Pearls

Hello, I searched and searched and was unable to find anyone else with exterior door handle issues. I have a 2003 SL500, after locking and then unlocking the doors, the exterior door handle does not operate the latch to open the door. It works fine if I reach in and open the doors with the interior door handle, and after opening from the interior the exterior door handle begins to work. I tried lubing the exterior handle up with some WD40 to no avail - now the exterior door handle simply doesn't work but is a little slicker to pull.

Is there any maintenance or adjustment I can make to restore the function in my door handles? Would be nice to put the top up and still be able to get into the car!

If it makes any difference, my car does have keyless go, however I do not have the keyless go card with me while trying to open the door.

Pearls

Ended up fixing it after finding a video on YouTube. There was an internal assembly which needed to be greased. A whole lot of jiggling and a lot of wd40 later the outer door handle now works every time. I did have to take the door latch assembly out of the door to get the angled straw in to the right part, and allowed it to soak for a while sitting on its side. I did not disconnect wires or the pneumatic line going to the lock assembly.

not mine but the video showing what to lubricate