Grab handle breaking

[WilliamU]

Has anyone else had any trouble with the grab handle breaking. Mine broke at the mounts where the bolts secure it to the truck. There doesn't seem to be anything but plastic holding these things on. I would have thought that there would be some kind of steel reinforcing molded into them. My truck does have the larger 315's on it and I don't have a step or bars yet. I thought this was probably why mine broke, but my wife's handle just broke on the top mount and she has nerf steps on her truck. Just wondering if this if there was some upgrade to strenghten the handle. Thanks in advance for any info.

 

[WilliamU]

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[lmills]

yeh, this was discussed 6-8 months ago. Another member had his break off and brought it to our attention. The general outcome was that most of us have decided to use it just for balance and not to rely on it.

 

[sheffield442]

I think you could renforce it on the inside with fiberglass or something like jbweld. Just a thought.

 

[VStahl]

Mine broke about two weeks ago and I went to the dealer. He says that he has had about a dozen trucks in this month on this issue. He ordered me a new one and says that he will call me when it is in cause they are back ordered. I have not got the call yet.

 

[WilliamU]

Sheffield, if mine breaks again I may have to try something like that. You would think that DC would have molded some kind of metal reenforcement into the plastic. Oh well, I guess you gotta cut corners where you can.



Vstahl, you might want to check with another dealer. Mine is being replaced by Don Davis in Arlington, and they didn't say anything about it being back ordered. They ordered it and recieved it about 2 days later. Good luck. I've still got to take my wife's Hemi 2500 in to get her handle replaced. I hope I didn't get the last one in the area.

 

[highrisk]

Mine broke a couple weeks ago. I was exiting the truck as always and the handle came off in my hand and I ended up on the ground on my back. Sounds funny but I can assure you it was/is not. I was using it to balance while exiting and it gave all at once. I am 6'1" and about 175 LBS. I called the service tech and he responded "oh yeah they(DODGE) have been having some problems with those". Did not ask as to how I was. He said they would replace the "defective "part. My truck has about 16k miles and was bought new in Oct. The same day they replaced the grab handle they did the clean/detail they were suppose to do when purchased. They brought the truck up and there was dirt/road grime and a small amount of road tar still around the wheel wells... ... They waxed over all of it!..... I asked the service mgr. ,he called the detail "kid" and his explanation is that it did'nt come off in the wash..... and there they stood looking at each other and me... . later had a survey from Dodge I detailed..... 3 days later I get a call from them wanting to come and pick it up and do over... ... I drove 40+miles because they "wanted" my business... ..... yeah right... .

 

[Jeremiah]

Grab handle

Mine broke off on the driver's side. Dealer ordered another one and said it was stronger than the first one. However, I solved the problem by sawing the handles off and installing A-pillar gauges

 

[WilliamU]

O. K. here's the update. The dealer ordered a new handle. While trying to install the new handle the tech broke the nutsert loose and could not get the bolt out. Apparently the nutserts are pressed in at the factory like a rivet. When the tech tried to remove the bolt the insert just spun loose. So, off to the body shop with my truck to get the nutserts welded in so that they won't get broke loose again while trying to remove the bolts. Oh, and I almost forgot the tech also broke the new handle while trying to get it back off. The dealer ordered another handle.



The dealer calls to tell me my truck is ready, so I happily go pick it up. Handle seems a little loose, but I think maybe it was the same before it broke and I just didn't notice. (It had been about a month since the handle had broke. ) I drive away and about 30 minutes later I notice that the thin rubber trim that goes between the handle and the windshield is missing. Also upon closer inspection I notice a large gap at the bottom on the side closest to the door. So, off to the dealer again. He starts checking into it and it turns out the trim is part of the grab handle and apparently just did not get put on this one. Now I'm waiting for a third grab handle to come in so they can install the fourth handle on my truck.



The funny thing is that after they get all this worked out for me, I'll still have a cheap plastic grab handle on my truck. lol.