Best Aftermarket door handles

Well from all the posts that I've read on TW, my door handles are a problem waiting to happen. I'm not paying Toyota $100.00 bucks a piece for door handles. So I'm looking for the best after market ones, that TW members have actually installed, and have been somewhat "happy" with the purchase they made. Yes I've searched the forum, but thought I'd post this question.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2Pcs-Door-...18281?fits=Year:1999|Model:Tacoma|Make:Toyota

$6 a piece. They all break in the same place with the same cheap plastic.

 

OEM are still the best

 

My drivers side broke on my 03 - in a moment of weakness I bought an aftermarket set off of ebay and it lasted for 3 more years until I traded the truck in. No problems, no weakness. It didn't feel QUITE as dead solid as the OEM passenger side, but it never failed. Luck of the draw!

 

Dorman.

I went through so many OEM handles that kept breaking, finally said F it...not going to keep buying expensive ones if they're going to break, might as well break cheap ones.

To my surprise, the cheap Dormans have lasted me over 2 years completely problem free. I went through 4 OEM handles in the span of ~ 6 months before that.

The Dorman handles have a bigger lip on the back that engages the rods inside the door that open it. I was curious and compared the two brands (OEM vs Dorman) before installing them. Identical except the Dorman's bigger lip on the back doesn't allow it to slip like the OEM one does.

Now, if the plastic handle itself breaking is your issue then I don't know what to say, I doubt the Dormans are made of better material. They are a better design though IMO.

 

Hot and Cold weather cycles is what hurts these door handles the most I think.

 

Yeah, my very first broken OEM handle (original one) happened when we camped in the mountains over winter and it froze/snowed overnight. Went to open my truck and the plastic cracked.

 

The vast majority of people don't have a problem with the handles.

IF you break a handle, sure, go down this road, but it's honestly a waste of time and money to fix a "problem" you may not even have.

 

i have survived 23 years without breaking one in mid west freezing rain, snow encrusted and frozen water after hosing my truck off and parking in non-heated garage at night with dropping temps, i have had to access the driver door through the passenger side on occasion. it takes some finesse but mine will likely break at some point IDK

perhaps be a bit more gentler!

 

Dumb Question, but does a DC use the same door handle front and rear.

 

I think the housing is different and doesn't have the key mech. The handle might be the same. I wonder if it's cheaper to buy the OEM DC rear door handles and swap them over if that's the case.

 

I've had the best luck with the cheap chrome ones to be honest. I've got about 3 and 4 years on the current set that I picked up at autozone.
I've broken about 3 pairs of the black ones. I hate changing that handle it's such a pain.