Henfield

It doesn't help to be careful, as I never used the handle to close the door and it still broke. This really should be a safety recall, as the only way to get out of the car is to roll down the window and open the door from the outside latch. Unfortunately, this method does not always work in Detroit during the winter, as the driver's window always seems to be the last to thaw out as well!

db/sb

Probably not as widespread a problem as you may think. And now that they are out of production a recall is really doubtful. Had ours for 7+ years; no broken hanldles. My niece had hers for 2.5 years; no broken handles (and she had 2 kids!), my nephew has had his for 3 years; no broken handles.

Snoopy

My OPINION only but........

I think mojobubba has the correct theory. Most of the problem comes from HOW YOU OPEN THE DOOR. Pulling excessively, like a gorilla , probably causes undue stress on the plastic handle.

In fact, the Corvette glove box handles, while being smaller, are almost an exact replica of the HHR door handles (mechanically), and they are notorious for breaking. Many complaints by owners who ultimately decided that a simple release and allowing the box door to drop on its own weight (guided) was all that is needed.

Again, just my opinion.

Oh I guess I should mention....I have not needed, to this point, to replace any of my handles (this is a jinks).

conn.rod

could always put remote door poppers or atleast one on the drivers door.push a botton and never use the handle again

Ben HHR

Snoopy, I honestly, I don't think it has much to do with pulling on the handle to either open it or close it. The problem in my family is that once door is open, they let the handle snap back into place...causing a stress crack. I've had 3 different vehicles so far including the current HHR, a Plymouth Sundance, and a Suzuki Sidekick, and mysteriously, the drivers side handle has broken on all of them.

donbrew

Okay, so my dad was right! "be gentle with the damn door handles or I'll bust your hand."

Snoopy

That's an interesting theory, and probably part of being a "gorilla". Although I'm guilty of the same action and mine haven't broken yet......on any of my vehicles (did I just jink, again).

MrCatPC

I always bark at our kids (pun for Snoopy to even out all the jinks?), "Don't close the doors like that, please!" when they yank the door shut with the handles and let them go 'Clack!' Because, "that will break the door handles," and I encourage them to close the doors the way I always do, by pulling on the armrest pocket at the center of each door. But have their handles broken (yet)? Of course not. And do they often "Gorilla" grab the shiny chrome handles, still to this day? Of course they do. So ironically it was my driver's door handle that broke just now as we were going to exit the car in our driveway at home.

The snap occurred while opening the driver door an hour ago. It's below zero here in Sioux Falls, and I always assumed the handle was at least partly metal, but much to my surprise it's as brittle as most hard plastics in sub-zero tend to be, because it's in fact entirely plastic. Nifty!

I do agree and recall feeling the flexibility of the handle when I first purchased the HHR in 2006, hence warning the kids about being gentle gorillas from the age they've been able to open their own doors (and finally trusted to have their child-safety locks disengaged). I only recall catching myself pulling the door shut by its handle a couple times during early ownership before I felt it was unwise to do so, and typically it only takes hooking a finger on the large chrome plastic ring to softly unlatch the door, which I then push open by the panel/pocket.

So I don't think I've abused the driver door interior latch nearly as much in almost seven years as my boys have during the past 2-3 years as passengers. But apparently I've exceeded my own handle's mileage (we're around 86k on the ol' odo' presently).

Adam, or anyone else who's posted on this thread or elsewhere on these forums, can you say that the front & rear handles are in fact interchangeable?

Since it's cold, windy, snowing, and Saturday afternoon with a dangerous wind chill advisory continuing through Sunday evening, and we don't have a garage at home for DIY repairs, my options are pretty narrow. The driver side window does freeze shut in this weather most mornings/nights, so rolling it down with weak motor power will likely be difficult for accessing the exterior handle. My wife or kids will open my door in the meantime, so long as it amuses them to do so. (:K ... Come Monday, however, I'll be on my own & crawling out the passenger door if I have to.

Funny, no? Here's a glamour shot of the problem part, in case you may ask, "How badly did it break?"



Thanks in advance for any advice. (Our date night tonight may involve spontaneously shopping for JB Weld. Ooh la la!!). Oh, and last year for my birthday I replaced both front & rear passenger side doors, so a minor fix now may prompt me to MacGyver something really overboard with doors altogether coming up in April, if you have suggestions for a mod...

whopper

Yes, the front and rear are interchangeable (on the same side of course)- I've done it myself.

MrCatPC

Excellent news! Thanks, whopper. I may do a "quick" swap tomorrow after church, when the daylight isn't so scarce, just to have a solution for the short run. And really, my older son doesn't need to exit that door into street traffic anyway, right? (:K