2001 300m passenger door handle(inside)

Chrome plating peeling off and is very sharp, in fact I cut my hand on it.
The dealer wants $140.00 to replace it. Seems like an awful lot to me, any
suggestions?

 

Are they maybe saying they have to replace the whole door panel just to
get a new handle? I think I've seen posts on dodgeintrepid.net and the
300M Enthusiasts forums saying that, but also that if you're skillful,
you can get one out of a panel in a junk yard and figure out how to
reinstall it - the problem is that the pivot pin, rivet or whatever that
holds it in the panel, is not made to be serviced (removed/replaced),
but you can do it with a little ingenuity.

Another option would be to find the whole panel in good shape out of a
junk yard, but it would take a little luck to find one of the same
color, etc.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
adddress with the letter 'x')

 

The handles were part of the door panel at one time, now they are available
seperate, I beleive they were about 40.00, but dont quote me on it

SUBJECT:

Interior Front Door Handle/Bezel Replacement

OVERVIEW:

This bulletin provides information to allow replacement of interior front
door handle/bezel

instead of replacement of the door trim panel.

MODELS:

1998 - **2004** (LH) LHS/300M/Concorde/Intrepid

SYMPTOM/CONDITION:

An interior front door handle/bezel requires replacement.

**PARTS REQUIRED:

Qty. Part No. Description

AR 05102832AA Handle/Bezel, Left, Intrepid, Agate, Trim Codes AZ or

D5

AR 05102833AA Handle/Bezel, Right, Intrepid, Agate, Trim Codes AZ or

D5

AR 05102834AA Handle/Bezel, Right, Intrepid, Dk Camel, Trim Code K9

AR 05102835AA Handle/Bezel, Left, Intrepid, Dk Camel, Trim Code K9

AR 05102836AA Handle/Bezel, Right, Intrepid, Dk Slate, Trim Code DV

AR 05102837AA Handle/Bezel, Right, Intrepid, Dk Sandstone, Trim Code

T5

AR 05102838AA Handle/Bezel, Right, Intrepid, Dk Taupe, Trim Code L5

AR 05102839AA Handle/Bezel, Left, Intrepid, Dk Slate, Trim Code DV

AR 05102840AA Handle/Bezel, Left, Intrepid, Dk Sandstone, Trim Code

T5

AR 05102841AA Handle/Bezel, Left, Intrepid, Dk Taupe, Trim Code L5

AR 05102842AA Handle/Bezel, Right, LHS/300, Agate, Trim Codes AZ or



NUMBE

Qty. Part No. Description

D5

AR 05102844AA Handle/Bezel, Left, LHS/300M, Agate, Trim Codes AZ or

D5

AR 05102845AA Handle/Bezel, Left, LHS/300M, Dk Camel, Trim Codes

K9 or FK

AR 05102846AA Handle/Bezel, Right, LHS/300M, Dk Camel, Trim Codes

K9 or FK

AR 05102847AA Handle/Bezel, Right, LHS/300M/Concorde Limited, Dk

Slate, Trim Codes DV, D2 or ZA

AR 05102849AA Handle/Bezel, Left, LHS/300M/Concorde Limited, Dk

Slate, Trim Codes DV, D2 or ZA

AR 05102850AA Handle/Bezel, Right, LHS/300M/Concorde Limited, Dk

Sandstone, Trim Code T5

AR 05102851AA Handle/Bezel, Left, LHS/300M/Concorde Limited, Dk

Sandstone, Trim Code T5

AR 05102852AA Handle/Bezel, Right, LHS/300M/Concorde Limited, Dk

Taupe, Trim Codes L5 or L2

AR 05102853AA Handle/Bezel, Left, LHS/300M/Concorde Limited, Dk

Taupe, Trim Codes L5 or L2

AR 05102854AA Handle/Bezel Woodgrain, Left, Concorde, Agate, Color

Handle, Trim Codes AZ or D5

AR 05102855AA Handle/Bezel Woodgrain, Right, Concorde, Agate, Color

Handle, Trim Codes AZ or D5

AR 05102856AA Handle/Bezel Woodgrain, Left, Concorde, Dk Camel,

Color Handle, Trim Code K9

AR 05102857AA Handle/Bezel Woodgrain, Right, Concorde, Dk Camel,

Color Handle, Trim Code K9

AR 05102858AA Handle/Bezel Woodgrain, Right, Concorde, Dk Camel,

Chrome Handle, Trim Code K9

AR 05102859AA Handle/Bezel Woodgrain, Left, Concorde, Dk Camel,

Chrome Handle, Trim Code K9

AR 05102860AA Handle/Bezel Woodgrain, Right, Concorde, Agate,

Chrome Handle, Trim Codes AZ or D5

AR 05102861AA Handle/Bezel Woodgrain, Left, Concorde, Agate,

Chrome Handle, Trim Codes AZ or D5

AR 05102862AA Handle/Bezel Woodgrain, Left, Concorde, Dk Slate,

Chrome Handle, Trim Code DV

AR 05102863AA Handle/Bezel Woodgrain, Right, Concorde, Dk Slate,

Chrome Handle, Trim Code DV

AR 05102864AA Handle/Bezel Woodgrain, Left, Concorde, Dk

Sandstone, Chrome Handle, Trim Code T5

Qty. Part No. Description

AR 05102865AA Handle/Bezel Woodgrain, Right, Concorde, Dk

Sandstone, Chrome Handle, Trim Code T5

AR 05102866AA Handle/Bezel Woodgrain, Left, Concorde, Dk Taupe,

Chrome Handle, Trim Code L5

AR 05102867AA Handle/Bezel Woodgrain, Right, Concorde, Dk Taupe,

Chrome Handle, Trim Code L5

**

NOTE: Each kit contains one handle/bezel assembly, six pushnuts and an

instruction sheet.

