Interior door handles melting

[PotsyDriver]

Originally Posted by lordshin808

interesting. got any before an after pics?

I don't have any before pics - but here's an after - below

It wasn't too bad to begin with (others look to have chunks falling off). This one just looked a bit messy. As mentioned the glue just sealed it and stop it melting any further. It's less glossy than it came up in the photo. Because it's in an inconspicuous spot I wasn't too worried about how it looked. I haven't thought about it since.

[X5Cat]

Just received the new part and installed this afternoon. Decided to clean the dirt & grunge from the vinyl/leathery panel located & normally hidden just below the base of the handle part being replaced. When I did, the color surface started coming off the panel, and it seemed to be melting, too. I was only using a damp cloth. The handle hides the area well enough, so I just stopped with the cleaning. Now, I really might like to try something to arrest the process, like possibly PotsyDriver's approach. Just worried that it might be too obvious where the glue is applied, and I don't really want to coat the entire panel. Maybe I will practice on the piece I just replaced, with different compounds. I'm open to ideas on different things to try....

[golf4dj]

Just purchased a replacement for my 2008 3.0si with the Beige Interior.

For those interested the part number is 51416969404 and appears to be common to the front passenger as well as the two rears.

Also ordered from ECS Tuning for just shy of $50.

[kugarek]

Hi, I have repaired my sticky door handles with the leather, I did not wanted to pay a mechanic to replace the handles, instead I wrapped them myself with the cover, here is the link to the video that shows how to do it.



Covers can be found here: https://www.leathersteering.com

[PeterQ]

I got the cheap ones on ebay which are one piece instead of the black base and (in my case) beige layer - these are all beige plastic. Fit perfectly and I don't think they'll have the same issue as there's no outer layer to turn to slop.

[DEADF15H]

I used this product and followed the video on my front passenger handle, works fantastic. It did take a little time and patience, but it looks like factory. I ordered the black thread.
https://www.leathersteering.com



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfKn...ndex=98&t=153s


Ordered something different for the back passengers, which I haven't installed yet, I'll report back after it's complete.

[isarkisov]

Ok, so what's melting the darn handles? It happened to me too and I gave my wife a lot grief about it. She is not allowed to touch the new handle!

[DEADF15H]

It's not your wife's fault. It's the coating they used when they made it. After a few years it's starting to break down, it's especially bad for people with olive skin who tend to have a higher acid content. Ambient Heat and all the cleaning crap we're putting on our hands isn't helping.
Luckily it's a cheap and easy, but time consuming fix if you DIY.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[eskirvin]

Originally Posted by DEADF15H

It's not your wife's fault. It's the coating they used when they made it. After a few years it's starting to break down, it's especially bad for people with olive skin who tend to have a higher acid content. Ambient Heat and all the cleaning crap we're putting on our hands isn't helping.
Luckily it's a cheap and easy, but time consuming fix if you DIY.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

What is time consuming about the fix for the melting door handles? I replaced mine in perhaps 15 minutes total with parts from Amazon that won't melt again. I live in Kuwait where the interior of a car in the sun can bake cookies.