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2013 DRIVERS DOOR ARM GRIP HANDLE BREAKING

hiltopr1

New Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2009
Messages
3
My 2013 Avalanche has no assist grab bar when entering on drives side. ..I've been holding on and using door arm rest as a grab bar since you can put your hand thru it and as a help to get into truck.  The underside and back side of the rest has broken and completely cracked in both spots.  I went to a Chevy dealer and they said this is very common and Chevy will not doing anything to help replace it.  Have any of you experienced this and did Chevy give you the same answer..Thanks!
 
Why not just grab the steering wheel? My family has problems getting in on the passenger side at times and they tend to hit the door locks or window switch so in good weather i lower the window so they can grab the lower sill in window opening, maybe you can lower driver window before climbing in after you get door open and use the door lower sill yourself to enter if you don't feel comfortable grabbing the steering wheel? Some may say you could end up with steering wheel problems using it to climb in but I am very large and have been grabbing the wheel to get into a 4X4 Suburban or AV for the past 28 years or more and so far NO problems with damaging the wheel or steering columns on those vehicles.
 
My rubber is lifting around the handle, very annoying
 
My 2012 LTZ has this same problem & you have to replace the whole inside door panel to fix it. A Chevy dealer quoted me over $450 for a new one. I can't believe that they wouldn't have made the handle a separate part. (Marketing geniuses?) Ughhh!!!

Cheers,  ;D
Kev

 
I have broken armrest handles on both front doors, very frustrating. Very thin plastic that is supposed to hold up to someone's grip over the life of the vehicle. Anyone do a home remedy for this? I don't know if GM has fixed this so I'm not willing to just go out and spend money on a new panel for it to break again.
 
caldwelldt said:
I have broken armrest handles on both front doors, very frustrating. Very thin plastic that is supposed to hold up to someone's grip over the life of the vehicle. Anyone do a home remedy for this? I don't know if GM has fixed this so I'm not willing to just go out and spend money on a new panel for it to break again.

Still stand by my post above ....... (I learned in my 1980 Corvette that you can't use the door handle to put your weight on it and push yourself up or down). Same holds true for an AV. I am not the designer nor do I know anyone who designed the door handles but can only surmise over many years of vehicle ownership that the door handles are to be used for gently grabbing the handle and gently shutting the doors. If you or someone in your family is putting their weight on the door handles or roughly slamming the doors they will rip them off. I try to get my passengers to use the factory grab handle on the A pillar or roll the window down before entry and grab the top of the door sill as opposed to putting a strain on the door handles. On the driver's side we use the steering wheel to pull ourselves into the AV and haven't had a problem with door handles or steering wheels in 16 years of Suburban ownership or 12 years of AV ownership.
Only other solution I can think of is to put a metal reinforcing plate behind the factory door panel and add some heavy screws so the handles are attached in more places and the stress is spread out over a larger surface.
 
same here, both door grab bars are coming apart.  thin white plastic rib looking things that break, and staples holing the rubber skin on.
 
My door handle drivers side doing same thing. Very sad
 
old thread I know....but was there ever anything found to fix this? I'd hate to think the only way is to replace the door panel.
 
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If all you do is replace the door handle or replace whole panel you don't fix the cause.....I would take off door panel and see how it's attached and try to reinforce/repair it But only way to prevent it is to change your way of using it.......as mentioned in my old posts above....
 
I bought the truck with it like that.  good recommendation not to use it, but that doesn't fix the fact it is broken now.  Guess I will just pull the door panel off and see what I am working with.  Guess this isn't all that common.
 
My 2013 LTZ did that  I used expanding foam to fill all the handle cavity. I wrapped tape around the handle before inserting the can hose into the back seem of the handle on both ends and blew some foam in. After foam dried I cut the excess that expanded out and then used light sand paper to smooth the handle.  It is very solid, more so then before it broke. Saved $500 for new door panel
 
A guy I work with went through the same issue with his 2013 drivers door arm rest.  We ended up getting a used door panel that was in A1 shape but was from a 2008 I believe.  Its always true.  They don't build them like they used to. :laugh:
 
JQIII said:
My 2013 LTZ did that  I used expanding foam to fill all the handle cavity. I wrapped tape around the handle before inserting the can hose into the back seem of the handle on both ends and blew some foam in. After foam dried I cut the excess that expanded out and then used light sand paper to smooth the handle.  It is very solid, more so then before it broke. Saved $500 for new door panel

I did this same fix and I was pleased and rely surprised how well this simple fix was. I did take the panel off the door to complete it and I wrapped the handle with first saran wrap and then duct tape over that to keep the foam from forcing the handle apart were the leather meets the plastic. I was almost perfect after it dried. Hard and very stiff. And only cost about 17.00 total fix. A little bit of cleanup after I took the tape and wrap off. But overall a simple 1hr job(not counting the time to let the foam dry, about 3-4 hrs). I use the lock-tight can foam insulation for this.
 
