Interior door handle problem

**midwestZ3** · 01-30-2011, 07:32 PM

The plastic piece that holds the top of the interior door handle (the place you would grab to pull the door shut) has broken off. The bottom of the handle is still attached. Any advice on how to repair this? Doesn't look like I could simply remove the door panel and use a screw to re-secure. Also doesn't look like there is anything to adhere to if I tried to resort to glue. I am also worried about the constant "pull" on the door so the solution must be permanent.

**cantfixitall** · 01-30-2011, 08:00 PM

I don't have an answer to your question, but its nice to see another omaha z3!

**robman** · 01-30-2011, 08:09 PM

I see a new door handle in your future. Mine did the same thing and I couldn't fix it so I just got a new one.

later

**ronnie38** · 01-30-2011, 08:27 PM

I Just repiared the drivers door, I also tried to epoxy it but it only lasted a week, (daily driver) Ordered it from ESTuning, part number 51418398733 for $53.96. The part is held in by two screws in the base of the unit and a melted plastic tab on the door panel and a screw into the door it self at the top of the handle. The door panel is held on by two torqe screws (one in the top of the handle after you remove the side mirror control unit and the other by the edge of the panel near the side air bags and a bunch of snap pins. You may want to order a few snap pins in case you damage on popping them out. Then just lift up the panel. Sorry no photos didn't think about it. I thought it was to simple.

Good Luck

**Kyle Anderson** · 01-30-2011, 08:29 PM

If it's the driver side and you need a black one, this is the best thing you can do:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-Z...item4cf47ab83f

(ebay# 330519197759)

I'm not sure if you've seen exactly how the handle mounts. The bottom has two screws that hold it in. The top is plastic welded to the panel substrate, and there's a bolt that goes through the top into the door. The bolt is really what takes the force of pulling the door closed. With that part of the handle broken, there's not much you can do besides buy a new handle.

**panasonic** · 01-30-2011, 08:37 PM

You can do what my PO did, Attach a deck screw to a piece of copper pipe behind it.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1296437831

And if you're classy enough, you too can darken the door inserts with sharpie.

**Kyle Anderson** · 01-30-2011, 10:39 PM

Originally Posted by panasonic

You can do what my PO did, Attach a deck screw to a piece of copper pipe behind it.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1296437831

Mine had a similar "fix" when I bought it- drywall screw through the handle that went right into the door... what hack job.

Here's a guide to removing the door panel:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...5&postcount=58

Since you don't have side airbags, you won't have the torx screw on the side.

**Jeremy** · 01-30-2011, 10:56 PM

I have a set of tan door pulls if you're interested.

**panasonic** · 01-31-2011, 12:24 AM

Originally Posted by Kyle Anderson

Mine had a similar "fix" when I bought it- drywall screw through the handle that went right into the door... what hack job.

Here's a guide to removing the door panel:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...5&postcount=58

Since you don't have side airbags, you won't have the torx screw on the side.

Thanks, that should help as I also need to fix the window regulator sliding clips on the same door as well as grease the tracks.

I'll try to take photos while I do it in hopes of making a better tutorial.

**midwestZ3** · 02-02-2011, 07:43 AM

Thanks all. Looks like I am now in the market for a new door handle. I don't think I could live with myself if I did the hack job approach. It is in the garage for 6 months out of the year so that is my "prep" time to play.

**mpire** · 02-02-2011, 07:45 AM

Get new chrome ones. They were about $40 new back in the day.

**midwestZ3** · 02-02-2011, 07:54 AM

Originally Posted by cantfixitall

I don't have an answer to your question, but its nice to see another omaha z3!

There's a lot more of us than you would realize. Just not sure they have all found this forum.

Originally Posted by ronnie38

I Just repiared the drivers door, I also tried to epoxy it but it only lasted a week, (daily driver) Ordered it from ESTuning, part number 51418398733 for $53.96. The part is held in by two screws in the base of the unit and a melted plastic tab on the door panel and a screw into the door it self at the top of the handle. The door panel is held on by two torqe screws (one in the top of the handle after you remove the side mirror control unit and the other by the edge of the panel near the side air bags and a bunch of snap pins. You may want to order a few snap pins in case you damage on popping them out. Then just lift up the panel. Sorry no photos didn't think about it. I thought it was to simple.

Good Luck

I'm not familiar with ESTuning and they don't show up on a google search. Can you give me any more info on how to reach them?

Originally Posted by Z3Couper

I have a set of tan door pulls if you're interested.

Looks like I will definitely need the driver side but for the right price I will take the pair. Do you know what you want for them?

