Remove door handle/window trim for re-paint

Well a person that "Gets It"!, yes sadly all those little things have to be removed for a proper paint job. I would think you have to remove the inside door liner, and you can access the handle and related pieces from there. If you carefully peel back the plastic sheet you can reuse it, while it's open, maybe add a little sound deadening. Then you will have to to the other door, then you will notice the front doors are not as quit so you will want to do them as well. But when you are done think how quiet it will sound, all because of a little paint job!
But you started with the right idea, "Do it Right".

 

Depending on how large the area is that needs paint you should ask a pro painter if you even need to remove handle or trim. Modern paint can easily be blended at edges if it's not a total repaint.

Outer door handles are tricky, you have to get it loose then pop the linkage off and take the handle out from the outside. I doubt you have to take off all the stuff that the manual recommends. They are always conservative, if you tweak things a bit you can slide stuff past something that the manual tells you has to be removed.

The trim is more difficult, some of them you can't get off without breaking the clips which you then have to replace. Sometimes it's just a matter of prying in the correct place. They make plastic trim pry tools so things don't get scratched. or you can use electrical tape on a screw driver.

 

Well done!

 

Was going to suggest you search "hobbits" files and contact your local toyota(parts) dealer they sometime have good insight into what you are trying to accomplish.....but now nevermind....nvm

The door looks fine what kind of "body work" are you going to do??

 

I realize this is an old thread but I couldn't find any other useful info to removing the rear door handles. To add a bit more detail in case someone searches in the future you need to remove the three T30 bolts that hold on the latch to the door, disconnect the power lock harness from it, also remove the 10mm bolt about 8" below it that secures the window track. This allows access to the T30 on the stationary side of door handle through the opening after moving latch assembly down and out of the way.

When assembling, you need to make sure the door handle engages the black tab that moves the latch. You might have to use a screwdriver to move the tab downward to seat in the handle. Also, make sure the upside down Y linkage is engage on the latch lever or the door won't open after closing it. This happened to me and I was able to reach in from inside since I hadn't put the inside door panel back on, and move the latch to open the door. TEST CLOSING THE DOOR BEFORE PUTTING THE PANEL BACK ON! The Y is flexible enough to reengage if needed after the latch is assembled.

Also, the door handles are identical and can be switched to the other door allowing the bottom side of handle to be the topside. Mine were damaged from the sun and the paint was peeling but the bottom side looked good. This is why I removed them and reversed them. Looks way better.

Hope this helps a bit. This is less confusing when you are looking at it.

 

I have a 2012 PriusV that had the two right (passenger) side doors dented in. I have repaired them and need to re-paint. I removed the right rear outside door handle OK, with online directions, and tried to remove the right front door handle same way, but the handle will not slide out of the door because it has an electrical cable attached to it, I assume for the automatic lock actuator that is on both front doors but not on rear doors. I am afraid of breaking the cable connector, so am asking if anyone knows how to disconnect the handle so it can be removed so I can do the re-paint more easily. Thanks for any help.

 

It has been three years since anybody posted on this thread.

You should really use Search > More... > Advanced Search to limit your searches to the Prius v wagon forums, or you should start a thread there asking this question.

But knowing nothing about the 2012 Prius v wagon, I would guess you need remove the interior panel so you can get to and disconnect the connector from the inside, then you may be able to slide the handle out. But the guys on the Prius v wagon forum will know for sure, if this has been tackled before.

 

I got it! Found two black tabs toward the end of the cable, pushed outward on them with a small screwdriver and they released the cable at that point, then found a small white tab at the very end of the cable, pushed it inward,i.e. toward the front of the car, and I was able to pull out the connector from the handle. I then just slid the handle to the rear and it came out. I found I also had to disconnect the switch on the door pillar that turned on the interior lites so they wouldn't be on the whole time I was working. Be careful, the cable going to that switch can fall down inside the pillar; I used a paperclip to hook around this connector to prevent it from dropping down inside the pillar. Should be able to do final painting tomorrow.