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

[Joanne91]

There seems to be a separate conversation going on in this thread - I thought it was about a driver's door handle hanging off!

Anyway, back to the title topic: took the 500 to the Fiat dealer who initially refused to do anything about it. He said it would cost £140 to fix.

I argued my case, saying I didn't expect a mechanical hinge to break three months after splashing out £7k.

He didn't budge until I mentioned I am a journalist (true) working for the BBC and would be mentioning my predicament to the guys who make the day-time consumer programmes.

All of sudden he disappears into a back office for 20-minutes, before returning and saying he'll put a brand new handle/hinge on for £40!

This I accepted. Just a shame you have to slog your way through all the resistance to get any decent customer service.

 

[jrkitching]

There seems to be a separate conversation going on in this thread - I thought it was about a driver's door handle hanging off!

By the standards of this forum, we've actually kept pretty close to topic on this one.

Anyway, back to the title topic: took the 500 to the Fiat dealer who initially refused to do anything about it. He said it would cost £140 to fix.

I argued my case, saying I didn't expect a mechanical hinge to break three months after splashing out £7k.

He didn't budge until I mentioned I am a journalist (true) working for the BBC and would be mentioning my predicament to the guys who make the day-time consumer programmes.

All of sudden he disappears into a back office for 20-minutes, before returning and saying he'll put a brand new handle/hinge on for £40!

This I accepted. Just a shame you have to slog your way through all the resistance to get any decent customer service.

Good to hear of your persistence and I'm glad you're happy with the outcome.

I must say, though, that it's shameful you had to pay anything at all . All the evidence I've seen so far points to an inherent weakness rather than heavy-handedness & IMO FIAT should fix these hinge failures free under warranty in the first three years, no questions asked.

 

[Joanne91]

Absolutely agree JR. I still believe it's an inherent weakness on the part, rather than wear and tear.

In this thread alone, there's a clear pattern of Fiat 500's reaching three years old and the door handles coming off - surely they should last longer than that!!??

Still love the car though

*If it helps anyone, when I looked at the invoice, the new handle cost £40 - the extra £100 they initially wanted was for labour.

 

[frupi]

Absolutely agree JR. I still believe it's an inherent weakness on the part, rather than wear and tear.

In this thread alone, there's a clear pattern of Fiat 500's reaching three years old and the door handles coming off - surely they should last longer than that!!??

Still love the car though

*If it helps anyone, when I looked at the invoice, the new handle cost £40 - the extra £100 they initially wanted was for labour.

Pleased to hear you've resolved the situation, though if it were me, I'd have probably hung out with the Journalist thing and told em to 'stuff it' and had a chat with the Watchdog team! But that's just me, I'm a serial complainer! Also, I appreciate you just wanted it fixing and dispose of the inconvenience factor.

100 quid quote for labour? What a joke! (I realise you didn't pay that) but as a matter of interest, just how long did it take them to replace the handle?

 

[306maxi]

Absolutely agree JR. I still believe it's an inherent weakness on the part, rather than wear and tear.

In this thread alone, there's a clear pattern of Fiat 500's reaching three years old and the door handles coming off - surely they should last longer than that!!??

Still love the car though

*If it helps anyone, when I looked at the invoice, the new handle cost £40 - the extra £100 they initially wanted was for labour.

Well, it's hardly a clear pattern. It's happened to a few cars of course, but we have loads more members who it hasn't happened to.

 

[jnoiles]

Right. So from a little bit going on one side I now have no door handle. Slippery cold driveway, slipping over me, then seconds later I'm staring at the stars on my back in the drive with a door handle in my hand. Boo.

The replacement handle arrives today. £49.65 inc vat. I'll take some pics of the replacement process this weekend.

 

[RobinPJ]

Should have had your Vredestein winter shoes on...

 

[jrkitching]

The replacement handle arrives today. £49.65 inc vat.

What !!!!. Can you not buy the hinge separately - they must cost only pennies to manufacture.

I can buy a decent set of aftermarket discs & pads for less than that. :bang:

Dealer-only parts prices .

