General Drivers side door handle HANGING OFF!!!!!! :(

[Joyce]

Hi, thanks for all the support. I need to get it fixed quick as is a problem parking etc when I have to open driver's door via the passenger side.
I will contact Fiat and see what they say.
The lease company is adamant they are not paying, they said if it was a common problem they would accept it as wear and tear, they don't seem to think that using a car for business increases the number of times the door is used so a problem will come to the fore quicker.

 

[Joanne91]

Not a common problem? I'm having my doubts. It seems to happen to Fiat 500s when they reach the three year mark. Mine's a 2008 plate and this morning the driver's door handle came away at the end closest to the bonnet.

I'm only a little thing so it wasn't as if the handle had been pulled aggressively!

I bought the car from the main Fiat dealership, and it has the 1 year warranty. Do you guys think it will be covered? Purchased four months ago.

Also: what are your statutory rights when buying a second hand car?

Thanks!

 

[jrkitching]

Not a common problem? I'm having my doubts.

Hi & Welcome to the forum :wave:

Sorry to hear you've been affected by this problem too.

I'm only a little thing so it wasn't as if the handle had been pulled aggressively!

Purchased four months ago.

Unfortunately you have no way of knowing how aggressively it was pulled by its previous owner . I suspect the real damage was done before you bought it and that you're in no way at fault.

Fingers crossed the dealer you got it from will do the right thing and fix it for you without charge.

I'd be grateful if those affected could post a photo of their broken handle, focusing on the surface that's fractured, to see if there's a common failure mode here.

 

[jnoiles]

Bugger. Opened my door this morning and the part of the handle that's attached to the door closest to the front of the car broke. The plastic clip thing underneath. Heard a crack and it pulled forward. It opens and closes fine and you can rest it on the broken bit but BOOO. Speaking to the parts people today to see what a new one costs.

 

[Joanne91]

Identical to me JNoiles!

Can I ask how old your car is?

I'm back home with the 500 on Friday and have arranged to go in and see the Fiat delear first thing. I'll post what happens.

I'll also try and get a photo posted up of what the part that breaks looks like.

Love my little Fiat, gutted this has happened :-(

 

[frupi]

Identical to me JNoiles!

Can I ask how old your car is?

I'm back home with the 500 on Friday and have arranged to go in and see the Fiat delear first thing. I'll post what happens.

I'll also try and get a photo posted up of what the part that breaks looks like.

Love my little Fiat, gutted this has happened :-(

If there are more owners out there who have suffered a similar issue with a handle falling off their door, it is definitely worth taking a photograph of the problem and sending it with a letter of complaint to Fiat Customer Services. Even if a dealer does agree (stop laughing!) to replace/repair under warranty, I'd still contact Customer Services to raise the issue.

Not sure if Trading Standards can give advice or not, but anything is worth a try.

 

[jnoiles]

Identical to me JNoiles!

Can I ask how old your car is?

March 2008, 1.4 lounge spec.

I'm not particularly bothered by the warranty, known issues, etc stuff though. It's a Fiat, not a Rolls Royce. Stuff breaks outside warranty I'll just fix it. Life's too short to write angry letters

 

[306maxi]

March 2008, 1.4 lounge spec.

I'm not particularly bothered by the warranty, known issues, etc stuff though. It's a Fiat, not a Rolls Royce. Stuff breaks outside warranty I'll just fix it. Life's too short to write angry letters

Agreed. I only bother when it's lots of money or when it's just going to go again.

the heated mirror on the left hand side has gone, not too bothered about that, but if they'll do it under warranty then I'll get it done. If not then I'll do it myself.

Took the car to my usual garage as I thought the handling was a bit off and the right hand rear tyre has 5 degrees of toe out and the left one is 0-1 degrees which is fine. You can be assured I'll be chasing that up though!

 

[jrkitching]

Took the car to my usual garage as I thought the handling was a bit off and the right hand rear tyre has 5 degrees of toe out and the left one is 0-1 degrees which is fine. You can be assured I'll be chasing that up though!

Strange that you've only just noticed this, more so since you've previously reported the tyres as wearing evenly.

If it were down to wear, I'd expect you'd be able to feel it if you jacked up the car.

Can't help wondering if your OH hasn't been sneakily sliding it into any kerbs recently. I know better than to think you'd ever do such a thing yourself!

 

[TrevC]

More details required, guys. Is it the visible part of the handle that breaks, or some fitting/clip that's inside the door? I thought the handle itself looks a quality job, I can't even tell if it's plastic or metal. Just thinking ahead in case mine ever goes.

 

[frupi]

March 2008, 1.4 lounge spec.

