back doors won't open on 98 civic
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
back doors won't open on 98 civic
hi there, i need some help. all of a sudden the back door of my civic won't open from the outside. the inside door handle will still open it, though. any ideas what to do once i get the panel torn off? strangely enough, no one has been in the back seat for a while and the back door has been opened lots of times since then without a problem. much thanks, alea
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 130
Likes: 0
yeah, i just fixed this problem myself. the door wouldn't open on the outside of the rear passenger. what happened is the spring came loose. mine is a '92 so our door handles are different (i got the cool ones, hehe), but i figure the fix should be similar. here is what you need to do:
1) take your door panel off. if youve never done this before, its two screws. 1 behind the door handle (on the inside) and one in the little cubby in the door. then, take a screwdriver or something flat and pull the sides and bottom of the panel until you hear them snap out. once this is done, it will seem like nothing has really let loose cuz the panel wont move much. the reason is is that the door handle is connected to the frame by hooks on the back. you need to wiggle the door handle from side to side while simultaneously pulling the panel both away and up from the door frame.
2) tear all that plastic shit outta the way so you can get to the handle. it will be kinda tough getting to it cuz there is stuff in the way, but the opening is big enough to put your hand through and to see through.
3) look at the back of you handle. you will see a spring that is wound around itselft maybe 3 or 4 times, and then one end comes off straight while the other end comes off into a hook.
4) there is no way in hell i can explain to you how to put the spring back on correctly, so what you need to do is take off the door panel to the other door and look how it is put on. this is what i did. the best that i can possibly explain it is that each of those ends (the straight one and the hooked one) coming off the spring. leverage themselves behind little "holders" (anybody gotta better name?) on the door handle itself.
once again, we have different style handles, so i cant vouch for what i just said on your model, but it should be something to that effect. especially if you cant open it from the outside but can from the inside exactly like me. hope this helps!
1) take your door panel off. if youve never done this before, its two screws. 1 behind the door handle (on the inside) and one in the little cubby in the door. then, take a screwdriver or something flat and pull the sides and bottom of the panel until you hear them snap out. once this is done, it will seem like nothing has really let loose cuz the panel wont move much. the reason is is that the door handle is connected to the frame by hooks on the back. you need to wiggle the door handle from side to side while simultaneously pulling the panel both away and up from the door frame.
2) tear all that plastic shit outta the way so you can get to the handle. it will be kinda tough getting to it cuz there is stuff in the way, but the opening is big enough to put your hand through and to see through.
3) look at the back of you handle. you will see a spring that is wound around itselft maybe 3 or 4 times, and then one end comes off straight while the other end comes off into a hook.
4) there is no way in hell i can explain to you how to put the spring back on correctly, so what you need to do is take off the door panel to the other door and look how it is put on. this is what i did. the best that i can possibly explain it is that each of those ends (the straight one and the hooked one) coming off the spring. leverage themselves behind little "holders" (anybody gotta better name?) on the door handle itself.
once again, we have different style handles, so i cant vouch for what i just said on your model, but it should be something to that effect. especially if you cant open it from the outside but can from the inside exactly like me. hope this helps!