Loose door handle

[AudiLad]

The driverside door handle on my a3 is loose and rattles when i shut it. when i say loose i mean the painted handle cover is loose. Very annoying and i was just wondering if anyone had come across this same problem and if so how do i fix this? Thanks

 

[Issac Hunt]

Yes, quite common I think. Mine fell off on the motorway!

You might be able to access the underside of the handle and give the clips a 'tweak', failing that you just replace the handle.

 

[AudiLad]

i best get it sorted asap then incase it falls off, i have noticed there is 2 clips on the underneath of the handle were the cover is fastened on, I will give it ago making them tighter, thanks for advice

 

[bacardi]

mine's been tightened by the dealer 4 or 5 times, last time it got loose it literally fell off in my hand, its in the boot waiting for the car to go back to the dealers this week

 

[MarcQuinlivan]

My mate bought my old A3 and when he was over at my house a month or two ago I noticed that the driver's handle was rattling. He was going to take it to the dealer but then decided to do a macguyver on it and wedged a paper clip up into it. The rattle is now no more!!

 

[istoo]

mine fell off at some point today...
sigh, are these ludicrously expensive?

 

[SteveTDCi]

I have a rattle inside the door when I close it which I suspect to be the handle... I give it to my local dealer to fix, thats what warrantys are for !

 

[emzino]

I had the EXACT same problem but drivers side. Took it to a mate who works for Audi and he just tightened something underneath. The handle inside moves about too but that can't be helped =/

 

[NHN]

There is a slider underneath that you slide along into tight position which holds it in place if I remember rightly on audi handles, there are also some plastic lugs that hold it with the slider, check both as if lugs broken then thats not a simple fix, but to be honest best fix for that & dont laugh is loctite mate, brilliant tool, but check slider, also evostick which is durable with movement is another good one, you might think thats a bit *****, but then you compare the audi cost to replace & paint/fix then the receipt for the glue, urm which shall I do, you wouldnt even notice it thats for sure.

 

[NHN]

Did you fix it with any of my suggestions?

 

[bacardi]

mine's been replaced by the dealer

well I say replaced, they fitted a new one as the old one was lost -

of course they was a nice charge too (no idea what it was though)

 

[tates1979]

Folks, apologies for the bump on a year old thread - but my drivers handle has started to come loose and was wondering if anyone could give me a wee bit more precise info on where/how to tighten? Its not the handle itself per se, simply the outside shell.

Cheers for the help!

T

edit: The A3 is out of warranty so would prefer to have a go myself rather than handing it to a stealer!

 

[heeman10]

I have also had this issue with my 05 plate A3, at 50,000 miles or so. Under warranty, so asked the dealer to sort it out at its service. They reported back that they "removed and replaced the pin" in the door handle cover. I was feeling lazy, so haven't even had a close look to see what's what.

 

[Neil201]

I had this problem on my previous A4 and had the handle replaced twice under warranty.

When it started coming loose yet again I decided enough was enough and glued the thing in place!

As the car was out of warranty this time I didn't want an expensive bill for replacing it and decided that glueing it was the only sure fire way of keeping it in place.

 

[xyz1]

how would you glue it in place though without making a mess? that loctite is like water!

 

[NHN]

Dont use loctite, use sikaflex, that thing will go of like a weld, loctite will probably crack with road movements as its brittle to a point, whereas sika has some flexxing in it, but not so you'd notice, just dont use allot of sika, use latex glove aswell as that stuff takes weeks to come of.

 

[xyz1]

ok thanks for the advice! but how would you get glue in there without making a mess! there are 2 pins under the handle which rattle and sound awful when closing?

 

[NHN]

Sikaflex isnt a glue as such, its more of a strong sealant, which is good for jobs like this & if you're not handy with these jobs, get someone who is to sort for you.

 

[marknjayne]

mine has been rattling since i bought it,i will get to it at some point

 

[xyz1]

i should be just fine i have a very steady hand

thanks i'll try that

 

[MurdochA3]

I pulled mine off a few month ago and it was scratched to hell, i stripped the paint, primered it, painted it, lacquered it and stuck it back
On with a bit evo-stick from work. Cost me a tenner, cheaper than audi would quote i suspect.

 

[MOOSH]

Sikaflex is what they use to bond windows in with

My handle has gone as well, i bought a replacement part for it and the painted parts can be popped off and changed over.

The working cast alloy part is about £30 and its an hour job to change over.

Just a bit annoying having to remove trims etc

 

[kolash]

I have the same problem on my driver side door! Do you think I could get the main dealer to do it under my approved used warranty?? I bet they would try and slip out of it!

 

[s3ollie]

Its a 5 minute job. What you need to do is lock the door pull the handle up and you will see (just) a small metal clip. Using a small screw driver or similar push the clip towards the front of the car and the cover will come off. I put some foam/sponge underneath, put it back on and no more rattle. :thumbsup:

 

[kolash]

Its a 5 minute job. What you need to do is lock the door pull the handle up and you will see (just) a small metal clip. Using a small screw driver or similar push the clip towards the front of the car and the cover will come off. I put some foam/sponge underneath, put it back on and no more rattle. :thumbsup:

:thumbsup:I had a quick look earlier but it was getting dark and couldn't see the clip, I'll try again tomorrow! Cheers