Vehicle door latch assemblies

A vehicle comprising:

• a body;
• and
• a door movably coupled to the body, wherein the door comprises:
• an outer door panel;
• and
• a door latch assembly positioned inboard of the outer door panel and comprising:
• a handle bezel comprising a main body portion and a rib extending from the main body portion;
• a rotatable handle coupled to the handle bezel comprising a handle lever extending through the main body portion of the handle bezel, wherein the handle lever extends alongside the rib of the handle bezel;
• and
• a bezel cap positioned in a first position at an end of the rib so as to provide clearance for the handle lever of the rotatable handle to rotate thereby, wherein the bezel cap is configured to move along the rib toward the main body portion of the handle bezel to interfere with a rotation of the handle lever during a side impact condition.

A method of inhibiting rotation of a door handle of a vehicle door from a latched configuration to an unlatched configuration, the method comprising:

• connecting a bezel cap to a door latch assembly in a first position, the door latch assembly comprising:
• a handle bezel comprising a main body portion and a rib extending from the main body portion, wherein the bezel cap is coupled to an end of the rib in the first position;
• and
• a rotatable handle coupled to the handle bezel comprising a handle lever extending through the main body portion of the handle bezel, wherein the handle lever extends alongside the rib of the handle bezel, wherein the bezel cap in the first position provides clearance for the handle lever of the rotatable handle to rotate thereby;
• and
• moving the bezel cap along a length of the rib from the first position to a second position, wherein the bezel cap blocks rotation of the handle lever of the rotatable handle.