Pertplus

Damnit it, happened to me today

Biki

Oops...! It happened to me last week!!! Front passenger door handle just broke loose. Took the car to a local dealer yesterday and they told me the whole door panel needs replacing...and it's going to cost a lot! The dealer has sent an enquiry to MB SA to find out if they'd cover the cost.
I never thought one would get this kind of quality from a Benz...i'm really disappointed. If the cost is not covered by Mercedes Benz then my car would be up for sale and this would be my last Benz, i'll have to look for another brand.BMW, Audi,...

2010 C200

vipsa

Just to let you know BMW door handles are just as notorious for breaking the same way. Only thing better is you can just replace the handles, not the whole door panel. Audi's too. I've broken handles on both my previous Audi and BMW.

Biki

After more than a week silence from Mercedes dealer, i decided to cal them and inquire about the replacement of the door panel. The good news is that, YES the replacement will be covered so i don't have to pay for it. I'm obviously happy about that but why did they not get back to me???!! Poor customer service.
I just hope this will not happen ever again.

Biki

My local Mercedes Dealer still continues with poor service!!! Again they've gone silent on me. The last time i called them they said they're placing an order for the door panel and once it arrives(which according to them takes 2-3days), they'll call me to let me know when to bring the car. It's been more than 1 1/2 weeks now...

Biki

Finally i got the door handle sorted out after i had to lodge a complaint! The door panel had to be replaced, the total cost(labour + parts) is around $1000!
I'm now happy that my passengers are able to open the door from the inside or i don't have to go round to open for them.
I'm hoping that this doesn't ever happen again...

gorgonian

I had the same problem on my old sl500 and you can remove the metal handle,I took to special fabrication works and they tug welded it for £20

skip1958

Unfortunately, mine just broke and its not under warranty. I called the dealer, the door panel is over $700 plus labor for installation.

With nothing to lose, I started a repair of my own. Looking on youtube, i learned how to remove the door panel, the latch broke at the round area where the latch cable connects into a clip, there is not very much of an area of plastic for the cable and clip, thus why it broke. i went to Home Depot and bought a 1/2" clamp (in the electrical section). The hole in the clamp was already the correct size, I then trimmed the length of the clamp and formed it to fit on the remaining portion of the latch handle, then drilled two holes through the clamp and the handle, screwed them together and also placed some epoxy on them to ensure they stayed together and the nuts couldn't loosen on the screws, put the door back together and now I have a working door latch handle without any worries of it breaking again because the cable and clip connect to medal now instead of the cheap plastic.

I also recommend to put a zip tie on the cable so it can not pop out of the clip.

To remove the door panel, purchase a trim tool from Harbor Freight Tools or a place similar to get the plastic trim tool so you do not damage the door panel. But it just pops off, only screws are at the arm rest. 1.5 hours total work time. $2 clamp, $5 trim tool, $5 epoxy. Total repair $12!!!

spyked

Hoping this repair ends up with photo step by step instructions as a Sticky or on YouTube. Pathetic that MB dealers won't attempt a repair instead of a $1000 repair.

chewychiu

This happened to me a month ago. I was about 80-90 miles away from home at a gas station and as I was getting out, I observed that same behavior. Luckily my car is still under warranty until the end of this month.

cjmarshall

I have a PDF document with pictures for this but it wont allow me to upload it.

KyngArthur

This happened to me as well. Now when ever I get out I unlock the car first just to be safe. Big $ to fix.

cjmarshall

I was able to put my fix in photo bucket, hope it will help someone out.

http://s794.photobucket.com/user/cjm...20Handle%20Fix

ajmiller66

I fixed mine myself with a drill, a wire tie and some glue. Mercedes Should be ashamed of themselves making you order a 560.00 door panel to repair this. The wire tie was enough but I glued the plastic on the back of the handle together just so the latch stays in the same hole. However it's been a week now and no issues with the door handle at all.

angusjohnjones

I've read about this happening fairly often. I wonder, if enough folks submitted written complaints, could a formal recall could be initiated, like with the tail lights? I suppose one could argue that it's a safety issue if you can't exit the car. Anyway, we have started to manually unlock the doors, with the unlock push button on the door, prior to our opening our doors with the latch, in hopes that in the unlocked mode the handle latch will be under less stress.


I love our MB for many reasons, but this door handle weakness, and the apparent fragility of the windshield and fog light lenses, are specific points of disappointment.

spyked

It is 100% a safety issue, and should have been recalled after the first few instances. Unfortunately, it will take someone to die, trapped in their car, before MBUSA or the NHTSA does anything. This, the EIS/ESL, and 4MATIC issues really are ridiculous for such otherwise lovely cars.

engVladi

Well, it happen to me as well. I think it was as I was letting my grandma out and she pulled on the handle at the same time. Very disappointing design. I had my car for not even a month. Will update this tread after I fix it.

engVladi

My OEM warranty covered it, even though the MB Dealer told me that someone before was trying to do some repairs and they did it sort of as a courtesy.

2009-C300

Happen to my Mercedes as well, Dealer and MB would not cover it, even after calling MB Headquarters, was told $900.00 to fix because you need to buy the complete door panel .... Fix myself 10 mins to remove the door panel, $5.00 for a tube of JB Weld from Lowes (used less than one drop of glue) let set for 24hrs. 10mins. to reassemble door panel. Works Like NEW

Uncle

Once again, a truly poor design, and even worse, no reasonable repair kit/alternative. I had both of mine changed under warranty. Think how dangerous this is.

CEDE

This thread has been very helpful. I'm outside of warranty and this exact thing happened to me, passenger's side. Very disappointing. Thank you to the folks offering up instructions for fixes. Is anyone aware of a comprehensive youtube video of the fix? I couldn't find one... but I want to try this myself.

Jeff Chen

I have a 2010 C300 Sports. The driver side latch broke a couple of years ago, while still under warranty. The dealer replaced the entire door panel.


The passenger side broke yesterday, exact same symptom.


I read a few other postings on the same issue. The engineer in me points to a defective material or design: the driver side is used more often and broke first, passenger side is less frequently used and fails later.


Surprised MB has not taken a more proactive steps to correct the problem. It is not a do-or-die safety issue, but an embarrassment for the poor car owner and brand image of MB.

Richard Welsh

This is the most expensive car I have ever bought and the worst. Door handle breaks and needs a whole door panel?? Also have an ongoing DPF problem. So disappointed with this car. My first and last Mercedes

Ginger V

The plastic inside flimsy door handle has become detached, and it is agonizing to let windows down & open from the outside. Lo' & behold if it's raining like HELL! Took it to the dealership today, May 10, 2016, and it's just $13 shy of a $1000.00 to replace the entire panel over a piece of plastic. This is robbery as my 50,000 mile warranty expired 6,600 miles ago. They knew about when ***** would start to fall apart; reason I don't keep vehicles past 100,000 miles. They (Mercedes Benz) need to recall this as it seems it has been an ongoing problem for several years now.

michail71

At least there is the cheap DIY fix some posts/years back.

Shouldn't your car be under warranty still?