I had a similar problem with my rear door, You pull handle inside or out and door just wont open. I have an 2002 with no warranty and i also have soft door close. I was not about to pay hundreds of dollars to have the dealer try and replace the mechanism. I pulled the panel off myself from the inside then removed the whole latch and motor assembly. After several hours looking inside the mechanism i finally found that a spring had fallen off that prevented a lever to release the door latch. Took about a day to fix but dealer was already telling me that no it couldnt be repaired Bull! fixed it! not a problem since.