Yesterday, my wife went to open the rear lift gate of our 2004 Freestar and she ended up with the handle in her hand. The door didn't open and the handle pulled right out of the door. I was able to open the door by reaching in on hole with pliers and pulling on the tab. It looks like the tabs slid sideways and the hooks on the handle slipped off the tabs. Has anyone had this problem? It looks like I will have to take the panel off the door and see what's going on. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.[:@]

 

To replace the liftgate release handle, you'll need to remove the license plate mounting/housing, as well as the interior trim panel for the gate.. I can send you the info if needed..

 

Any info you could send me would be great, my email is malewis@nbpower.com
Thanks,

 

I have the same problem. The handle just came off. I took it by the dealership today and was told that something inside was probably broke and they had to order the entire handle assembly which would be $251. Then I'd have to payto paint the handle to match(about $50)because the new handle would be crome. And of course, I'd have to pay for the labor. But they weren't sure how long it would take since right now there is no way to open the door. They assumed they would have to do it from the inside by removing the inside panel but they haven't had this kind of repair before. They did comment that it might be possible to reuse the handle because they didn't think it was broken and then I would not have to pay to have the new one painted.

Is is possible that nothing is broken and that the handle just slipped off the hooks?

 

Yes, it is possible for the handle to come out without breaking anything.There is a shaft inside the rear lift gate that has hooks on it that engage in the two slots on the sides of the handle prongs. What happened to my handle is that this shaft slid sidways and allowed the handle to come off. To re-attach the handle, I removed thepanel on the rear lift gate and slid this shaft sideways to re-engage the hooks into the slots of the handle prongs. You have to do something to keep this shaftfrom sliding sideways tokeep this from happening again. I used a washer and avery small tack weld. Thanks to HAYAPOWER for the schematics and info! You can re-attach this handle without removing the inside panel byopening the small cover on the inside panel to access the lock. Through this hole, you can push on the hooks to re-engage them into the handle. This is easier once you have removed the panel once and know what you are looking at. Good Luck![8D]

 

I have had the same problem witht he liftgate handle. I went to open it and the handle came right off into my hands. No I am struggling trying to put it back in. If I come up with any ideas, I'll let you know. Please let me know if anyone has had any luck fixing it.

 

The same happened last night to me!!!! Please someone help! Please email directions to repair.

 

Sent..

 

I am also having the same problem with my 2005 Freestar! The rear lift gate handle has come off. Nothing is broken. From the discussion, I must take off the rear panel to get to a place where I can correct the problem from the inside. Any directions on the removal of the panel would be helpful. Thanks

 

Could you please send this information to me:

Thank you!