If you've ever had or wanted to fix a broken interior door pull handle but did not want to spend $200-$300 just to replace one side, here is the $12 fix you've been looking for. This process is also a good alternative in strengthening by retrofitting your non-broken door pull handle to prevent it from ever breaking, potentially saving yourselves hundreds of $, A$ or £!

The driver side door handle broke off on my '04 Crossfire coupe not long ago. I wanted a fix to look as factory as possible without spending a fortune. As I fix the drivers side door handle, the passenger side will get the retrofit treatment.

Today, we will only concentrate on the repair process as the retrofit is basically identical to the repair process but without the use of epoxy. Here's a write up to help all those who want an affordable remedy to a common problem for all Crossfires. The fix only took one evening to accomplish. Your cost may vary slightly but follow along as I show you the steps to do this. Click the photo to view in full screen.

Purchased JB Welds 8276 KwikWeld: $4
3pc #14x3" Pan Phillips head screw: $1
1/2"x 4' Plywood - 6538 Aluminum Trim Channel: $5-$7
All are available at your local hardware retailer or online.


First on the list is to take apart the two piece door handle using a painters spatula. Carefully wedge and pry the two inner and outer halves apart from the bottom groove of the handle applying moderate pressure.


Once apart, assess the damaged area to map out where to apply the KwikWeld epoxy. Measurements need to be made for the aluminum channel support to be cut to the proper length. More on this later. Retrofitters skip this step.


At this point, remove the oem door handle Torx screw using a T-27 Torx bit driver. If you are doing a retrofit to the door handle, you are going to need to do this too.


Next, the protruding tab from the outer half of the door handle must be removed or ground down (to a level as seen in the photo below) to make room for the new aluminum U-shaped supporting channel. Break off the two hair-like remnants from the injection molding process as they have no purpose. The aluminum supporting channel will be the key in keeping the entire inner door handle rigidly attached to the door.


More trimming. Here you see the inner half of the door handle that broke off my car. The inner door handle has these vertical tabs on each opposite ends. These must be lopped off or ground down as shown in the photo. (On a retrofit, the trimming process must be done with the handle still on the car door.)


Now, we need to make sure that our 1/2" U-shaped aluminum support will fit within the door handle cavity. Some trimming will need to be done to widen the area between what looks like two cylindrical towers. Towers are likely remnants of the injection mold process. Use the aluminum channel as your reference guide to check how much material you need to trim.


The aluminum channel is cut to exact length to fit across the width of the inner portion of the door handle. I did not take down measurements as I was in a hurry to get this done as I simply placed the aluminum channel over the handle cavity and marked the spot to where I needed to make the cut using a Sharpie* permanent marker. Once the channel was cut to size, the ends were shaped and rounded off as shown in the photo. A 1/16" pilot hole was first drilled at each end of the channel making sure the hole was centered. Finally, a 1/4" hole was drilled for the #14 screw for a perfect fit. Inner and outer door handle pieces shown with the drilled aluminum support channel and the two 3 inch, #14 screw. The channel is situated in the inner door cavity with the slot opening facing out.

 

....continued

This is how everything should look like if your handle came off the door. The channel support should be nice and snug inside the handle. The head of the screw fits completely inside the aluminum channel.


Test fit. The two halves of the handles with the aluminum channel inside should snap together if all the trimmings were done properly. Make sure to complete this step before proceeding to the next step.


With both inner and outer door handle pryed apart, set aside the aluminum channel and begin mixing a small amount of the KwikWeld epoxy the size of a quarter. Apply small amount of epoxy at all visible break surfaces. Those are the areas were white plastic is showing. Carefully place and orient the inner door handle back to the door. After lining up the serration and making sure the handle is snug against the door, lather a little more epoxy at all areas were the break occured.


Next, we take the aluminum channel support and place it within the inner door handle cavity with the open end facing towards you. With a Phillips screwdriver at hand, install both #14 screws through the holes made on the channel support to the doors mounting hole and torque the screws to about 8Nm or 71 lbs-in.


Almost done. All it needs now is the outer half of the door handle to be snapped into place. For a nice finished look, wipe it down with a soft cloth. I like to use microfiber cloths to clean mine. And there you have it! Mission accomplished!


