your way. This is the correct way! Since the jaws are held back towards door face. But most people don't realize this ....including me. And the handle pops out too soon. ------------------------------------------- How to do it for those still stuck: Those curved pot metal jaws need to be in locked back position to accept the handle going back in. So if you pull handle out at the wrong time, use a hook tool to pull back on those curved metal jaws (like the video says), keeping pressure pulling out, loosen screw all the way until those jaws stay out with any pulling pressure. (when you release the hook tool the jaws shouldn't flip back in......that's the part that has to happen for all of this to work correctly) It's like cocking a gun back. Then press handle in gently while turning screw clockwise and the handle will pop in automatically. ------------------------------------ Also, don't go poking hook tools just anywhere inside, be careful to just grab the curved part. Otherwise some Fords have a thing in there you can trip and then you gotta tear door apart. I'm a locksmith and just re-keyed a 2020 Ford Explorer cop car and believe me, these door handles are a bitch! I spent 3 days between customers trying to get it right. But it's easy when you know the trick. Never force handle in. Especially on a 2020 Explorer since taking the door panel apart is a BIG job. You gotta remove window motor and release the glass and tape the glass up from sliding down, all kinds of things are easy to break etc etc etc etc. Ford sucks. Don't buy one. They over engineer these to force people to go the dealer so they can charge you big bucks. (I used to work for Ford years ago)
