Door handle carriers .. any brand recommendations?
 

Hello -

Well, as I was coming to the end of one repair (replacing a cup holder cover, which - not surprisingly with these cars - is an almost comically complicated process) my driver's side door handle carrier gave out. Was wondering if any of you out there have any brand recommendations for replacements?

I'm probably not going to go OEM BMW on this one. Looks like Febi, Bavarian Autosport, and URO are pretty common, good quality brands, all in a similar price range. I'm also seeing Continentals that claim to be made in Germany at a crazy cheap price ... super tempting, but also suspiciously inexpensive.

I'd welcome any advice on which brands to buy (or avoid) from those who have done this repair before me, which seems to be just about everybody. Thanks in advance. :-)

Chris
Lockhart, Texas
2005 X5 3.0 Schwarz Black
2002 X5 3.0 Titansilber

I’ve used chinesium I just swapped over the factory cable. FYI only difference front vs. rear is the cable.

Preemptively add a zip tie and your should never have to deal with the issue again.

Even with oem brand make sure the spring doesn’t come out the back side there’s only 1-2mm clearance to the glass I’ve had to grind down the spring when it was scratching on the glass.


–awr–

Using Tapatalk VIP on iPhone

Much appreciated! I'll be following your DIY thread with the zip tie fix very closely when I start the repair. Ordered the steel zip ties today. I'm already getting tired of having to roll down the windows to reach in and unlock the door. Truly first world problems. :-)

Chris
Lockhart, Texas
2005 X5 3.0 Schwarz Black
2002 X5 3.0 Titansilber

Tired of it until the lock cylinder self destructs then you’re screwed.

I closed my car with the key inside when my dhc was broken. That was an interesting day.

I was just going to leave it until the next day except I was in Chicago and the alarm wasn’t even set as the driver door was unlocked.

So fortunately I had the replacement dhc with me! And not in the car! While visiting Chicago!

So I figured out exactly where to push on the cable with a thin flat screwdriver to unlatch the door.

I also tried to make a little hook from a thin brass rod but couldn’t pull hard enough. Push with screwdriver got me in.


–awr–

Using Tapatalk VIP on iPhone

Generally I would not put febi and uro into the quality brands category. Especially the latter.

The former owner of my X was king of cheap parts, I replaced the driver door carrier that was a broken febi unit from 2021. The genuine tax on them isn't too bad, and it sucks to do so I went with those. Good luck

As previously posted, I've done four of these darn DHC's over nearly 11 years of ownership (two on each of the front doors).

It doesn't help that I keep buying knock-offs but the OE items are insanely priced here in NZ and don't seem to be much better (other than the fit).

In terms of fit etc., just for the record, the knock-offs I've tried are: -

Autopa - pretty average fit (meaning not good but manageable if you know how these work) - poor lifespan. Poor feel too - feels "broken" and spongy from new.

Frey - great fit (as good as OE) - seems to last well (not replaced it yet, after two years) - feel is not quite OE but close. Recommended.

No-name - this is the most recent replacement - fit is very poor, but I made it work with some tricks I've learnt along the way. Lifespan is unknown (it's lasted over a year so far!) but the feel is pretty good, at least as good as the Frey - it opens the door positively at about 50% of the travel.

The last two I've fitted (the Frey and the No-Name) have been mod-ed with the AWR-Fix and seem to be working well but I have the Continental units on my eBay watchlist for next time... :rolleyes:

GB Weld the stress points!

The steel band is better. Preloads the stress point. The problem is they are basically pot metal. To make the hinges self cleaning half the metal is missing where the pin goes though so there’s very little cross sectional area.

Then, rather than a pulley to change the direction (pull out = lift up), they chose to use a gear and lever that greatly multiplies the force on that hinge point.

So: reinforcing the brittle metal hinge with tough ductile steel makes it far stronger than new.

JB would actually be stronger than new and possibly be a forever fix but you’ll only get a couple mm² cross section and no preload.

Preload and much of the every use stress still compressing not tension.


–awr–

Using Tapatalk VIP on iPhone

- I stick to BMW bc I don't want to do this job twice.

- BMW part should last some 10 years.

- Also, it is not fun when this breaks, you have to enter the car from the other side.

The key is to make sure the DHC is lubed properly, a dab of grease smeared on at the factory expected to work it's way in usually doesn't ;)

Door handle carriers .. any brand recommendations?
 

Very important point! Especially in those gear teeth! The effort to pull and the forces in that hinge drop a lot when you put in some good grease make sure low temp if you live north of 35°! (Or south don’t want to forget about you guys in the s hemisphere)

–awr–

Using Tapatalk VIP on iPhone

Call me crazy, but I also feel that door handle carriers last a lot longer if you understand how to pull on them. Do not grab and yank. They need to be "rolled" out as you pull on the with soft force. These are not bank vaults we are opening. If you grab and yank, of course it will stress the points inside. I've had my X5 for 15 years and live in some of the coldest weather you can imagine. My vehicle, in winter can sit in -40 deg C for days at a time (not super common for me as I have heated garages everywhere I park, usually, but there are times when the vehicle sits or is parked outside for house/days and so when I go to open the door, I ensure the door handle is clear of ice and snow and slowly roll the door handle out and up, all the while feeling for extra resistance. If it's there then you stop!!!! This same idea goes for every other day of the year when it's warmer. Just be gentle. It's not a 1960's Ford or Dodge pickup truck you are trying to enter.

