Hi, i am new to this forum and hoping Im posting in right section!!

I have a 06 reg grande punto and the back door won't open! it used to open but always been difficult to open and now it won't open at all.

Any ideas how to fix it? its due an mot soon and think it will fail if I can't open door!

read something about replacing them with modified handles?? if this is true, does anyone know where to get them from and if it will actually solve the problem?

thanks for your help

graham123 said:

Hi, i am new to this forum and hoping Im posting in right section!!

I have a 06 reg grande punto and the back door won't open! it used to open but always been difficult to open and now it won't open at all.

Any ideas how to fix it? its due an mot soon and think it will fail if I can't open door!

read something about replacing them with modified handles?? if this is true, does anyone know where to get them from and if it will actually solve the problem?

thanks for your help

Click to expand...

Hi graham123

I have a Fiat Grande Punto Active 06 Reg 5 doors with the same problems
The doors on the back are really hard to open unless you hit the right spot and the driver's side door have recently broken, to open it I have to open the window and open it from the outside.
Not to speak about all the other problems I have with that thing!

I am looking for a cheap fix too in the meantime will never buy a Fiat again!

sounds like the latch which pulls the mechanism to open the door has either come off or snapped, have a look behind the panel to see if its any of these otherwise ring the dealer and ask to go through to the mechanics side and ask them

The short answer is its a poor design which Fiat have not sorted out or acknowledged to date (January 2012).

The whole setup is quite complex (its looks like Fiat didn't go cheap here) and works on the handle being lifted which pushes down on a lever which in turn pulls on a short cable connecting the handle to the latch mechanism. This in turn moves more parts inside the latch.

Everything except the cable and some bits inside the actual latch are made of some form of plastic and every bit is likely to distort a little in operation overall reducing the leverage ability. In fact with all the moving parts wear is going to worsen the problem.

I have had problems with both back doors on my '06 GP that got worse. The exterior door handle distorts when opened normally so emphasis has to be put on the rear most section of the handle closest to that hinge to open the door. If it were made of metal I reckon the problem would be sorted.

What I did in the end was to fit a new latch which is an easy job if you have the tools (no special tools required) and the door now opens acceptably. Its not as responsive as the front doors but its now at least safe and opens every time without effort.

Fiat Grande Punto 2006 model. Rear door hard to open from outside.

As it turns out Fiat have modified the rear door handle for the outside. Its looks near identical but the lever angles have changed slightly. I purchased one brand new (it had a superseded part number) and fitting it, the door handled worked as good if not even better than the fronts.

Problem solved, but it was at my expense including painting. This is the cure.

@ Shakin - how easy are the rear door handles to replace?

Sorry about the late reply. These are quite easy to replace, but you will have to get the new one painted first.

Remove the rear interior door panel, (Allen keys and Phillips head screws plus removal of window winder clip behind the handle (the tools for the winder handles are easily available from most parts places).

As you pull the door panel off disconnect the inner handle from behind the door panel. When you see it its fairly self explanatory.

Once the door panel is off avoid tearing off or puncturing the inner liner because you will suffer water leaks if these are not 100% sealed. Gently pull off the liner in the top rear corner only enough to access the handle. From memory the exterior handle is secured by a 13 mm (actual nut size to socket) and an 8 or 10 mm headed nut at the other end. The handle etc is a 3 part assembly so avoid dropping any bits into the door.

You will then need to unhitch the cable to the latch assembly which is easy and then refit all of the above.

thank you for the reply, very detailed explanation....much appreciated

I have exact same issue, rear door is really hard to open, have to pull from the edge closest to the back of the car and its still very difficult. My car is still under its 3 month warranty from where I bought it used. Do you think they will just replace it for me?

i spoke to a parts guy at fiat slough in order to get a quote for the new handles. they retail for £39 + vat for the primed version. and he said that they use to get through a lot of handles under warranty, but was more for problems with the locking mechanism as opposed to the handle. so i asked him if they do the handle problem under warranty and he said that they don't.

it's worth a question though, you never know.

Getting them painted is the main issue mine took 9 trips to the dealer to get anywhere near a colour match luckly under warranty

My 77hp 1.4 Dualogic 5dr used to have this problem, even the front doors felt a bit hard to open. I was going to get it fixed, but i didnt have warranty left, my dealer tried to make out that it was because the cars werent designed for the 'harsh Australian heat', and the plastic warped or something, but obviously thats not the case. My 3dr T-Jet works fine though.

It's a common problem with the back door handles on the Grande punto. The door handles won't release and need a good tuck up to open the doors.
The dealers have now got new replacement for these back door handles. So you will need 2 new door handles to replace and fix the problem.

It is an easy job. Remove door panel , then the plastic cover. There will be some nuts and open from behind. Then just slot in and tighten again.