Door Handles

[madbiker]

As Sandy Munro says, best part is no part.

[londiniumperson]

Does that mean any repair done by the garage has no guarantee from when you drive it away?

Repairs undertaken during the warranty period are covered until the end of that original warranty, i.e. 3 yrs from the date of 1st registration.

[Deleted User 473]

I really wish I could have kept my old handles.

I bet part of the failure is the solenoid is just too powerful, and it's gradually destroying the mechanism internals. My new handles are definitely louder than the ones they replaced. They are too forceful / violent to make me believe they are being actuated appropriately. This constant slamming is must be what weakens and worsens the mechanism over time.

[Deleted User 473]

So I bought a door handle and took it apart. Haven't yet electrically actuated it but can see a few places where it might start to fail.

Once I've started to figure out it's workings I'll post my findings. I think it's safe to say non returning handles are unlikely to be the cause of the battery drain. I can tell from working with it manually that a handle pulled to the first position of pop out does not activate the micro switch which activates at the second pull out position.

I can see that there are some breather holes which would definitely let water in when washing the car or even when driving in rain. I've yet to check the micro switch is waterproof, but it is directly below one of the breather holes.

Once I've had a good rummage around it's working I'll post the pinouts and operation. It's surprisingly simple, but it has some interactions with the rest of the door that I do not have to hand.

[01e]

I've written up a guide with a DIY fix to non-retracting handles - viewtopic.php?t=1514

At least in my case, nothing actually breaks. It just attracts dirt and grime and needs lubricating. Based on the symptoms the three times I've had this issue (two of which Honda replaced handles under warranty) I am pretty confident that this is the issue we all get.

[madbiker]

Well done EEEE, I will eagerly await your deep dive into this issue.
How much did it cost.

[Deleted User 473]

Well done EEEE, I will eagerly await your deep dive into this issue.
How much did it cost.

I paid £110 delivered, it was the only one on ebay as far as I could tell. Hopefully I will get some time in the christmas holidays to tinker with it.

[SuperRocket61]

One door handle mechanism was replaced under the warranty. Now the second one needs to be replaced but I am in the extended warranty period and although the dealer has pleaded my case with Honda UK they are refusing to cover it. Replacement would cost me £640! To be fair the dealer seemed surprised and frustrated as he had not had this situation before but would be facing it more and more.

The relevant line in the extended warranty excludes bodywork components and specifically mentions door handles. I would argue that this is a generic Honda cars warranty agreement and understandably refers to external (and so vulnerable) handles themselves. The fault is not with the handle but the electrical components behind it which they have chosen to service as a bundle. No other electrical components are excluded except the 12v battery.

I will talk to Honda UK but they will be resistant knowing that most if not all Honda E's will see this problem sooner or later.

Assuming that they won't budge I will tempted to raise a complaint to the Motor Ombudsman as this seems to be an unfair exclusion. Any thoughts out there?

[londiniumperson]

Assuming that they won't budge I will tempted to raise a complaint to the Motor Ombudsman as this seems to be an unfair exclusion. Any thoughts out there?

Go ahead, you won't be the first, I'm in that process myself.

BTW - You can easily claim under the 'Consumer Rights Act 2015' without Motor Ombudsman.

[Malcs]

Spoke too soon on a previous post. Passenger handle now not retracting at all. Now that quite a few of us are approaching if not already out of warranty has anyone had any success in Honda honouring the cost of repairs beyond 3 years? It is obviously a design weakness as so many of us are finding. Mines done around 10,000 miles. Surely under the consumer act that part of the car is not fit for purpose.