Yeah, I have same car. I looked at the handle and it is made of thin plastic !!

Easily broken if I pull the handle hard (I almost broke it when there was a freezing rain/ice storm on the car, all doors rubber froze).

I opened the car from the rear and crawl to the front, figuring if I break a handle, let it be the rear one.

 

Yes, I have replaced my door handle and it's somewhat of a tough task considering if you don't drop your bolts inside your door. The first time can be tough but later on it'll get easier. First, you would have to remove your trim panel then remove some of the plastic water shield thing. then there's two bolts located on the left side of the door handle that are kinda hard to get to that you'll need to remove. Then a bolt on the right that's in plain sight that you can remove. After that, you have to flip up the clip that's connected to the linkage rod then try pushing the handle up and out. Hope this helps, good luck!

 

its not too bad, make sure you dont break the little plastic clips that hold the rods to the assembly...

yeah my brother broke his off his 96 this winter in the ice...

 

There are several good guides to this.

The most difficult part to remove is the interior door handle surround. You must know how and where it clips -- basically it clips to the top and bottom of the door handle pivot. Once you know where to press, it comes off easily. If you don't know, you'll break or mangle the piece.

You'll need "the usual tools" (#2 philips, 10mm wrench), plus a 10mm nut driver with a longer shaft or 6" extension to a 10mm socket. A flashlight and mirror help the first time. A door panel tool (forked plastic pry bar) is useful, but you can do without.

Oh, and a few Band-Aids for where the sheet metal cuts your wrists.