Three friends who have Avalanches 2013 and 2012 all have problems with broken door rest. You would think Chevy would have put metal in a door pull commonly used by the driver to close the door. Seems like a cash cow for dealers. local price was $480 for a fix. Take a guess what is not covered by extended warrantee. dealer said your supposed to roll down the window and pull the door closed :E: GM should eliminate the quality control department . :beating:
 
tsac said:
... dealer said your supposed to roll down the window and pull the door closed :E:....

ASK him to show you in the OWNERS MANUAL where it says that.

And if handle was not to shut door then what is it for?

I scream BS on this one.... I would be back at that dealer and calling Chevy Customer service as well.
 
You need to find a new dealer tsac, if that is what they told you.
 
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tsac said:
... dealer said your supposed to roll down the window and pull the door closed ...

Perhaps, if you just always take off real fast down the street, the door would slam shut on it's own.

No need for a door handle then.

Problem solved.

(y)
 
:deadhorse:

I don't think GM or the dealerships are going to fix for free a part on a truck that hasn't been made for 5 (almost 6 years) now. From my posts in this thread two years ago it has been known since the 1980s or before about some GM vehicles having weak door handles and most owners learned quickly to use the steering wheel to get in and roll the window down and use the lower window sill to close the door.(No it was never an official procedure in the owner's manual.)
I have no idea if it was planned obsolescence on GM's part or just a "perfect storm" of defect created between the styling department and the accounting division where looks and costs collide. There are many areas with issues if you look around such as the dashboard cracking (nice curved looks but not much metal to support the curves.) Plastic rear window trim cracking around glass,faded cladding etc. Then maybe some things we accept for modern looks such as the plastic lenses on headlights and tail lights, we want large and curved lights but they fog up and need polishing or replacing every couple of years. On older cars with glass lenses  we only had to replace them if a bulb blew out, never faded or fogged up.
 
Ok so I ended up simply putting a short L shaped piece of aluminum under the handle from end to end then glue on the inside to keep it in place.
The plastic used by GM is small and must be something to save money. Maybe $ .02 or .03 cents per truck  :beating:
 
The aluminum I placed in the door rest so far has worked well.  Looking on the internet has not shown any other methods that seem to be  easier. I will keep checking and maybe someone will have a solution or method to fix the plastic without taking to door apart.
 
Add me to the list :-(    Just pulled a piece of that white plastic out after it cracked...    I never used the handle to get in either, although the previous owner may have. 
I wish there was a Dorman part for this.  Look at Dorman part 80371 which has been sold for OTHER gm vehicles...      maybe if we get lucky they will eventually make us something.
 
Just fyi guys, this problem affects a TON of chevy vehicles, not just avalanche.  We also own a '13 Tahoe that has this same arm grip design (thankfully not broken yet).  The net is full of Suburban and Silverado also having the complaints.  Found a video of one suburban owner who shored it up with a piece of angle iron and back bolted it to the metal plate on the reverse side of the door panel.  Looks interesting.  I am also wondering if perhaps a piece of 1/2" PVC pipe would be good for this.

I think the internal white plastic support gets old and weak as the trucks age unfortunately.  Cheap plastic was used here when metal was needed.



 
Does anyone have a picture of the door apart? My handle is broken, but I am having trouble visualizing how the black cover fits into it. I can feel a edge (the whole cover feels sort of rubber like) that would snap into something.

Also, anything special required to remove the door panel?
 
Does anyone have a picture of the door apart? My handle is broken, but I am having trouble visualizing how the black cover fits into it. I can feel a edge (the whole cover feels sort of rubber like) that would snap into something.

Also, anything special required to remove the door panel?
No special tools. Once you've done it a couple times, the panel comes off in less than 5 minutes.
1aAuto has your back with a video:

Edit: of note, i don't use a special clip tool that you'll see in the video, just get my fingers behind the panel where the clips are and pull straight out.

Edit2: One guys solution to repairing and strengthening the broken handle like you may have. He used a 10 inch piece of 3/4 inch angle with two 4 inch pieces of strap
 
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