I've had this 2001 HHR LT for a little over 2 months. One of my favorite things I noticed right away was how easy the door opens from inside the car. Once you put it in park and the doors unlock I'd only need a finger to loop around the handle and the door would slide open. Well, on Friday I followed the same routine and the handle fell off in my hand! I can see the silver base that remains in the door so I tried to super glue the handle back to it. Left it for 3 hours and it was glued back. But the glue wasn't a strong enough bond to hold together when I tried to open the door. So the handle is off again. I have lots of glues around the house and regular old super glue claimed to be the best for plastic. JB Weld doesn't list plastic as a material it can bond. I really don't want to remove the door panel and try and replace the whole handle. Taking it somewhere will cost hundreds of dollars. For a 10 cent part. Car still runs great, but this certainly diminishes my positive attitude. Well that and a CEL that won't go away.

 

Trying to glue it back together usually doesn't work well. Dorman makes a replacement handle if you decide to replace it.
I did manage to glue mine back together but put on 2 metal strips to reinforce the plastic. Still have to remove the door panel though. It is a simple procedure.
Mine has held together for several years.

 

Thanks for the tip. I found a video on YouTube that shows the door panel is relatively easy to remove and reattach. I'll give it a try when the weather is nicer. I live in Wisconsin and don't have a garage!

 

 

If you decide to go with the Dorman part, shop around. The prices seem to vary a lot. I looked around and saw as low as $35 and up to $99 for the same listed Dorman part. The higher prices seem to be from the big box auto parts stores.

 

Even your local GM parts department has them. At a reasonable price!

 

When my drivers side inside handle broke, I swapped it with the drivers side rear handle, and used JB WELD to repair the broken one, then installed it in the rear door. It probably will now last forever.

 

 

Whopper, that's an intriguing idea. ebay has them for 9.98, but the comments range from good to doesn't quite fit to doesn't have ship with all the parts. I'll shop around for a reasonable price on a good one.

 

There is a model made of metal and one made of plastic. Be sure the one you choose has the pin and spring included.

No need to get the "old" style that includes the housing. You only need the handle , pin and spring.