**Kyle Anderson** · 02-02-2011, 11:30 AM

Originally Posted by midwestZ3

I'm not familiar with ESTuning and they don't show up on a google search. Can you give me any more info on how to reach them?

He probably meant ECS Tuning.

Tischer BMW (getbmwparts.com) is where most people get their parts. DDM Tuning usually advertises lower prices, but their shipping charges are absolutely insane.

**Jeremy** · 02-02-2011, 11:34 AM

Originally Posted by midwestZ3

Looks like I will definitely need the driver side but for the right price I will take the pair. Do you know what you want for them?

Shoot me an email.

**1thomas** · 05-05-2012, 08:53 PM

I'm tempted to do a 'hack job' on this. The real problem is the armrest/handle itself being shoddy plastic. I assume the replacements are the same, so I wouldn't expect those to last too long.
Someone needs to come up with a metal fix for these.
I've used gorilla glue on both sides. The passenger side has lasted several years, but the driver side lasts about 5-6 months and has been done twice now..(and I'm gentle on them).
I'm sure there are tons of people facing this issue.
It's a really dumb idea to use plastic on a door pull assembly. What were they thinking!

**mpire** · 05-05-2012, 09:45 PM

What are you talking about?

The door handles have screws that securely attach them to the metal door frame.

Glue will do absolutely no good, so why do you keep glueing them?

Something tells me you don't have the screws attached.

I mean, you could always put in a nutsert if the screw hole is stripped out or something or a washer on the handle side, but glue will do absolutely no good other than to make it look like total shit and make us laugh at you for missing the obvious.

You don't need the top of the handle to even be attached at all with anything other than the screw.

Please post pictures of said door handle and the hex head screw that should be attaching it to the door.

**The ZED** · 05-05-2012, 11:44 PM

Originally Posted by 1thomas

I'm tempted to do a 'hack job' on this. The real problem is the armrest/handle itself being shoddy plastic. I assume the replacements are the same, so I wouldn't expect those to last too long.
Someone needs to come up with a metal fix for these.
I've used gorilla glue on both sides. The passenger side has lasted several years, but the driver side lasts about 5-6 months and has been done twice now..(and I'm gentle on them).
I'm sure there are tons of people facing this issue.
It's a really dumb idea to use plastic on a door pull assembly. What were they thinking!

Why don't you make the whole car out of metal... weight.

225k miles and never broken one.

**1thomas** · 05-18-2012, 03:53 PM

Originally Posted by mpire

What are you talking about?

The door handles have screws that securely attach them to the metal door frame.

Glue will do absolutely no good, so why do you keep glueing them?

Something tells me you don't have the screws attached.

I mean, you could always put in a nutsert if the screw hole is stripped out or something or a washer on the handle side, but glue will do absolutely no good other than to make it look like total shit and make us laugh at you for missing the obvious.

You don't need the top of the handle to even be attached at all with anything other than the screw.

Please post pictures of said door handle and the hex head screw that should be attaching it to the door.

The screw goes through the cheap plastic door pull end, which is where mine is broken. There are tons of posts with this exact same problem all over the net....that's what I'm talking about.

You can't see any glue, as the part I'm gluing is hidden once it's all screwed together....and again, one side has held for several years. I see references to people paying $40-60 for this part in the past, as they started failing just a few years after they came out for some people. Now, however, I'm getting results at about $100 or more for it, which is a lot to pay for a piece of plastic that will likely break again once the plastic becomes brittle from age/heat.
And, um... the weight difference for metal vs. plastic for this piece would probably be about 2oz for both sides, which I would gladly have paid extra for and not noticed....even in the corners.

I'm talking about the inner door handle pull (like the rest in this thread), not the inner handle/release that you use to open the door which is maybe what you're confused about?
I remove the torx screw, glue the plastic bit back on, wait for it to dry, and screw back in.
This is a very common cheapo plastic vs metal issue with z3 interiors, just like the sagging glove box issue.

**rdon** · 05-18-2012, 05:18 PM

Maybe you are using the wrong glue. I have noticed that many of the plastic parts on these cars are made of ABS. The glovebox, for sure, is marked as ABS. If the door handle is the same, get some ABS glue (not PVC or CPVC) and cleaner from your favorite plumbing supply place, clean it up really well and re-glue. You will actually be fusing the plastic back together rather than relying on a glue joint.

I used this technique on my glovebox with great success. Several of the mounting tabs were broken off so I fabricated them from a piece of ABS and glued them in place. They are very sturdy and fused to the glovebox, so no worries that the glue joint will break. I have had it in and out several times since and the tabs are rock solid.

