2009 Door Handle removal

[jbrodeur999]

I have the famous door lock actuator problem. All 4 went out within a few months. I paid the dealer to swap out the front drivers door but swapped out the 2 rear doors myself. Not too hard. The toughest part was accessing the cable that goes to the exterior door handle so I just kept the old cable in the door and attached it to the new actuator. All was good. I went to do the front passenger door and the cable broke so I must access the cable attachment on the exterior door handle. I cannot remove the door handle from the outside per the instructions on the shop manual. According to it, you loosen the torx bolt behind the grommet in the door and the escutcheon should slide off allowing you to take the handle off. I cannot for the life of me remove the escutcheon.

ANYONE with any tips on how to remove this?

Thanks!