W204 Inside Door Handle Repair Kit Opinion please

[Mercy49]

Hi
My drivers side inside door handle has broken, its a 2013 yr 100,0000 miles which I think is not that old but I digress, has anyone got any experience of fitting a repair kit handle replacement for £30. I would take it to a garage to fit it anyway, has anyone tried one? Many Thanks
Matte Inside Interior Door Handle Repair Kit for Mercedes W204 X204 Right Side | eBay

Best Regards
Gus

 

[jasonh]

I had a rattle in my drivers door so I've had the door card off twice - thankfully it's fixed now.

There are some really good youtube videos on removing the W204 door card this one does it really well and carefully.

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Follow that and it's straightforward. You'll take a lot more care than a garage would.

 

[brynjon]

Hi guys. I am very cack-handed so will not be attempting a repair of my door handle. It is the interior silver door opening handle that all of a sudden became loose and no longer opens the door. I went to the MB dealer who quoted me over £500 for a new door card plus fitting. They did a running repair by attaching a shoelace and charged me £90 though that shoelace snapped and I do not really want another temporary repair such as that.

Is there a cheaper alternative these days? My car was registered January 2014 and is a C220 CDi Type 204 4 door saloon.

I am up in Sunderland so if anyone could point me in the right direction I would be grateful.

I contacted one of these online scrapper type companies though do not really want to buy a 2nd hand card which may have a similar fault.

Cheers brynjon

 

[alecmascot]

Talk to these guys:

M&S Prestige & Specialist Ltd - Home

www.mandsprestige.co.uk

 

[E55BOF]

Staithes Garage in Gateshead also has a very good reputation.

 

[brynjon]

Thanks guys - will give them a try. Much appreciated.

 

[HopsNE]

Thanks guys - will give them a try. Much appreciated.

Hi mate, did you get sorted what was the cost please?

 

[brynjon]

Hi mate, did you get sorted what was the cost please?

Hi HopsNE - yes I did get it sorted thanks. I went to a local garage in Sunderland and they managed to fix it for £45. The removed the door panel drilled another hole on the handle and used a welding rod to make a new loop. Super job done and they reckoned it would last the life of the car now. A damned sight less than replacing the full door panel which was something that spurred the garage on to save me a ton of cash - great service by a local garage.

 

[HopsNE]

Glad you got sorted, I’m going to try an eBay special repair I see you are not far from me, I’m struggling to get my drivers seat re-covered do you know of anybody near you please?

 

[190]

....went to the MB dealer who quoted me over £500 for a new door card plus fitting. They did a running repair by attaching a shoelace and charged me £90 though that shoelace snapped and I do not really want another temporary repair such as that.

Unbelievable that a dealer would even do a temporary repair with a shoelace. It's a known fault which MB and the dealer know very well and the shysters have made no attempt to provide anything close to a reasonably priced solution. The repair kits are common too for that reason and it's what I would use before giving a dealer the chance to rob me.

 

[jasonh]

I have seen a youtube on how to replace the handle now. It's a common problem and I believe replacement handles are available now (not from MB).

If I remember correctly the youtube is by the same chap as the youtube above.

 

[grum71]

I had the same on a C350. The door cable pulls against plastic. The dealer solution is a complete door card (and a common problem)
If you have a little knowledge, get an 8mm washer, fold at 90 degrees and wrap around the broken plastic and a bit of hot glue. That way, the cable is pulling against metal.
I have some pics somewhere - will dig them out if I can find them (it's been a while)
£45 for the repair is only an hours labour for an indie so, good choice (by Brynjon)

 

[HopsNE]

I had the same on a C350. The door cable pulls against plastic. The dealer solution is a complete door card (and a common problem)
If you have a little knowledge, get an 8mm washer, fold at 90 degrees and wrap around the broken plastic and a bit of hot glue. That way, the cable is pulling against metal.
I have some pics somewhere - will dig them out if I can find them (it's been a while)
£45 for the repair is only an hours labour for an indie so, good choice (by Brynjon)

Brilliant and yes please

 

[brynjon]

Glad you got sorted, I’m going to try an eBay special repair I see you are not far from me, I’m struggling to get my drivers seat re-covered do you know of anybody near you please?

I used Angus Kish to repair my seat pad - well actually to replace my seat pad, as the Artico Pleather is rubbish. He replaces leather on anything, though not cheap.
£180 to recover the seat pad in real leather and exact pattern.
Kish Trim Deptford Terrace, Shaw, Sunderland SR4 6DD Tel 0191 500 0321

Door handle was at Auto Tune 3 Fulwell Rd, Roker, Sunderland SR6 0HR Tel 0191 567 7044

 

[HopsNE]

I used Angus Kish to repair my seat pad - well actually to replace my seat pad, as the Artico Pleather is rubbish. He replaces leather on anything, though not cheap.
£180 to recover the seat pad in real leather and exact pattern.
Kish Trim Deptford Terrace, Shaw, Sunderland SR4 6DD Tel 0191 500 0321

Door handle was at Auto Tune 3 Fulwell Rd, Roker, Sunderland SR6 0HR Tel 0191 567 7044

Thank you very much sir

 

[Finbar]

Following Gus' & Jasonh's posts back in October, the interior passenger handle on the W204, ceased working a week or so ago so.

Thanks to the brilliant help on the Forums, purchased a handle kit, some trim tools and door clips (all less than £30) and had a go at following the You Tube video.



Have popped some pics in showing the break in the cable-retention part of the handle.

The three shots of the door card highlight the need for spare clips - 5 on the 9 needed replacing as they had either broken off in the door frame (brittle), were missing the rubber washer that sits between the door card & door frame or, just generally the worse for wear.

Commenting specifically on the extremely good video;

1. Yes - I had one of the 'H' clips - and it was a swine to remove so left it out when putting the door card back on.
2. I didn't have anything to cut the 20 plastic welds and used a battery drill with a countersink tool. Did the job, but there is the risk that you will not end up with a flush finish - it's also very messy as the plastic swarf ends up in the door card - additional work cleaning it out.
3. I did need to drill very small holes in the remainder of the plastic welds to give the screws a start - all pulled up nice and tight. As the gentleman in the video says - be very careful not to drill right through!
4. Along with the replacement handle (& screws) in the kit I purchased, a pivot pin is supplied to replace the MB one, that is removed (per the video) by drilling a small hole in the top of the pin and, using a screw to pull the pin out. Try not to damage the MB pin as the replacement pin from the kit was loose and did not give me any comfort. Used the MB pin again as it 'clicks' back into place and the replacement handle did not feel so wayward.

All this took me around 3 hours because I did take extra care not to break or damage anything. The gentleman in the video commented that it is about 1 1/2 hours work which, I daresay, is achievable if you are familiar with removing your door card.

The instructions in the video are a tremendous help to a 'cack-handed' bloke like me, as the job was completed without any drama and no damage to anything that shouldn't be damaged

Hope the above helps anyone else who has the interior door handle problem.

Kev

 

[Finbar]

and the driver's side has now ceased to function... kit purchased and ready to have another go this weekend.

 

[Finbar]

and the driver's side has now ceased to function... kit purchased and ready to have another go this weekend.

Sorted today - about an hour quicker this time due to the lessons learned first time