Broken outside door handle (PICS)

[fastscot]

Thanks for the info on shaving.

[jinsoku3g]

oh my bad!! i took hat post the wrong way! im sorry!

[Double-0 99]

My passenger door latch came out and broke exactly in the same fashion as in these pictures today!...It does really seem that this is a material issue - I hope GM is going to do some reliability tests on these door handles and figure out they might need out a TSB to replace door handles out there? I'd hate to get these door handles replaced under warranty, only to find 2 years later that the door handles break again, only this time out of warranty. Oh, by the way, after gingerly plopping everything back into place on the passenger door latch, and realizing this is just a case of bad material, I went and compared against the driver side door latch...and noticed that the entire latch on that side is also starting to give significantly where it shouldn't (there's probably enough of a gap underneath the keylock where a nickel could be wedged between the chrome and the sheetmetal). Called the dealer and requested an appt to replace both door latches on Monday.
Is there a poll somewhere to see the frequency of broken door latches like this?

Oh, and thanks for posting the pics, Excelsior - that brought piece of mind. The thought did cross my mind when the door handle broke: "Is this a defect, or did someone try to break into my ragtop the hard way?

-VIN #99.

[Excelsior]

Glad I could help. Yeah it sucks, but what can we do? Now lets hope they have them there for you instead of ordering them after you see them Monday.

[Gizmo]

Yep, Been There, Done That.

My driver's side outside door latch (2006 N/A) did the same thing in June 2006, about halfway through Gizmo's Odyssey, my 23-day 11000 mile trip throughout the western US and Canada.



.

[WinslowJR]

Thanks for sharing your experience and photos. I joined the Driver-Side Broken Door Handle Club this Aug 07, 18 months and 15,000 miles on my baby. It was relatively painless... the service dept reviewed the handles and ordered the parts... less than a week later... but when they repaired it and replaced the interior door cover they broke my window switches... now I have to plan another time to visit the shop...

[COOLTURBO]

ARe all you with broken handles 06 models?

[SolBlessed]

Well, I joined the Driver's Side Broken Door Handle Club yesterday. Mine is an 06 N/A with only 14,500 miles on her. Haven't had time to call the dealer yet. They will probably have to look at it before they order a new one. That's what happened with my cup holder when it broke. I doubt that it is any different now. I hate it when they do that, because then I have to take off work twice and drive about 30 miles each way to the dealer.

[Gizmo]

Originally Posted by SolBlessed Well, I joined the Driver's Side Broken Door Handle Club yesterday. Mine is an 06 N/A with only 14,500 miles on her. Haven't had time to call the dealer yet. They will probably have to look at it before they order a new one. That's what happened with my cup holder when it broke. I doubt that it is any different now. I hate it when they do that, because then I have to take off work twice and drive about 30 miles each way to the dealer.

Ummm, some of us are LOOKING for places to go in the Solstice.

Now you're given the OPPORTUNITY to drive there twice. Just be sure to take the long, twisty routes, make it 40 or 60 miles each way, instead.

.

[SolBlessed]

Originally Posted by Gizmo Ummm, some of us are LOOKING for places to go in the Solstice. Now you're given the OPPORTUNITY to drive there twice. Just be sure to take the long, twisty routes, make it 40 or 60 miles each way, instead. .

It's the part about having to take off work. It's not the work that I would miss, it's the money in the paycheck that would I would miss.

[Lumix]

Isn't it amazing that a car designed and built in the 21st century can be so poorly executed? I mean really... the door handles, the leaky diffs, broken inner fenders, paper thin deck lid that dents if you don't know how to close it, inner fenders rubbing the paint off the inside of the hood, rear tires rubbing on the inner fender, no trunk space and no storage space.
No power locks on the door panel and no torque arm on the 06's. You can't even change a battery without removing the right side front fender...what kind of BS is that?
And how about that "world class" GM service...no training what-so-ever on this car for the mechanics we have to deal with. They can't even lift the car without bending the doors. I'll bet 9 out of 10 never even heard of the additive for the clutch pack in the limited slip differential.
Nice job GM...I suppose it's probably our fault for letting you get away with it for the last 30 years. GM needs to go right straight out of the car business...something they're apparently perfectly willing to do based on my experience. Maybe they should go back to building tanks for the military...then no one would complain about "the clunk" and it actually would be "normal". Idiots... -Lumix

[Gizmo]

Originally Posted by Lumix Isn't it amazing that a car designed and built in the 21st century can be so poorly executed? I mean really... the door handles, the leaky diffs, broken inner fenders, paper thin deck lid that dents if you don't know how to close it, inner fenders rubbing the paint off the inside of the hood, rear tires rubbing on the inner fender, no trunk space and no storage space. No power locks on the door panel and no torque arm on the 06's. You can't even change a battery without removing the right side front fender...what kind of BS is that? And how about that "world class" GM service...no training what-so-ever on this car for the mechanics we have to deal with. They can't even lift the car without bending the doors. I'll bet 9 out of 10 never even heard of the additive for the clutch pack in the limited slip differential. Nice job GM...I suppose it's probably our fault for letting you get away with it for the last 30 years. GM needs to go right straight out of the car business...something they're apparently perfectly willing to do based on my experience. Maybe they should go back to building tanks for the military...then no one would complain about "the clunk" and it actually would be "normal". Idiots... -Lumix

Gee, why don't you tell us what you REALLY think, Lumix. Don't hold it in, express yourself.

Geez, what a lame post. Wouldn't that be more appropriate to rant about the Solstice on the Miata Forum? At least they would give you their blessing.

I have something else for you, and believe me, it's NOT a blessing.

.

[Lumix]

Originally Posted by Gizmo Gee, why don't you tell us what you REALLY think, Lumix. Don't hold it in, express yourself. Geez, what a lame post. Wouldn't that be more appropriate to rant about the Solstice on the Miata Forum? At least they would give you their blessing. I have something else for you, and believe me, it's NOT a blessing. .

Sorry Gizmo, but you gotta tell it like it is. You can't get a problem fixed until you admit that you have one. It's not a deal killer, I'm on my third sol and they haven't scared me away yet, but EVERYTHING I said is true and well known to the forum. You've been in the shop enough to know what I'm talking about.
This post isn't meant to be offensive, just a realistic estimation of the current state of affairs. Happily, my 08 shows significant improvement over my 06's, so they are getting there...but they still have a long way to go.
Heck...I thought I was being generous by not mentioning the cup holders. You see, it's a mixed blessing. I like the solstice...enough to buy three of them. But it's still typical GM quality, which is really pretty bad considering this is one of their most modern designs. If anyone cared even slightly, they could do a lot better. I'm reminded of that each time I'm in the service bay talking to a service writer that doesn't have a clue about these cars. They don't know and they don't want to know. GM needs to stop selling "units" and start selling "cars". -Lumix

[AtomicMan]

Door handles popping off is not unique to the solstice. It happened on BOTH of the doors on my 99 Eclipse (turbo). Fun car, by the way. Fortunately, they did not pop off at the same time.

I kind of figure that a door is heavy. If I pull it open hard, which I do, it puts stress on those cheap pieces of plastic everyone uses.

This is NOT an excuse. Lots of car companies do this.

[SolBlessed]

I can't believe it. Called the dealer today about 2 and they actually had a door handle in stock. I arrived at the dealer a little after 4 and was out by 5. Can't beat that. And to top it off the weather was great for riding both ways with the top down.