**Z3 Bimmer** · 08-01-2013, 05:57 PM

do you still have the beige right side?

**uvacheengineer** · 02-01-2014, 05:16 PM

My door handle broke just as shown earlier in this message board.

After disassembling the door, I recovered as many of the plastic pieces I could find that hold the plastic handle assembly to the door's sheet metal.

I used hot glue to temporarily tack the broken pieces back into place on the assembly. Next, I cut a strip of metal off of an old license plate using tin snips. In the center of the metal strip, I drilled a hole approximately the same size as the original hole in the plastic handle assembly.

Aligning the hole on the metal strip with the plastic assembly, I bent and trimmed the metal so that it formed a fitted bracket over the original plastic assembly. This took some trial and error but I eventually got it form fitted over the backside of the assembly. I filled in all voids between the assembly and metal bracket with additional hot glue.

Here is the interior side of the handle showing some of the additional hot glue I back filled any voids with.

Once dried, I predrilled two small pilot holes through the metal bracket and remaining handle assembly. Fortunately for me, there was plenty of remaining plastic which was thicker than the plastic around the bolt holding the assembly to the door sheet metal. I ran two bolts through the holes and added locking washers and nuts on the end of each bolt. I later hacksawed off the extra lengths of bolts flush with the nuts.

A picture of the backside of the door panel with handle reinstalled. Note, I had to carve out some of the press board where the two bolts stuck out from the plastic assembly. Likewise, I popped the plastic mushroom peg out of the handle assembly, predrilled another hole into the handle assembly and ran a small screw and washer.

A picture of the door panel pack in the car.

**eluther3z3** · 02-07-2014, 09:28 PM

Had the same issue. Tried to glue the parts together with no luck. However, I got some JB weld epoxy putty and used it to "reform" the end of the handle. Covered the entire end (not just the broken area) then filed and drilled as needed once it was dried. Did that about a year ago, no problems since

**Vintage42** · 03-12-2014, 10:17 AM

I removed my door panels, lubed the sliders and replaced one broken tweeter, and after re-installing the panels, I found the plastic base of the driver door pull handle was disintegrating and half gone, so ordered another handle, which means the panel had to come off again. Here is the new pull handle. Note the black plastic post.

419507_x800.jpg

Here's my tips:
1. For removing the door panel, locate the clips and read up on the work, using:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...5&postcount=58
https://sites.google.com/site/turbo10325/home/doorpanel
http://www.badenscarpages.ca/m-roadster-stereo-upgrade/ (Scroll way down)
2. Buy a plastic prying tool set. The blue BavAuto SIR and the Harbor Freight sets are the same, but the tools are rather thick. The best pry tool is in the 29-piece Interior Removal Kit from Bavarian Soundwerks, which also has a set of torx bits and driver, needed to remove the upper end of the handle.
http://www.bavsound.com/Stage-One/
3. If you have an early Z3 with plastic sheets keeping water in the doors, consider upgrading the the molded foam insulating liners used from 1999-on.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ps004f24c2.jpg
Buy some Windo-Weld butyl rope from an auto part store to add to the old butyl which may be hardened. Keep the butyl rope out of the sun, as cool as possible. If the sun hits it, it will suddenly become too sticky to use, attaching itself on contact to anything it touches, leaving some of itself there.
4. The molded foam water covers for the door handles may have fallen down in the door. Re-install them with butyl rope.
http://s49.photobucket.com/user/vint...tml?sort=4&o=5
4.a. If the rubber gaskets behind the outside door handles are deteriorated, this is the time to remove the handles and put in new rubber.
5. Before installing the plastic sheets or the foam liners, check that the threaded clip nuts for the door pull handle screws are in place. You will not be able to see them after the liners are installed.
6. While the door panels are off, use a marker pen to mark the locations of the clips on the edges of the panels. For future panel removals, this allows inserting the tool so the fork meets the clip and the unsnaps it easily without damage. Also, put some silicone grease on the tips of thumb and two fingers, and transfer it to the plastic clips. They will go in and come out much easier.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...psa53600a0.jpg
7. Before installing the door panels, check that the upper plastic mounts of the handles are not broken and loose. If loose, it means that both the plastic post and the plastic mount are broken, and a new handle is needed.
8. When installing a new handle, heat a screwdriver blade to melt its post flat against the door panel. The melted post holds the handle to the panel, while the screw holds the panel to the door.
9. Before installing a door panel, coat the top edge of the panel and the rubber gasket on the door with silicone grease. It makes their installation and later removal easy.