1A Auto Video Library
Our how-to videos have helped repair over 100 million vehicles.
Enter Vehicle Year Make Model

Specify your vehicle's year, make and model to guarantee fit.

installation video player icon

How to Replace Front Interior Door Handle 2000-07 Toyota Highlander

Created on: 2018-03-13

How to repair, install, fix, change or replace a broken or snapped off interior door handle on 04 Toyota Highlander.

  1. step 1 :Removing the Door Panel
    • Pry up the master window switch with a trim tool
    • Disconnect the wiring harness
    • Remove the switch
    • Pry up the door pull with a trim tool
    • Pry off the sail panel with a trim tool
    • Pry off the trim door on the door handle
    • Remove the Phillips screw from the door handle
    • Pop the trim off from the door handle
    • Pres in the push clip and remove it from the door panel
    • Remove the Phillips screw from the door panel
    • Pry out the edges of the door panel
    • Lift the door panel up and off of the door
    • Disconnect the courtesy light
  2. step 2 :Removing the Interior Door Handle
    • Remove the 10mm bolt from the interior door handle
    • Slide the interior door handle out of the door
    • Pop the lock cable out of the door handle
    • Lift the cable ball out of the lock
    • Pop the handle cable out of the door handle
    • Lift the cable out of the handle
  3. step 3 :Installing the Interior Door Handle
    • Hook the cable into the door handle
    • Clip the cable on the door handle
    • Insert the cable ball into the lock
    • Pop the lock cable into the door handle
    • Insert the door handle onto the door
    • Tighten the 10mm bolt to the door handle
  4. step 4 :Installing the Door Panel
    • Connect the courtesy light
    • Press the door panel onto the door
    • Tighten the Phillips screw to the panel
    • Press in the push clip
    • Press on the door handle trim
    • Tighten the Phillips screw to the door handle
    • Press on the trim door
    • Press on the door pull
    • Press on the sail panel
    • Connect the wiring harness to the master window switch
    • Press the master window switch into the door panel

Tools needed

  • Socket Extensions

    Flat Blade Screwdriver

    Phillips Head Screwdriver

    10mm Socket

    Ratchet

    Trim Tool Set

Hi, I’m Mike from 1A Auto. We’ve been selling auto parts for over 30 years!

Open the door. To remove the master window switch we're going to use the plastic trim tool. You can get these from 1AAuto.com. Otherwise, you'd have to use a flat bladed screwdriver, and you could damage your trim with the hard metal. These are nice, soft plastic, and then kind of get underneath here, it's a little tight fit, and kind of slide it to the middle. There's a clip, we're going to push in this way, and at the same time pry up to pull the master window switch out of the door panel. Put this aside here. Now you can unlock the connector. There’s a tab here, push down and pull out on the switch to pull it out. Put the master window switch aside.

We need to remove this little door handle pull. This little pocket here, where your hand goes. Use the plastic prying tools to kind of go underneath to kind of catch the metal and then pop it up, just like that, and if this side doesn't come, you have to do the same thing, there's a similar clip, pop it up, pull it out, see what you were doing is you were going underneath, pushing in on this metal tab to unlock it.

To remove this black trim cover, take the plastic prying tool, reach in here, just pop it out, and pull that right out. You need a small flat blade screwdriver to carefully open this little door here to expose the screw that's behind it. Use a Phillips head screwdriver to remove the screw. Take the plastic prying tool, there's a slight opening just above the lock, push the plastic prying tool up, and then pop it up off, pull it down so it pulls down from this one. That needs to go out this way, and then you'll have to move this. So you're unhooking it by going this way, and then you're just feeding it off the lever.

To remove this push clip, actually push in on the center. It unlocks it, and then you can take the other side of your plastic prying tool and get underneath it and pry it right out, then to reuse it. Just push it right back out through, and put that aside. Remove the Phillips head screw that was inside our opening for our little cup here, pull handle. Using a Phillips head screwdriver.

The rest of the door panel is held on with clips along the edge. As you pull this off you will need to unplug the courtesy light that should be the only thing that is plugged into the door panel. You just kind of reach underneath, and if you need to, you can use a plastic trim tool, but there's a little bit of a finger hold here I can get it in, get my fingers in, and pull out. And we're going to lift up off of the steel part of the door. The door panel kind of hooks around the top, so lift up and straight out. And the only thing plugged in, I can turn this, so I can see it, is the courtesy light. You’re going to push in on the lock, pull it right out, and we'll put our door panel aside.

To remove the door handle and lock, there's a 10-millimeter bolt here. Remove that, take the bolt out, and pull this off. Slides out of the steel panel. There's a hook here and a hook here. Flip it over. The door opening handle is this green one and it's going into the handle there. We can pull it pulling out the plastic. Just pop it straight out and then when it comes out, you'll just push the cable up and out. And then for the lock one, it's the same thing. We're just going to push it up and out and then unhook it.

Reconnect the inside door handle with the lock one. So, the white one went in the other one. It just hooked in and then push right down in. The green one that hooks down in place there. It looks like this actually is broken a little bit it. It'd have a have kind of a tab over it that would lock it. Push it down in place. Just like that. There's two tabs here, they're going to go in to the door panel this way. Push it down. There are two openings in the handle. This one is for when the door panel is on and the screw will go through that, and the capital go over it. This one is the one you access with the door panel off, and the 10 millimeters self-tapper will go in here.

If one of these clips get stuck, you can just take a trim panel tool, pull it in here, pop it out and put it back in your door panel and reuse it. This went in down here—kind of push them in place. Plug in the courtesy light and there we go. The top of the door panel is kind of curved—it's going to hook over the metal frame, so I'm going to start by going up in here. It doesn't matter if the window is up or down. Hang it over it, and then we'll get it in place. Make sure that your master window switch harness is accessible, and now we can push it into place on the clips. It will snap into place. Just go around the door, and push them in place. Put a push clip back in.

Reinstall the screw that was under the door pull handle. Reinstall this door handle pull, the arrow points toward the inside, push it in, just like that. Reinstall this cover. It has a hook that's going to hook into here in the black plastic, so we're going to lift that up and slide it this way. Get it hooked first, and then push this in and we reinstall the screw.

Reinstall this black A-pillar cap. It just slides in place and then snaps in. Put the harness back in. It will click when it locks in place. There's a tab here that will slide underneath, and then this metal tab is going to push into this opening here.

Thanks for watching. Visit us at 1AAuto.com for quality auto parts, fast and free shipping, and the best customer service in the industry.


recommended video

Noisy Car or Truck Wheel While Driving Could be a Bad Wheel Bearing

Watch this video to hear what a bad wheel bearing sounds like, and see how you can diagnose your own.

Share on:
Go To Top

Same Day Shipping

Need your part faster? Choose expedited shipping at checkout.

Guaranteed To Fit

Highest quality, direct fit replacement auto parts enforced to the strictest product standards.

USA Customer Support

Exceeding customers' expectations, our team of passionate auto enthusiasts are here to help.

Instructional Video Library

Thousands of how-to auto repair videos to guide you step-by-step through your repair.