1992 sc400 outside door wont open on drivers side

[615Sherry]

The driver side door wont open from outside. Inside works fine. This happened first time less than a year ago and dealership said the snap/clip is discontinued. Of course the bar was bent too due to letting window down and that alone was a $500 part. He "found" an old clip and gave me that. Got it all put in just 3 months ago and it has broken again. This time I hope the bar isn't bent but haven't taken it in to be fixed yet. Can anybody PLEASE tell me where to find a new snap/clip bc I think the used one was the reason it broke again tp begin with. Thanks in advance.

[Tomj8]

I had this same issue with my'95 SC400 a couple years ago. The 'bar' mentioned by the dealer is no more than a short metal rod and used ones can usually be found on eBay for a few bucks. Be certain you are buying the one for your year and model, as there are several types. The attachment clips are plastic and can also be purchased new from Toyota or on eBay for a few bucks each. Any competent mechanic should be able to do this repair - dealer not required.

The driver side door lock linkage is different from the right side but the clips are universal. The hardest part of the job is removing and replacing the door panel but YouTube videos are available on how-to. BTW, this is a very common problem with Toyotas and Lexus because of (guess what) that aging of that plastic clip which eventually becomes brittle and breaks. I cannot imagine why Toyota didn't use a metal clip as they did in the good old days. I suppose the answer to that is a guaranteed $500 repair somewhere down the line. 

[rsamuel]

I Had this problem a number of times with mine.  My SC is gone now, rest it's soul.  But I did have a pretty permanent fix for this.  I hand bent the rod back to about the right shape, and I installed it with the regular clip (i still have a box of them and could send a couple if needed).  Then I took a medium sized zip tie  and went around the whole clip and rod below the "L", then also around the flat metal piece that activates the rod when you pull the handle.  I left the zip tie just ever so slightly loose so there was play in it.  The idea is the zip tie stops the rod from torquing the clip wrong, but does not actually hold everything tightly in place.  It holds it all loosely in place.  Anyway, the fix lasted years--the rest of the car's life.  Let me know if you need some clips.  I believe i have a small box of ten for each side.  I would be willing to share a couple (but one day i want another SC)