I'd expect replacement to be straightforward once you've got the door card off.

 

[TrevC]

Anyone removed a door card yet? I'm thinking preventative maintenance (lubrication, inspection), and wondering if the panel can be removed without damaging it or the inevitable flimsy clips.

 

[Joanne91]

100 quid quote for labour? What a joke! (I realise you didn't pay that) but as a matter of interest, just how long did it take them to replace the handle?

Told me to come back in one hour. Did so and it was done. Nice work if you can get it.

 

[jnoiles]

What !!!!. Can you not buy the hinge separately - they must cost only pennies to manufacture.

I can buy a decent set of aftermarket discs & pads for less than that. :bang:

Dealer-only parts prices .

I'd expect replacement to be straightforward once you've got the door card off.

Interparts, not dealer. I'd imagine a dealer would be more expensive. And really? Expensive? I thought it was quite cheap considering. The mechanism is a little complicated and would require some fiddly assembly. I'll take some pictures of the process for a how to when I replace it this weekend.

 

[jrkitching]

Interparts, not dealer. I'd imagine a dealer would be more expensive. And really? Expensive? I thought it was quite cheap considering. The mechanism is a little complicated and would require some fiddly assembly. I'll take some pictures of the process for a how to when I replace it this weekend.

In fairness, I haven't yet seen a picture of the part showing how the hinge is attached to the handle.

Interesting though that you can buy a door handle on the aftermarket. These failures might be more common than at first thought.

 

[frupi]

Seems like £45 ish, is the going rate for a new genuine handle:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fiat-500-...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item1c225cfcda

I have to admit, finding a new handle for sale on the auction site was a bit of a surprise, like people out there know this is happening :chin:

 

[me2]

In fairness, I haven't yet seen a picture of the part showing how the hinge is attached to the handle.

In fact, you have (maybe without recognizing). The hinge is attached to the handle by an ordinary phillips screw.
Nevertheless, Fiat does not sell the hinge seperately, so you have to buy the complete handle (or modify a broadly similar hinge to fit the Fiat 500 handle).

 

[jnoiles]

Ok, I know I said I'd take some pics and make a guide but after 2 hours of arsing about, to hell with that. It's not a hard task, it's just a complete pain in the backside. It's about 3 different logic puzzles and one moment of utter fear pushing the lock and opening mechanism into place in the new handle assembly.

 

[madrat]

Not a common problem and Never seen that one before are stock answers from FIAT. Wife’s 2008 500 drivers handle broke just after Xmas. It’s the hinge part that’s the problem, cheep nasty casting. The fact that the pivot isn’t greased or oiled and is extremely stiff doesn’t help. Got a used one from Ebay for £35 and gave the pivot a good dousing with 3in1 until it was free moving. Before fitting it will get a dam good greasing, just need to find out how to remove the door card

 

[krossi]

Yes, mine came of in the MOT examiners hand today and failed. They have ordered a new one for me and will fit tomorrow, also boot won't open - another fail ....

 

[madrat]

Yes, had the boot not opening. Wiring rubs and chafes and fails. Normally out of warranty

 

[chas379]

Possibly just the luck of the draw. I had a Merc C class before the 500 and the driver's door inner handle snapped off (cheap casting). However you could not buy the part, it meant a new door panel as the handle was an integral part. Fortunately it was under warranty. (Car was only 18 months old.)

 

[krossi]

Paid £73.64 to replace mine today - not sure if it's fair wear and tare, poorly manufactured, or whether some yob tried to break into it - perhaps the shiny chrome attracts them like magpies. I do know it's bloody annoying. Though my 500 who is four tomorrow, has had the following issues: new control unit; power steering failure, deteriorated a/c condensor, faulty wiring in the boot causing it to fail its mot - told if it fails again I will need a loom for tailgate replacing, whatever that is. I think at the end of the day we all need to remember its just a Panda with a stylish body. Once these faults become apparent I am sure we will see the residual value of these cars drop. Full service history, and 51k mainly motorway miles.