Ever break your inside door handle? I may know why.

I have had two inside handles break, both in Winter. Today, I was unloading my spares from the truck since cold weather is passed. As I was carrying them to the garage, I notice something. I saw a part that seemed unusual.


Having worked in new model vehicle development, I was immediately suspicious of the purpose for this part. Turns out, it is filling space that is ONLY needed during assembly of the handle. The lever and spring must pass through the handle base for assembly. Then, the piece circled fills the hole.



Okay, no big deal. But, going a step further and remembering that both of the handles I had break in the past, the small ramp shaped spring retainer was what had failed. Previously, I thought it was just too thin for cold weather performance.

But, now I realize that the ramp is coming in contact with this filler piece and breaking when the handle is cycled to full extension. In cold weather, the resin is too brittle. This ramp is the hard stop with that filler piece installed. The next pic is with handle pulled to opening position. No good for cold weather.



With the filler plug removed, AND the cable disconnected, the handle would cycle far enough for the handle to come apart into the separate pieces, lever and base.



But, with the filler piece removed and the cable attached, the cable length and the spring on the door lock mechanism become the limits for the rotation of the handle. This is what I would presume the designer meant to happen, not the interference of that small ramp feature, which breaks when cold.

I removed the filler piece from my left side handle and cycled it about 20 times. Works perfect. Travel range is nearly identical.

I will report back if I experience any issues, but I feel pretty confident this change will not affect the function and will reduce the risk of breaking another handle.

 

BTW, that filler piece pops right out with minimal force from a small screw driver.

 

Follow up. I realized I had spare handles for my truck with the Oak interior. Sorry, I have a whole box full of backup parts. Forgot I had these Oak(brown) ones.

Guess what. Handles are different, even though same year truck. Both sets bought off Amazon, both fit, but different suppliers. I think I have a preference:



If you read the post above, I said the small ramp feature was susceptible to breaking when handle was cycled to full extension. The Oak colored one made in Taiwan has a completely different structure. Much safer in cold weather.

Spring retainer is NOT a part of the stroke limiting structure. The spring retainer is separate from the handle stop. Also, the spring is much more robust. See spring diameter.

I will admit the Moonmist (blue/gray) version above does impress me a bit more with regard to the ribbing/rigidity features for the base. But, I think either base is strong enough.

I have no affiliation with either of these part suppliers, or Amazon. I pick this supplier:

https://tinyurl.com/vkhp9cc

 

i think the big issue with both inner and outer handles is that as the truck ages the grease in the latch assembly dries up. When that happens the handles, not only are older, but are required to bear more stress. Thats why after the first replacement the 2nd and Third wear out quicker. Whenever you replace the handle its wise to relubricate the latch mechanisms.