Driver interior door handle cable broken - NEED PART NUMBER

[BenWhitney]

Hello everyone,

Yes, I search-barred. Yes, I scoured the troubleshoot forum. Yes, I google-searched.

I attempted to open my driver door from the inside a week or two ago, heard a loud snap and the handle lost tension. I removed the door panel this weekend and found the cable has sheared away from the pivoting mechanism on the handle.

Has anyone had to replaced this before and know the part number from rock auto? While rock auto has a shitload of parts, it lacks depth or detail. Does the handle come with the cable as well?

Feel free to flame me for this thread. Whatever you old farts need to do to keep your sanity.

Thanks in advance.

[Crarrs]

2008 Mazda 3/M Parts - Online Mazda Parts

Might be worth bringing the cable parts to a motorcycle shop. They might be able to build you a replacement one.

[BenWhitney]

Originally Posted by Crarrs 2008 Mazda 3/M Parts - Online Mazda Parts Might be worth bringing the cable parts to a motorcycle shop. They might be able to build you a replacement one.

Thanks for the quick response. I was hoping to not have to buy the entire mechanism that sits behind the exterior door handle. God damnit!

[BenWhitney]

any advice? I really would prefer not to spend $100+ shipping to replace the entire actuator, when the cables are detachable.

[Pendragon813]

Any update on this problem? I have the exact same issue. Driver's side interior door handle cable/cord mechanism detached between handle turn and white cable. The exposed metal just looks like frayed wire. All I can seem to find is a replacement part for the entire lock actuator. The power locking/outdoor handle/manual lock are in perfect working order. I was thinking of trying to solder it back together but not sure if it will hold up against the constant resistance and pressure of using the handle. Any help is welcome.

[frankz]

Guess I'm a member of the broken door handle cable club. Anybody have any solutions beyond taking the door apart and replacing the entire mechanism? I already took the door panels off and can't get the mechanism out of the door anyway.

[Pendragon813]

This is not going to be too helpful considering i didn't think to take pictures of the repair, and I still have no idea how long it will last, but here's what I figured out after several trial and error attempts.

My handle was connected to a wiry cable which was encased in rubber. It was this part that snapped away from the handle mechanism. Thus, my interior handle wouldn't work. Only the the wiry cables (similar to an electrical wire looking thing) are necessary to pull the handle mechanism located somewhere behind the second door panel and open the door (there's the door panel we see from inside the car, then after removing that, there's a more complex removal to get behind to see other mechanisms-I didn't remove that one, only the outer shell panel). In other words, if you tug just the silver wiring, not the whole rubber cable, you should hear the door unlatch. So, I went out and bought electrical connectors (the ones that you can crimp on one end and has a U shaped metal thing on the other), here's an item description from Home Depot: Tyco Electronics Spade Vinyl 12-10 AWG Stud 8-10 50/Clam-CPGI-2-1838180-0-50 - The Home Depot

I crimped the one end onto as many of the silver wires that were sticking out (I twisted them to try and keep them from fraying) from the cable itself, then at the hole which is already part of the handle mechanism, I used a metal washer and screwed a small screw between the metal U on the crimp and the washer itself. So, the screw and the washer acted as a holding chamber for the U part of the crimp, while the crimp on the cable wires held those wires together. Sort of like a sandwich - washer, U metal piece, Screw) Place washer against handle where the existing hole is, then hold U metal thing flat against washer, then put a screw into the hole to hold them all together tightly. Do NOT strip your screw and use one that fits snug-the one I used was no more than a half centimeter in length, and the width was the exact size of the hole) Thus my handle could pull the latch mechanism again. Don't forget to place the existing cable plastic thing into the holder-you'll see a black one already there. The black one is the lock mechanism. So make sure your cables are both side by side in the existing holder thingy)

I'm so sorry if this sounds confusing as hell. I'm not a mechanic, just a girl with ingenuity and determination. Perhaps, my poor description may give you some idea or a better idea. So far, the handle has been working again, it's been about a month. I'll continue to use this method should the crimp snap off at some point or if the metal U thing falls out between the washer the screw. It was a really easy, cheap fix, once I figured out how the damn cable worked with handle. Good Luck.

[D_Rob]

Has that fix still lasted for you? I am in the same boat now.

[NCZ13]

If you call your local Mazda dealer and provide with the vin and what part you need I'm sure they would be more than happy to give you the appropriate part number.

That said most modern door lock actuators are sold as unit pieces. I haven't seen cables sold separately in years.

[Xlorn]

This just happened to my 2008 3. I decided on getting the replacement part off ebay for $97 with shipping. Here is the part number for future cable broke club members. BAN759310A

[Avonord]

Seems like everyone has broken cable. Lol.

The driver side door latch cable broke on my 2012 three years ago. I did something similar to pendragon813. Here’s what I did.

1. I hammered a nail into a shape that fits into the door handle where the cable was supposed to go.
2. I looped an 1/16” aircraft steel cable around the nail head and closed it off with an aluminum sleeve (https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07L9LM1DL/..._O2WzDb5P76A2N )
3. With barely enough clearance, I inserted what’s left of the existing steel cable into the same sleeve.
4. I crimped the hell out of the sleeve. The existing steel cable and the new aircraft cable is now essentially one cable.

That took several trial and error, but the cable worked again. It saved me couple hundred dollars. But this weekend, it broke again. It’s not the sleeve that broke but the aircraft cable. And so, I bought a stronger 1/16” cable and replaced the broken cable. Hope it last longer this time.

If it breaks again, I think I’ll try to melt some solder in place of the nail next time. I wonder if that would work.

I wish I took a photo and show what I did. Sorry.

But here’s the part number if you want to buy it. They don’t sell the cable by itself.

BBM4-59-310E (2010-2013)

Here’s how to remove the door trim to get to the interior of the door.

https://www.paulstravelpictures.com/...ide/index.html