9th Jul 2003, 10:52

I have been reading all about broken eclipse door handles mainly because mine just broke off. I think it is ridiculous what they charge just to install the part, compared to what it costs.

18th Sep 2003, 17:10

When my door handle broke off, the dealer told me it was not on a recall list because it wasn't considered a safety item. If I were in a car accident, and the police or fire fighter couldn't get my door open because the door handle broke off, would it then be considered a safety item?

28th Dec 2003, 16:19

I bought my 1998 eclipse in March of 2003 and in June 2003, my drivers door handle broke. I took it to the dealership and they said it would cost me $137 to fix it. I said no way and started crawling through the passenger side. Well in November 2003, my passenger door handle broke off. The dealership claims this is due to my "negligence". How is this due to my negligence when I'm not the only one that this has happened to? I'm really trying to get Mitsubishi to say this is a defect, because obviously it is, its just gonna take someone to really step up there and force them to call it that.

10th Mar 2004, 17:10

I own a 1998 eclipse and both of my door handles have fallen off! I was very gentile after the driver side door handle fell off and still the passenger side handle fell off. Why isn't there a recall if so many people have the same problem? I don't want to be trapped in my car if I get into an accident!

29th Jun 2004, 08:29

My son has a 1998 Mitsubishi eclipse rs. Same thing as all of you his door handle fell off the drivers side a year ago, to this day he has been crawling through the passenger side. That is getting pretty old and he has decided to get it fixed to the tune of $150.00 (part, labor, paint.) Guess it could be a lot worse, I'm just hoping the passenger side doesn't break.

Thanks

Concerned Mom.

9th Oct 2004, 10:12

The door handle on the driver side of my 99' Mitsubishi eclipse just broke off yesterday. I didn't know that they're were so many people this happend to. I also don't want to pay to get fixed, if its more than likely going to break again. Hopefully some time soon somebody will complain loud enough to the right people and have this problem solved.

16th Mar 2006, 13:14

I have also had both of my handles break within 2 weeks of each other. Not happy. I paid $165 for new handles (which includes a 20% discount) not happy about that either. I would like to know if anyone has changed the handles themselves and can you walk me through how to do it. I really can't see spending big $$$ on having the dealership do it.

30th Aug 2006, 18:26

My door handle fell off too! I was just opening it and it came off in my hand! I though I was the only one too! Mine is a '98, there should definetly have been some kind of recall on the problem. It seems to happen a lot.

9th Sep 2006, 09:43

Hey guys, yeah my driver's side door handle just broke off... I think it's because our doors are so big and the handles aren't metal; they're just little bits of plastic... and guys I don't know where you guys are looking for your door handles, but wow, you're getting ripped off, buy it online here for like $17.

21st Dec 2007, 11:30

OK, I have had a 98 Eclipse RS, and now I've got my 99 GS-T.. which runs like a speed demon.

My solution is instead of keep buying the door handles, you could buy door poppers; they cost around $150 parts and labor included, and I still bought the door handles, but now I pop the door and it opens, without having to use door handle. It's better than every 2 months having to buy parts and labor. Plus it's good on dates. You don't have to go all the way around to open her door.. just press the button, and POP it's open :)

11th Feb 2008, 14:43

My 1995 Talon has now gone through 4 door handles. The first door handle broke and I bought a set of aftermarket ones for $40 off the internet. I replaced the broken one and kept the other for a spare in case the other side broke. And it did, about 2 weeks later. So I replaced that one. Then the first one broke again and then the other one did a week later. All in all, I got about a month's worth out of the aftermarket ones. So then I bought factory OEM parts at $108 a piece at the dealer and those have been working well.

16th Feb 2008, 16:30

My passenger side handle broke off about a year ago, which I thought was weird because I almost never use it. Well now I'm having trouble with my driver side door. The handle is still there, but the mechanism is not working. At one point I was able to fix it with oil, but that only lasted a week or so. Has anyone else had this problem? Am I going to have to pull off my door panel?

29th Mar 2008, 13:50

I had my door handle on my 1998 eclipse break off today. It is terrible that this is happening so regularly that the auto supply store stocks the replacement part right on the shelf! I can't believe Mitsubishi has done nothing to recall this part!

I think legal action is in order!

27th May 2008, 21:36

My first door handle (driver's side) broke a couple of months after buying the car used in 2001. The passenger side just broke off today. You can get handles cheap ($6.95 plus s/h) but they need to be painted and installed. Not good.

The interior pieces on this car are pure junk. The power mirror interior cover panels broke, the fabric on the sun visors ripped, and now so have the seats.

I will never... repeat never...buy another Mitsu product. They're obviously still seeking revenge for us shooting down all those Zeros.

Jay S

98 Eclipse Spyder GS

Florida.

10th Aug 2008, 02:35

OK, all. I also have a 98 Eclipse. When my handle broke, I did my own repair on the driver's side. It held for about 1 year. Then, I came across these really great repair kits that involve gluing a metal insert into the critical plastic arms. No painting, about 2 hours (not including glue curing), and yes, you have to remove the inside panel. I did the passenger side today.

http://www.rcaz.com/rcaz/sub%20indexes/doorhandlefix/index.htm

Give it a try!