SPECIAL TOOLS/EQUIPMENT REQUIRED:

NPN 21/64 in. (8.3mm) Drill Bit

REPAIR PROCEDURE:

1. Remove the front door trim panel using the procedures outlined on
TechCONNECT or

in Section 23 of the appropriate service manual.

2. After placing the door trim panel on a clean work surface, use a 21/64
in. drill bit to drill

out the mounting boss heat stakes that attach the existing door handle/bezel
to the

trim panel. Take extra care to drill in the center of each heat stake, (Fig.
1).

Fig. 1 DRILL 4 HEAT STAKES

3. Remove the existing handle/bezel from trim panel.

4. Clean the back of the trim panel of all plastic filings.

5. Seat the new handle/bezel into position.

6. Place the push nuts onto the handle/bezel bosses.

7. Use a 10mm socket to install the push nuts all the way down on the
mounting bosses

to secure the handle/bezel onto the door trim panel. Using a wiggling side
to side

motion may be helpful,

 

That's good news. Sounds like the $140 they were quoted uses this
replacement handle and includes the labor for the labor intensive
replacement work.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
adddress with the letter 'x')

 

I didn't think you could get a door panel for $140.

 

WARRANTY!!!! Be kewl with the service manager and they will
do it as "good will" towards the customers.
One thing I do is take my cars to the dealers and get my oil changed
when they send me cheap coupons... so when I have problems they
know me and do stuff for free for me.

 

You're right.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
adddress with the letter 'x')

 

And end up with stripped out oil pan drain plug threads? No thanks.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
adddress with the letter 'x')

 

Bill are you saying that the dealers are the only ones that strip plugs??

 

My Chrysler dealer has never stripped the threads changing oil. They have
spilled oil all over the place though and one time the smoke was so bad I
had to pull over and make sure the engine wasn't on fire.

 

Yup your right, the dealers are the only ones that do that stuff,
independent shops and garages dont spill oil or strip bolts.....get real!!

 

I hear ya.. try a Jiffy Lube!

Bill sounds like you had a bad experience... I go to my
dealers for my Dodge truck, Chrysler 300 and Hyundai Elantra
and never have any problems, plus with the coupons they send
me it is cheaper than those discount places and like I said you
get good service and when you need a break on something they
will take care of you....

 

Not at all - the lube shops are good for it too. I can only speculate
on exactly why it happens - incompetence, spite, or pressure to create
more business are some possibilities in any given instance, and which is
more prevalent would only be a guess. I know the pans are aluminum, but
I also know that, even then, the amount of torque it would take to strip
one out is enormous compared to what it reasonably takes to properly
tighten a drain plug. We're talking Ø14 mm threads (over Ø1/2") with
probably, at a minimum, 7 full threads of engagement.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
adddress with the letter 'x')

 

Not me personally, but I read plenty of experiences on various Chrysler
forums. I wasn't targeting Chrysler dealers in my original comment,
although I can see how it could have looked that way - although, when my
mother was 80 years old, she took her brand new Concorde in for it's
first service, which included an oil and filter change. They billed her
for it - but guess what - when I checked behind them, the original
factory filter and oil were still there.

I was thinking more along the lines of the pan threads being stripped if
you if you don't do it yourself (whether you take it to the dealer,
Jiffy Lube, or whomever).

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
adddress with the letter 'x')

 

no engineer here but I beleive alot of it is due to these oil changes coming
in the door with extreme temperatures and removing the steel drain plug from
an aluminum pan. I mean they always told us not to pull spark plugs from the
hot aluminum heads... my opinion

 

Maybe that's the explanation, although in the 3 years of hearing about
the problem (and my '99 that I bought with 58k on it had the problem
when i bought it - I discoverd that the first time I went to change the
oil), this is the first time anyone has suggested that as the cause.
I'm skeptical about it, but you may have a valid point there.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
adddress with the letter 'x')

 

much better statement, thanks for clarifying that with us

 

Actually my Chrysler dealer service is pretty darn good but can be sloppy
when it comes to oil changes. Lets face it they don't have ace mechanics
doing oil changes.

 

Acually they do and alot of it falls on the dealer, they push these 30 min
oil changes or you get it free, if they put the blame on the technician
doing the job and he only has a certain time to get the car back to the
customer where to you think the short cuts will come into play, it wont be
the part that the plug or oil gets put in!! So it has to be the clean up
part..
Not to say the service advisors lining them up and pushing.

My opinion
Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

 

Our Chrysler dealer does not do 30 minute changes. My Toyota dealer used to
but no longer guarantees it being done on time.