Today, out of the blue the exterior door handle.

There is a bar that has come loose from the handle to the lock. You will have to pull the trim panels to pull the door panel off. Then you will have to basically destroy the stock sound and moisture protective plastic to get to it. Hjowever you may not have to tear much of it away. It is hard to say until you get into it. If you are careful you can re-glue the platic with silicone. The hardware that came loose is hopefully in the bottom of the door. You might have to get a magnet tool to retrieve it.