The door handle looks factory still without any hint of repair being done to it. It is as strong as ever. And best of all.........I get to keep my $288.00!

 

Dude! You are a GENIUS!

 

Nice write up!!

Thanks!!

 

STICKY material.

 

c'est magnifique !

 

Ingenious solution! Also great job in documenting with the pictures. I don't have a broken handle, but am glad to know about this fix.

 

Great write-up. Will be sticky...

 

Dude Your a Genius. This was perfect!! It really bugged me that the driver side was ridiculous price ($300!!) and the same part was so cheap for the passenger side. The metal item from lowes was so perfect, I didn't even need the JB welt~! Thanks for the pictures and thanks for everything !~!!!

Louis

 

I made this a PDF file.
This should be a sticky anyway.
PDF file (click)

 

Followed all the instructions stated in this thread. I wasn't able to find a U-shaped metal bar in my little hardware store around the corner so a L-shaped one had to do which works just as well. These instructions are awesome and worked out perfectly. It holds the pull down much better and more solid than before and it won't come apart anymore.

While I was at it I also put some tape along the seam, which comes apart on many Xfires so people won't cut their fingers on those sharp corners.

Thanks again for these great instructions including the pictures. I can urge everyone to save yourself some money and do as shown here!

 

Update : One year ago, I did this door handle fix and I am happy to report that the door handle is holding up well. It has held up so well, I had forgotten it was ever broken. I cannot tell you how many times the door has been opened and closed but I can tell you the car has been driven nearly everyday since the repair. The handle still looks and feels like as it was when I bought the car.

I had an independent Mercedes technician change the fluids for me, one day and as he stepped out of the car, after driving it out from the service bay, he made a comment about how solid the crossfire felt compared to its slk cousin. I didn't tell him about the formerly broken door handle but it made me smile nonetheless.

 

That is great fix, I am sure that many will come to thank you for it. As these cas age we will be needing more such great ideas.

 

Your the man!!! This fix was super easy to follow and spot on. I posted above a while back telling people that this really works well.
I made the same experience as you - it has held up perfectly. You would not be able to tell I did anything to it and though I have a habit of pulling hard on the handle, it hasn't moved at all. As a matter of fact, as I had materials left over I reinforced the other one as well just to be on the safe side and so I wouldn't have to deal with it down the road. Once again, thanks for your excellent write up and I can just urged everyone to follow the steps if your door handle broke off!!! Safe yourself the money and hassle of finding a new assembly as some try to sell the whole door as they claim the contact points are attached to the door assembly!!!

 

Thanks Magnadude!

Mine broke off a week ago and this forum is the first place I looked. Did the repair this AM. The longest part was finding the aluminum channel. In my area (MD) Lowe's caries it but not the other hardware stores I went to. And, it gave me a reason to buy a dremel.

Felling good about the Crossfire again!

 

Great idea and it merits a change from Magnatude to MAGNADUDE.

 

I know that this thread isn't new but I have a question. I am putting a Carbon fiber kit in my car and thought that I might just go ahead and do this mod while I'm at it. However it mentions removing the 2 Torx screws but no mention of how to remove the inner part. I have the outer sections removed and the 2 screws but the handle is still firmly attached, it appears to need a tool to depress tabs or some such to detach.

 

I do not think that you would have to take off the inner part, just make room for the stiffener to fit in the channel and screw it down. You certainly do not need to take the chance of making it weaker by breaking it when the object is to make it stronger.

You can see the other ends of the door pull.

 

[QUOTE=onehundred80;858651][SIZE=4]I do not think that you would have to take off the inner part, just make room for the stiffener to fit in the channel and screw it down. You certainly do not need to take the chance of making it weaker by breaking it when the object is to make it stronger.

You can see the other ends of the door pull.

I need to remove it so that I can do the CF wrap on the inner section. The kit that I have only does the section you can see but I wanted to do the back side to address the cut finger issue as well as complete the look. Thanks though.

 

Beside the fastener you can see there is a post somewhere here that says that there is some glue of some kind. That person knocked the handle posts out from the back as I recall. That post was some years ago, not for the faint of heart I'd say.