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

Stay away from anything URO.

I bought 2 new fronts and rear Febi DHC years ago when a parts website had them on massive sale. I'm just storing them for the day I need them, I guess.
I also have 4 spare OE DHC I grabbed from a puck-n-pull yard. I will probably use these firstly if FEBI is that poor of a quality, now.

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

You are definitely onto something with the soft use. It def puts less force on that joint. Also and most critical: pay attention to if it is frozen and doing force it.

The DLA has a design defect that it can freeze solid fin one literal drop of condensation. Only thing your can do is drive into the inner door warms enough to defrost or you can use a hair drier into the jaws of the latch.

If DLA freezes and you tug once on the door handle it’s basically over.


–awr–

Using Tapatalk VIP on iPhone

Most freezing issues stem from an often overlooked poor/missing/damaged vapor barrier.

That’s logical. We always had the problem only when it’s very wet from rain then ambient drops below freezing


–awr–

Using Tapatalk VIP on iPhone

Thanks to everyone for all the words of wisdom and advice on brands to avoid. I'm hoping I'll be able to fix and reuse the one I have, but will definitely have one on hand to swap in. Either way, I'm planning on following the excellent DIY @andrewwynn put together here.

Considering that the OEM part lasted 21 years, I'm probably going to spend the extra $$ and go that route. I know I've always been pretty cautious about lifting up rather than pulling out, but I'm not sure my wife has and I KNOW my son hasn't. Hard to train teenage fellows to be "gentle". :-)

Will report back as I'm making the repair.

Chris
Lockhart, Texas
2005 X5 3.0 Schwarz Black
2002 X5 3.0 Titansilber

If you always open the door with your thumb on the part that doesn’t move, your remaining four fingers operate the handle in the only way possible - correctly. ;)

Controlled force no jerk that’s definitely “the way “


–awr–

Using Tapatalk VIP on iPhone

my wife can break an anvil
 

That's the way I've always done it. However, my wife opened hers (the first and only time), using the old 'grab and yank' method, after which I insisted on ALWAYS opening all four doors myself. Can't trust anyone else....

As a related fact, so far, after 33 years of marriage, I've had to replace the inside driver's door handles in every one of her "personal" vehicles (though none on my "favorites"),

• 1) '85 Chrysler LeBaron Turbo,
• 2) '88 Pontiac Fiero SE,
• 3) '92 Oldsmobile Achieva SC,
• 4) '08 Chevy Cobalt Coupe,and
• 5) '98 GMC Sierra 1500 ext-cab pickup

from over-yanking. Fortunately, the handles on the '86 Chevy S10 ext-cab pickup, and '09 Chevy HHR Panel survived (because they were mainly my vehicles that she seldomly drove). Coincidentally, she has also blown out master cylinders on cars #1-4, from stomping on the brakes.

Now that her favorite car is the '14 Lexus ES350 (which I've only driven ONCE since purchased), I fully expect to replace a handle or two, and the MC, as well, sometime in the future. She doesn't drive my '04 Chevy 2500HD pickup (too tall, rides rough, she says), or the '01 X5 (steering too stiff, rides rough, seats too hard...though all are perfect for me), so the aforementioned door handles and master cylinders should be safe.

Exactly!!!!!!!!!!

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

^I've evolved to doing this too after going through many door handle carriers lol!

No matter how hard I try, I can't get my grandkids to operate the door handles in any other way then yanking on them. Consequently, they wind up getting valet service accompanied by instructions...

My wife has learned the technique, but frequently comments negatively about it. She does have a history though... I used to own a 1958 MGA, which she could NEVER get the passenger door open. It really annoyed her when I would just reach over and tap the cable and the door was open...

Go with genuine BMW. I have tried FEBI numerous times and the end of the cable won't stay on the latch mechanism.

If you use any non bmw swap over the cable: also: the cable is the only difference between front and rear, so if you find a good deal on the wrong "aisle" i usually keep the cable anyhow so just get whichever you can find in a decent brand/price. I regularly needed to make minor modifications like grind down the spring that would scratch the glass but haven't ever had a problem fitting a 3rd party dhc.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Seconded. New BMW parts are still available. I replaced a busted Chinesium DHC last year with BMW part despite the price because I was tired of leaving that door slightly ajar. Same deal with the door lock actuator because I am OVER ripping the driver's door apart. Done.

Just wanted to report back. I did end up going with the BMW part in spite of the cost. The old one broke in the exact same place it seems like they all do. I fixed it with the steel zip tie per @andrewwynn's excellent DIY writeup and it's on the parts shelf ready to be swapped out if ever needed.

Thanks to all for the good advice! On to the next repair now. :-)

Chris
Lockhart, Texas
2005 X5 3.0 Schwarz Black
2002 X5 3.0 Titansilber