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

[ahmett]

You guess correctly.

You can buy a replacement hinge here for £8.99. Replacement involves removing the door card - there's a guide on this forum, here. It's more awkward than difficult.

If you're unable to fix it yourself, an independent garage should be able to do it for about £50 all in, including the part.

A franchised dealer will likely charge you a lot more than that.

The handle falls off because the hinge isn't lubricated and water running into the handle corrodes it. The hinge then seizes up and snaps when you operate the handle. For those whose hinges have not yet failed, removing the door card and greasing the hinge will likely prevent this, but as the part only costs £8.99 there seems little real merit in doing that much work. Another option is to squirt a spray silicone lubricant in the direction of the hinge from the outside (please don't use WD40); this should prolong its life.

IMO it's stuff like this that will ultimately be FIAT's undoing. This issue has been known about for ages and AFAIK the cars are still leaving the factory with hinges that are almost certainly doomed to fail at some time during the lifetime of the car.

Jrkitching I use wd 40 do to the hinge lubrication from the outside. Why shouldn't I do this?

 

[madrat]

WD40 is not a lubricant and will soon wash off.

 

[jrkitching]

WD40 is not a lubricant and will soon wash off.

That, and WD40 damages some plastics and most rubbers (there are plastic parts in the mechanism, and a rubber seal between the handle and the door).

Spray a little WD40 onto latex gloves, or a yoghourt pot, and watch them dissolve before your very eyes.

 

[Mercky]

That, and WD40 damages some plastics and most rubbers (there are plastic parts in the mechanism, and a rubber seal between the handle and the door).

Spray a little WD40 onto latex gloves, or a yoghourt pot, and watch them dissolve before your very eyes.

yes, very effective at removing silicon sealant too if your ever doing a job on your bath or shower!! I used to use WD40 liberally until it dissolved a rubber door strap on my Spider! Use with caution.

 

[Linz290789]

Brilliant thanks a lot for your help and advice. I'm having a friend who works at a local non fiat garage look at it to see whether the full thing will need replaced, I'm guessing it will though, hopefully once it's fixed I shouldn't have no more problems for a while at least.

 

[jrkitching]

I'm having a friend who works at a local non fiat garage look at it to see whether the full thing will need replaced, I'm guessing it will though, hopefully once it's fixed I shouldn't have no more problems for a while at least.

Unless you've lost the handle, or the mechanic breaks any of the door trim clips, I'd be surprised if it needs any more parts than the £8.99 hinge repair kit I linked to earlier.

As long as it's put back with a dab of grease, the repair should last well. The main reason they break is that they're assembled dry in the factory.

 

[sophiec]

Mine has come off too I bought it second hand so will have to pay for it

 

[PsFiat]

Door handle breakages seem to be a bit of epidemic lately ... Where and how should they be greased as a precautionary remedy ?

 

[PsFiat]

Mine has come off too I bought it second hand so will have to pay for it View attachment 128729

How old is your car?

 

[sophiec]

How old is your car?

It's an 08

 

[PsFiat]

It's an 08

Never had a car regardless of age that has had a broken door handle. An 8yr old Alfa Spyder I had was sold with intact, original door handles. Not sure why the factory isn't on to this, or it should at least be an annual serviceable item.

 

[ahmett]

Never had a car regardless of age that has had a broken door handle. An 8yr old Alfa Spyder I had was sold with intact, original door handles. Not sure why the factory isn't on to this, or it should at least be an annual serviceable item.

It is an annual serviceable item. They are supposed to lubricate the door handles and hinges during the yearly service but I guess no one does.

 

[sophiec]

Can someone tell me if I have to replace the whole door handle or just the hinge? Thanks

 

[sophiec]

Sorry just read previous comments and answered my own question

 

[Shanie D]

Hey ...

My has just done the same thing !!

The garage said its never happened before .. utter rubbish .. IM not imoressed at all

 

[PsFiat]

Hey ...

My has just done the same thing !!

The garage said its never happened before .. utter rubbish .. IM not imoressed at all

How old is your car?

 

[Shanie D]

How old is your car?

3.5 Years .. Just over warrenty period

 

[frupi]

Hey ...

My has just done the same thing !!

The garage said its never happened before .. utter rubbish .. IM not imoressed at all

Mmm, I sincerely hope it wasn't a Fiat dealership that told you that!!

If it was, perhaps you should point them in the direction of this forum and to the numerous posts of it happening to other Fiat 500 owners, me included! The dealership I took my last 500 to, made no secret of the fact it happens stating to me when they fixed my passenger side, that they'd just done another one before mine.

Unfortunately it will obviously cost you to replace it, but new hinge kits can be bought easily via the bay of e:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fiat-500-...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item27d27967fd

 

[Ulpian]

500 door handles just come off, it's what they do.

I've seen a customer in reception holding his while he waited for the receptionist. He was perfectly calm and I expect he knew the ropes.

Very Fiat I'm afraid.

And they don't seem too bothered to address the problem either. Interestingly, I've never read a comment about it in the press.

 

[Ricard]

And it's not just the door handles, is-it ?

Ours is coming up for four years old in April and with an unrelenting number of issues as-well as the the failed door handles.