Clip assembly for vehicle door latch rod

A door assembly for a vehicle, the door assembly comprising:

• a door panel supporting a door handle;
• a latch mechanism;
• a latch rod interconnecting said door handle and said locking mechanism and configured for transferring motion from said door handle to said latch mechanism;
• and
• a clip assembly interconnecting said latch rod and said latch mechanism, the clip assembly including:
• main body attached to said latch mechanism and including an alignment feature for aligning the latch rod along an alignment axis relative to said main body;
• wherein said alignment feature includes a first pocket and a second pocket axially spaced from said first pocket along said longitudinal axis, said first pocket and said second pocket each including a cross section defining a semi-circular shape presenting an open face perpendicular to said alignment axis for receiving said latch rod;
• a pivoting body rotatably coupled to said main body for rotational movement about a pivot axis, said pivoting body moveable between an open position for allowing insertion of the latch rod into said alignment feature and a closed position for securing the latch rod relative to said alignment feature;
• wherein said pivot axis is parallel with and laterally offset from said alignment axis;
• a fastening mechanism moveable between a fastened position securing said pivoting body in said closed position and an un-fastened position allowing said rotational movement of said pivoting body;
• and
• a biasing device coupled to said main body and configured for biasing said pivoting body into said open position when said fastening mechanism is in said un-fastened position to provide a visual and functional indication that said fastening mechanism is not in said fastened position.

A method of attaching a latch rod to a latch mechanism of a vehicle door panel with a clip assembly, the method comprising:

• inserting the latch rod into an alignment feature of the clip assembly to position the latch rod relative to a main body of the clip assembly along an alignment axis;
• rotating a pivoting body of the clip assembly relative to the main body about a pivot axis into engagement with a biasing device, which provides a biasing force to resist rotation of the pivoting body and to rotate the pivoting body against the biasing force into a closed position securing the latch rod relative to the main body;
• engaging a fastening mechanism to fasten the pivoting body relative to the main body and secure the latch rod relative to the clip assembly;
• and
• inspecting the clip assembly to ascertain the position of the pivoting body to determine successful fastening of the pivoting body relative to the main body, wherein the pivoting body is disposed in the closed position when the pivoting body is successfully fastened relative to the main body, and wherein the biasing force from the biasing device urges the pivoting body into an open position allowing movement of the latch rod relative to the main body to indicate an un-successful fastening of the pivoting body relative to the main body.