It opens from the outside, but from the inside it acts like its being "bypassed".

Anyone have any hints on this?

 

the inside and outside handles operate on separate hinges. the inside bar that connects the handle to the latch probably fell off.

 

Cable near the handle came out or fell off. Its on the inside of the door near the latch. If you go to www.realOEM.com and type in your vin # you can take a look and see how it attaches.

Nik

 

Thanks for the tip!

 

The cable might not have broken or "fallen off" as much as it might have stretched and now has too much slack to actually operate the latch. This is what happened to my driver's side door cable. It took me two or three times opening the door (taking off the panel and playing with the cable) to figure this out. I'd never experienced cable stretch before...but sure enough (and it figures, since I've had other cables - e.g., the shifter cables - replaced on this car before...2002 MCS).

You could certainly replace it...and that would be the permanent fix (until it stretches again...but maybe the part has been improved since the original). OR, you could come up with a solution that involves pulling the cable housing just tight enough to take up the slack. I did this with a piece of bailing wire (no foolin'!) and duct tape. Wrapped a loop of wire around the cable and pulled it about 1" tighter down the door frame. Cable ties would work if you could find a place to secure them. The goal is to take out the slack so that when you operate the inside latch you still are pulling the cable and thereby actuating the lock/latch mechanism.

Good luck! I'd post some pictures, but I don't want to take the door apart again right now. PM me if you want a lengthier description of the fix.