Hey HAF, new to the forum here and hoping I can find some help here. I've searched up and down and can't seem to find a solution to this issue or even someone describing this issue (I may just not be searching for it correctly).

Vehicle:
2004 Accord Coupe EX 2.4L Automatic

What's happening:
The interior door handles (happens on both driver and passenger side doors) don't open the door when the door is locked. It opens the door just find if the door is unlocked. However, If I pull on the interior handle while the door is locked, the latching mechanism appears to get stuck as pulling the handle again offers no resistance and won't work even if I unlock the door. The only way to unstick the mechanism and open the door at that point is to open it from the outside. Once done, the interior handle works again.

Back Story:
This started after I replaced the actuators on both doors. I initially had an issue with the interior handles working properly at all but that was due to the cable that connects the interior either breaking (on the driver door) or just not being clipped (passenger door). I've since replaced the driver door cable and ensured both cables are clipped/secured properly.

I believe the issue is with the actuator/latching mechanism itself but I'm not sure if there's a way to realistically test this without taking that whole thing out (it's quite a process). I just find it very strange that it works fine until the door is locked. Do note that I do have quite a bit of sound treatment material in the door, however, there is no treatment on the actuator/latching mechanism and this treatment doesn't seem to affect the functionality of the cable itself. Any ideas what I should look for or what I could test? Has anyone on here had this issue before? Any and all help would be welcome!

 

Does the interior door handle behave normally when the door is unlocked? Also, did the door lock actuator fix the original problem?

 

If the door handle is unlocked, the handle works normally. The new actuator did fix the issue I was having with my fob and the switch not unlocking the door (was having to manually lock and unlock the door). I have a feeling that this issue is likely related to the new actuator but I'm not sure what exactly I'd be looking for or trying to correct. Also not sure how I could test it without having to replace it entirely.

 

If the handle works properly when unlocked, then the issue has to be the door latch, the handle connection to the latch, or something with the actuator installation. Hopefully you can inspect the cable routing/connection by pulling the door panel, because the latch is a pain to remove.

 

I'll check the cable/connection again but I'm fairly confident that's not the issue. I also really hope it's not the latch as I've had to remove that before and let me tell you...it wasn't fun. Especially with all of that sound treatment material in there making it more cramped. Sometime after this weekend I'll try to take it apart and see what I can fine. I'd imagine just pulling on the end of that cable would simulate me pulling the handle or am I missing something there? I'd like to test it as much as possible without having to take that door panel on and off a bunch of times. It's one part of the vehicle I've take apart probably more than anything and I absolutely detest it (mainly for lack of space in the garage to properly move around, place things, and fully open the door).