Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Fixing the stickiness and get the LED handle lights working. Removing and Fixing the rear door handles is easier than on the front as the door glass doesn’t have to be removed. Here I show the fix for stickiness, of grinding off a bit of plastic, can be done without much disassembly, just removing the rear cover of the handle unit, T15 screw bits needed.
Lubrication does help for a few months but ultimately you will want to do this modification.
Save over $1000 on new handles by fixing the old ones.
Once the handles no longer stick out the most common reason for the door not opening is fixed. Even on 12V power failure. I have tested this. See * note on exceptions below.
Here are some safety tests checking the safety on fixed and hence non-sticky gen1 handles under common situations including 12V power failure: youtu.be/PTPLu2yAeng
BY WATCHING THIS VIDEO YOU ACCEPT FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY VEHICLE CHANGES YOU DO. NO LIABILITY ACCEPTED. THIS IS JUST MY STORY
* Note: there is also the door latch design issue that if the interior handle is pulled out and kept out before an unlock then this prevents the opening of the door. It needs to be released then lock-unlock and then pulled again to get out. This is a similar situation and cause as when the exterior handle is stuck out. The problem is caused by the door latch design not the handle unit.
Related to this is a very rare case, but nonetheless a reported case of entrapment caused by 12v failure at the exact same time as doors were being locked, where the door latch locks then immediately the 12v fails before the exterior handles have had time to close. This then looks like the situation where the handles stick out after locking and exit is prevented. In that case all 4 doors are affected the same and entrapment occurs. I believe this is prevented by a “compensatory mechanism” in the gen2a door handle unit, so that an open exterior handle doesn’t indicate a partial handle pull to the door latch unit. This prevents the door latch from being disabled. The issue is much more of a door latch design issue. Probably it was more difficult to get the door latch redeisgned (made in china) than it was to ask for a door handle unit redesign (made in uk).
More tests and information to follow after discussions with the manufacturer so subscribe and click the Bell to be notified of further updates and videos.
Chapter:
00:00 Intro & Identifying the Issues
01:32 Plan for water prevention
02:10 Removing the door card and handle unit
03:51 Dismantling the handle mechanism
04:31 Fixing the handle stickiness
07:11 Applying grease and reassembling
08:46 Removing the LED cover
11:09 Accessing the LED strip and diagnosing corrosion
15:47 Detailed circuit repair and soldering
22:58 Testing the repaired LEDs
25:04 Waterproofing with varnish and silica gel moisture absorption
26:30 Final reassembly and results comparison
So here are most of the parts I used, from Amazon or eBay at the best prices. Using these links will not cost you any more than going there without using these, but it does earn me a few coins. As an Amazon and eBay Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Torx bits sets: T15, T20, T25 ,T30 sizes along with a bit holder handle: amzn.to/2XlOK3h
Grinding stone (mine was 5 cm): amzn.to/4uWsf5f
Trim/Panel removal tool set: amzn.to/4c6jjCW
A 10mm socket from tool set: on Amazon: amzn.to/4n3GQY5
These ‘magnet on a stick’ tools are useful for extracting dropped bolts: amzn.to/4bNyv6L
Grease: amzn.to/4c4ugoG
Subscribe: youtube.com/subscribe_widget?p=comeinhandynow
See other videos on my channel here:
youtube.com/user/comeinhandynow
Lots of playlists on different DIY subjects, with hundreds of videos that I have done here: youtube.com/@comeinhandynow/playlists
Donations / appreciation tips: paypal.me/comeinhandy
Useful DIY stuff:
Screwdriver set: amzn.to/4oIcD2e
Multimeter for testing voltages etc: amzn.to/4mCVXrI
Soldering iron kit: amzn.to/3HFLDzS
Rubber gloves: amzn.to/3cdwjpD
Precision screwdrivers:amzn.to/2Z322T5
I’m on Facebook here: facebook.com/comeinhandynow
The video is about my personal opinion and experience and contains no paid for product placements. No responsibility is accepted for any perceived recommendation for or against a product or feature nor any consequential damage or harm since this video is just my personal experience. You accept by watching this video that you accept any responsibility for any subsequent actions or decisions that you take.
Note on copyright / licensing: This video was created using Apple iMovie and as such any music or video content is fully licensed by their terms and conditions for free publication and distribution.