I'm not particularly bothered by the warranty, known issues, etc stuff though. It's a Fiat, not a Rolls Royce. Stuff breaks outside warranty I'll just fix it. Life's too short to write angry letters

Whilst I can understand your feelings, it isn't just about life being too short to complain. Sadly we Brits are particularly guilty at not complaining when things go wrong. Yes, we can all have a good whinge, but I don't believe we're generally any good at complaining formally. By my own admission, I'm a miserable, whinging git and I do write letters, often! By and large, I get nothing but positive results from doing so. Letting others walk all over you or sending you off with a flea in your ear, is somewhat defeatist. Whilst you personally may be happy to fix minor issues outside of a warranty, for those with in warranty cars, if it's falling to bits then do the right thing and rag the dealer because they sure as beans make a lot of money out of us! Rant over!

 

[306maxi]

Whilst I can understand your feelings, it isn't just about life being too short to complain. Sadly we Brits are particularly guilty at not complaining when things go wrong. Yes, we can all have a good whinge, but I don't believe we're generally any good at complaining formally. By my own admission, I'm a miserable, whinging git and I do write letters, often! By and large, I get nothing but positive results from doing so. Letting others walk all over you or sending you off with a flea in your ear, is somewhat defeatist. Whilst you personally may be happy to fix minor issues outside of a warranty, for those with in warranty cars, if it's falling to bits then do the right thing and rag the dealer because they sure as beans make a lot of money out of us! Rant over!

Jason isn't a Brit though, neither am I

I generally get good results too. As long as you're clear about the facts it generally goes well

 

[frupi]

Returning to theme, back in the summer of 1990, one particular day I went out to my Metro and grabbed the drivers door handle to obviously, open the door. I honestly believed the door was unlocked. On pulling the handle, it snapped off sending me reeling backwards. Thankfully I was parked facing the direction of oncoming traffic. I fell over and smacked my head on the pavement, redecorating it with a subtle shade of red. Please be careful everyone!! I hated the subsequent visit to the local 'scrappie' to pull off another handle - without breaking it I might add!

 

[Joanne91]

Hi Trev.

It's an internal part. From looking in the gap where it's come away it seems to be a pin on a bracket which holds the handle onto the door.

Considering the way the handle operates, I think it's a lot of strain for a small part to bear.

 

[Joanne91]

March 2008, 1.4 lounge spec. J Noiles

Snap - no pun intended! Mine's a March 2008 1.4 lounge too.

 

[306maxi]

Strange that you've only just noticed this, more so since you've previously reported the tyres as wearing evenly.

If it were down to wear, I'd expect you'd be able to feel it if you jacked up the car.

Can't help wondering if your OH hasn't been sneakily sliding it into any kerbs recently. I know better than to think you'd ever do such a thing yourself!

Well that's the strange thing, the rear end has always been a bit squirrelly, especially under brakes. tyre wear seems OK, but I've been rotating tyres so that could be disguising things a bit.

 

[jrkitching]

Well that's the strange thing, the rear end has always been a bit squirrelly, especially under brakes. tyre wear seems OK, but I've been rotating tyres so that could be disguising things a bit.

As you'll probably know, this has come up a few times on the Panda forum & several cars have had their rear subframes replaced under warranty. Wheel alignment seems to be something the factory often get wrong on delivery, which is surprising given that the Tychy plant is relatively new & you'd expect the tooling & QC procedures to be capable of better than this.

Also it's not unknown for the factory to fit the top front suspension bushes back to front, which throws out the front wheel camber.

My Panda was delivered with the front tracking outside limits. Easy enough to fix but still less than what I would have hoped for from a new car.

 

[jrkitching]

Back to the topic - I'm wondering if water dripping down the inside of the door is causing these pins to corrode &/or stick, leading to pin failure. If so, then a little oil in the right place now could prevent an out-of-warranty failure later. I'm almost minded to whip the drivers side door card off & take a look.

 

[306maxi]

As you'll probably know, this has come up a few times on the Panda forum & several cars have had their rear subframes replaced under warranty. Wheel alignment seems to be something the factory often get wrong on delivery, which is surprising given that the Tychy plant is relatively new & you'd expect the tooling & QC procedures to be capable of better than this.

Also it's not unknown for the factory to fit the top front suspension bushes back to front, which throws out the front wheel camber.

My Panda was delivered with the front tracking outside limits. Easy enough to fix but still less than what I would have hoped for from a new car.

Do the top mount bushes actually affect suspension geometry though? When i was at the garage and they were checking the allignment that said that it was the beam that located the wheels and the dampers wouldn't affect the suspenion. At the time I did disagree, but thinking logically and visualising things, it makes sense.

 

[Joanne91]

I've taken another look and I'm almost certain it's a pin that snaps. Seems a very small part considering the amount of flexing it has to do.
I'm going to ask nicely if they'll fix it. Having just done my homework on the Statutory Rights mentioned by an earlier poster, I think there's a good argument that a fair person would expect a door handle still to be functioning three months down the line.

I know some people class handles as trim - but surely if an integral pin snaps it's a mechanical problem? The actual handle segment looks fine.