Broken door handle replacement 2007

[Bocephus]

My driver side door handle broke. It has the “smart” key button to lock & unlock. I have the replacement part bought on eBay. I’ve seen YouTube videos replacing non-smart-key handles that seemed easy enough without having to remove the interior door panel, but since mine has the smart-key, I will have to access the interior door to unplug/plug the new connector.
My question….Is there a way to loosen the panel enough at the top just to access the plug? I know I would have to remove the screws holding the interior door handle. The remainder of the installation can be done from the outside. (I have not seen any videos showing the type of handle I have with the smart-key button).
The more I think about it, only a few steps might be saved but essentially I will still have to pop the whole panel off. Can or should the window remain up? Or would it have to be down?

[Bocephus]

OK. Here's the fix. If you don't want to remove the interior door panel but the "old" lock / unlock push button still works.
1A) Remove the black plastic (1 screw) that covers the wire & button on the old broken door handle. 1B) Dittos on the new handle.
2) Remove wire & button from old and install on new replacement handle (while still attached to vehicle). The button housing is easily removed since the black cover holds it in place.
NOTE: there are YouTube videos showing you how to do this but the one's I've seen don't have the push button feature.
3) Remove rubber cover (on the edge of the door) to access the door lock. You need a T-30 Torx screwdriver tip. Don't worry about dropping the screw inside the door, it has a plastic clip that retains the screw.
4) Remove the decorative chrome (plastic) key hole cover. Loosen the lock (thru the access hole, step #3). Pull lock out from the front. It will still be attached. You might need to pull the loosened torx screw with a pair of needle nose pliers, so that the lock will not be obstructed. (NOTE: If you have a pair of hemostat pliers, you might need them later. More about that on the final steps).
5) Pulling the lock away as best you can to allow the new handle to be fulling inserted behind the lock mechanism. (You'll figure it out). You also have to push the front side of the new handle deeper into the door. Then push the lock back into place, so that the Torx screw can be re-inserted & tightened.
6) If you are able to re-insert the Torx screw without any problems, then GREAT. Your Finished.
THIS NEXT PART IS WHERE THE HEMOSTAT PLIERS COME IN HANDY.
In my case, the plastic piece that holds the Torx screw and keeps it from falling into the door, was blocking the hole that secures the lock. No amount of pushing the lock in further would expose the hole for the screw. (Looking back, maybe you could a miniature flat head screwdriver on the right side of the plastic piece might work) while tightening the screw at the same time. There may not be enough room for both
I ended up using my hemostats to hold the screw (because it has a locking feature) while I forced the tab holding the screw in place to release the screw. With the screw removed, that verified that I (or anyone else in this situation) that the hole for the screw was blocked by the plastic screw retainer. I ended up drilling the hole (in the plastic) larger but then I still had to drill it further to the left. That did the trick. But now it doesn't have the screw retaining feature. Oh well. That might be a problem if the handle ever breaks again.
I'm not sure how to attach any images. It is asking for the URL.