External door handle falling off!!
 

Hi guys.
Just recently taken ownership of an e53 facelift (2004) 3.0i sport auto
A couple of issues I was aware of when bought but yesterday I went to open the drivers door and the whole handle came out of its seat on one side.

Just to clarify its the pointed end (closest to the front of the car) not the part that is closest to the key hole.
The lock works fine and the handle functions fine. If I pull the handle upwards slowly it doesn't come out but is loose and feels fragile, if I pull the handle outwards and use it to pull the door open it will come out. The person that sold it has receipts of all four door handle carriers been replaced recently. Could the handle carrier replacemen have been done incorrectly and caused the issue?
The end closest to the key hole is very strong, has no play and feels solid.

Can anyone point me in the right direction of what I should be looking at doing before I take the door card off?

The front part away from the lock uses tabes molded in to the handle that lock into carrier. When the carrier job was done you can strip the tabes off if you turn the handle in the wrong direction when removing it. You can get a new handle on eBay but it will need to be painted. Might fined one in junk yard the right color

So there's no way to repair it? Only to replace


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If the handle tabs are stripped or sheared off then you cannot repair it. You must get a replacement handle as was suggested

You could try epoxy and glue the handle to the carrier. Might work you have nothing to lose trying it

Ok thanks guys. Will look for a replacement


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There is another way and I just had it done. I too unfortunately stripped the tabs off the little black nub when I tried myself to repair the door handle carrier. I was trying to avoid getting a new handle simply from the point that I'd need to get the darn thing painted, etc. So, I left it hanging like that - all ugly and whatever.

Anyway, I just took my truck in for repair (coolant leak & alternatory bracket gasket) and I told the mechanic to "do something" with the door handle - meaning that if he got me a new one and had it painted, etc., I was ok with that since I was so damn tired of it looking so ugly and hanging out.

I pick up the truck a couple of days later and all the items are fixed, including the door handle. What he did was drill a hole in the middle of the nub and put a big washer and a screw thru it, from the inside. I have to say he did a great job. The handle is tight and functions perfectly like the rest of my door handles! BTW, I believe there's a video on this procedure (or at least a write up on it), but I don't remember where I saw it - maybe youtube?

I'm gonna leave it this way and if I see the handle ever start to loosen or fail, I'll get a new one, paint it and have it installed.

Hope this helps....

Hmm ate thanks for the info.
Let us know how it gets on


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Just want to confirm your handle was falling off from the part that is closest to the engine not the part that makes the locking mechanism work?


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