Looks nice though
If you do need to have the handle(s) changed make sure who ever changes them that they fit them in straight.
When mine were changed I took the car back because one or two of them, were fitted at a slight angle.
They were only out by a small amount but it was enough to notice the gap wasānt equal all the way round.
Iām a bit OTT when it comes to my cars but if the handle was straight coming off it should be straight going back on.
They dont need removing though for wrapping.
Might be worth getting your handle fixed before having it wrapped otherwise youāll have to get it wrapped again on the replacement.
That happened to me 3 times.
I had them all wrapped, then one went faulty so I had to have the new handle re-wrapped, but this time it cost me Ā£40 for one handle, then within weeks two other handles failed , so they needed wrapping again, luckily the wrapper guy gave a bit of discount, then the fourth failed so that one was wrapped when replaced.
BTW.
The issues with the handles is well known to DS, itās down to water ingress getting inside the mechanism.
There are photos on here somewhere showing the issue and how to do a DIY fix.
I would imagine UK owners might see more of this problem due to our wetter climate ?
Thanks for the info. I am getting the battery replaced next week, when it ws in for a service the garage told me the battery only has 25% life left and i read that can cause certain electronic parts to stop working properly. The handle works then it doesnāt then it does again. Hopefully this will be the fix
Yeah the 12v batteries can be an issue.
Iāve had 5 replacements in just over 18 months.
I think if it was your battery causing the handle to not work it would effect all 4 handles.
Personally and going by what other owners have reported, you handle issue is water ingress into the small plastic box inside the door that holds the mechanism.
Intermittent failing tends to be the start of complete failure.
Unfortunately its not a simple case of removing the door card to expose the mechanism box to fix/dry it out, the box is a sealed unit, however it can be gently opened up and then repaired.
It just requires cleaning out, drying and re-sealed.
Looking at the pics someone has put on here I think itās definitely a DIY do-able job.
When my warranty runs out and IF I still have the car Iāll tackle it myself if a handle does go faulty again.
Any update on the handles not popping out issue.
Iāve noticed if I manually push in (to lock) they will only pop out half way manually, and wonāt fully release when I unlock.
DS havent issued a re-call even though they fully know this is an ongoing issue with many DS models.
So your options are:
- Replace the handle via a dealership if the car is still under warranty
- Replace the handle via an independent garage if the car is out of warranty (Cheaper than a dealership)
- Replace the handle yourself (Cheaper than paying an independent garage)
- Gain access to the faulty handle by removing the inner door panel, remove the handle, gain access into the sealed unit, clean out the sealed unit, reseal , replace the handle (cheapest option by far.
The handles sticking in/out/halfway is down to water ingress into the sealed mechanism.
There are posts on here showing how to carry out a DIY fix by removing the inner door panel, remove the handle & mechanism, open up the sealed unit, clean it out, put it back together and fix your handle .
Unfortunately no amount of releasing spray like WD40 or similar, will fix this because you need to get into the sealed unit to clean it out where the water ingress has caused the mechanism to rust a bit and stick.
You wouldnāt even be anywhere near the sealed unit even if you could find a external space to spray in behind the handle.
Iāve had 4 handles replaced under warranty, but if I still own the car when the warranty runs out Iāll certainly be trying the DIY fix (option 4 above),if a handle fails again.
2 of mine dont work Ā£1100 to get them replaced at the DS garage. Shocking
I have both front one faulty, this is so big it should be a recall, out of waranty, my car doesnt have 60.000 km yet, I might try open them up but itās a hustle, anyone have the link of the tutorial of opening and fixing them?
Do you just use them manually, so left half sticking out all time, if you donāt push back in yourself?
No help if your car is out of the original warranty, but for those within, It would be worth taking out the extended DS warranty.
This would cover the handles issue, in the UK its less than Ā£400 per year, with rescue.
Given the tech on these cars nowadays, it would pay for itself the first time you used it.
I know I shall , as I intended to with the DS4, but will do so with the DS3 MHEV, for sure!
Also,
We have just dropped our DS4 for a DS3 MHEV and the handles appear to have a much stronger pressure than the the DS4 ever did.
I do wonder if DS have started to feed through some improvement on these?
I think the DS3 may have a different type of āpop outā handle.
But I might be wrong ?
100% this should be a recall.
My dealership have told me that DS are fully aware of the issue but are unofficially saying its cheaper to swap handles on a case to case basis on cars still under warranty, rather than do a full recall.
I guess DS have done the maths and realise that on average the handle faults are reported around 2 & 3 years on the new cars still under warranty, so after the 3 years DS are free of the problem when the warranty has expired.
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Even if you unlock manually by pushing on the handle they should pop back in flush after the door has been closed for a certain length of time.
Iāve had 4 changed on my 2 year old car.
Between myself and the dealership weāve tried every permutation possible to try and understand why the handles stick in/out or halfway.
After many many visits to the dealerships there was always only one conclusion, it doesnt matter if the handles are being used manually or automatically, water is getting into the handle mechanism, and ultimately causes the handles to stick in/out or halfway.
Owners with the proximity feature might start to notice it first because they expect all of the handles to pop open as they approach the car, so when they notice that not all 4 are popping or closing it rings alarm bells.
Owners with manual opening might not notice straight away that other handles might not be working as they should because they probably only concentrating on the handle they are using at that time.
Another thing to look out for or actually listen for, is the sound of the handles try to operate as you drive along.
Because water ingress into the handles āsealedā unit is the issue, the dampness inside the unit is causing electrics to short, youāll hear the mechanism operating inside the door.
Theres a couple of threads on here showing how to get the inner panel off, then expose the rear of the handle and the āsealedā unit opened up which clearly shows where water ingress has caused issues.
Itās a fairly easy fix if you are confident to remove the panel.
The handle & sealed mechanism unit come as one unit so you cant buy one without the other.
The DIY fix is to carefully open up the sealed unit , dry and clean it out, then put it back together and re-seal with a good quality sealer or epoxy resin.
At the end of the day, if your car is out of warranty what have you got to lose, try it yourself saving you Ā£Ā£Ā£Ā£Ā£Ā£Ā£ās , if it dont work you havent lost anything apart from a bit of time.
Ok, thanks for the info.
I have proximity open, so makes it pretty obvious.
If I just use them manually they stay have sticking out when Iām driving, as must be the same mechanism that pull them back in.
On the DS3,they look the same visually, but the spring pressure is much stronger than the DS4 ever wasā¦
So something is different.
I do agree though, the original problem was sufficient to justify a recallā¦
Mine were the same.
Automatically the would open but intermittently would not close, not all at the same time but thats how each one would start to fail.
Plus if I tried them manually, they would work ok for a while, but on occasions would stay in the out position.
On what you say it sounds like yours are starting to fail. because even though you opened the door manually by pushing on the handle, they should retract when you pull off.
Anyone had issues where the car doesnāt think the door is closed, it wants to to put on the park break, software seems to completely glitch, wont always lock the car / turn of radio etc.
As I mentioned you may have the known problem of water ingress into the handle so called sealed unit.
Inside this unit there are some electrical components so the water might be causing a short which in turn makes the car think the door is open but its closed.
I will probably have to pay to get them replaced then.
Seems the one guaranteed way to get the car to lock at the moment, is to close the boot and walk away with the key.