See the Apple iMovie software license agreement at:
images.apple.com/legal/sla/docs/iMovie.pdf
Fixing the stickiness and get the LED handle lights working. Removing and Fixing the rear door handles is easier than on the front as the door glass doesn’t have to be removed. Here I show the fix for stickiness, of grinding off a bit of plastic, can be done without much disassembly, just removing the rear cover of the handle unit, T15 screw bits needed.
Lubrication does help for a few months but ultimately you will want to do this modification.
Save over $1000 on new handles by fixing the old ones.
Once the handles no longer stick out the most common reason for the door not opening is fixed. Even on 12V power failure. I have tested this. See * note on exceptions below.
Here are some safety tests checking the safety on fixed and hence non-sticky gen1 handles under common situations including 12V power failure: youtu.be/PTPLu2yAeng
BY WATCHING THIS VIDEO YOU ACCEPT FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY VEHICLE CHANGES YOU DO. NO LIABILITY ACCEPTED. THIS IS JUST MY STORY
* Note: there is also the door latch design issue that if the interior handle is pulled out and kept out before an unlock then this prevents the opening of the door. It needs to be released then lock-unlock and then pulled again to get out. This is a similar situation and cause as when the exterior handle is stuck out. The problem is caused by the door latch design not the handle unit.
Related to this is a very rare case, but nonetheless a reported case of entrapment caused by 12v failure at the exact same time as doors were being locked, where the door latch locks then immediately the 12v fails before the exterior handles have had time to close. This then looks like the situation where the handles stick out after locking and exit is prevented. In that case all 4 doors are affected the same and entrapment occurs. I believe this is prevented by a “compensatory mechanism” in the gen2a door handle unit, so that an open exterior handle doesn’t indicate a partial handle pull to the door latch unit. This prevents the door latch from being disabled. The issue is much more of a door latch design issue. Probably it was more difficult to get the door latch redeisgned (made in china) than it was to ask for a door handle unit redesign (made in uk).
More tests and information to follow after discussions with the manufacturer so subscribe and click the Bell to be notified of further updates and videos.
Chapter:
00:00 Intro & Identifying the Issues
01:32 Plan for water prevention
02:10 Removing the door card and handle unit
03:51 Dismantling the handle mechanism
04:31 Fixing the handle stickiness
07:11 Applying grease and reassembling
08:46 Removing the LED cover
11:09 Accessing the LED strip and diagnosing corrosion
15:47 Detailed circuit repair and soldering
22:58 Testing the repaired LEDs
25:04 Waterproofing with varnish and silica gel moisture absorption
26:30 Final reassembly and results comparison
So here are most of the parts I used, from Amazon or eBay at the best prices. Using these links will not cost you any more than going there without using these, but it does earn me a few coins. As an Amazon and eBay Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Torx bits sets: T15, T20, T25 ,T30 sizes along with a bit holder handle: amzn.to/2XlOK3h
Grinding stone (mine was 5 cm): amzn.to/4uWsf5f
Trim/Panel removal tool set: amzn.to/4c6jjCW
A 10mm socket from tool set: on Amazon: amzn.to/4n3GQY5
These ‘magnet on a stick’ tools are useful for extracting dropped bolts: amzn.to/4bNyv6L
Grease: amzn.to/4c4ugoG
Subscribe: youtube.com/subscribe_widget?p=comeinhandynow
See other videos on my channel here:
youtube.com/user/comeinhandynow
Lots of playlists on different DIY subjects, with hundreds of videos that I have done here: youtube.com/@comeinhandynow/playlists
Donations / appreciation tips: paypal.me/comeinhandy
Useful DIY stuff:
Screwdriver set: amzn.to/4oIcD2e
Multimeter for testing voltages etc: amzn.to/4mCVXrI
Soldering iron kit: amzn.to/3HFLDzS
Rubber gloves: amzn.to/3cdwjpD
Precision screwdrivers:amzn.to/2Z322T5
I’m on Facebook here: facebook.com/comeinhandynow
The video is about my personal opinion and experience and contains no paid for product placements. No responsibility is accepted for any perceived recommendation for or against a product or feature nor any consequential damage or harm since this video is just my personal experience. You accept by watching this video that you accept any responsibility for any subsequent actions or decisions that you take.
Note on copyright / licensing: This video was created using Apple iMovie and as such any music or video content is fully licensed by their terms and conditions for free publication and distribution.
See the Apple iMovie software license agreement at:
images.apple.com/legal/sla/docs/iMovie.pdf
