a quick door panel fix
I just paid $360 for timing belt changed at dealer. They will probably ask to change the tensioner inside as well, don't recall how much that was, but I took my chance and said no (no money at time). I did change drive belts for another $40.
Door panels. I got same problem with my drivers side, here's how I fixed it.
The problem is the panel is broken inside the handle under the lil cloth pad. There is one screw that goes straight down through the panel and into the door. The panel breaks with wear and the screw slips out of the panel and voila, it's off.
To fix, I just cut a piece of metal the same size as the bottom of the handle hole. punched a hole with a very small nail where the screw fits, then put the screw back in through the metal piece, through what was left of the panel, and into the door. Then got some epoxy glue, or something that would stick to metal like double sided adhesive, and reinserted the small cloth piece. My panel hasn't come off since.
Things I'd do differently? I would have glued the metal piece to the bottom of the panel. The ends bend up when you put the screw in. Also, coins slip under the metal for same reason. I'll redo it someday.
Hope this helps some more folks.
HR