I have an annoying squeak / rattle emanating from the door card on the drivers' door if I rest my arm on the door armrest. Upon inspecting it closer, it seemed like the handle was loose at the top mount as there is some movement around the chrome trim piece and there is a screw there that holds the card to the door, great I thought, remove the trim piece and tighten the screw and the job's good.

Nah, life is never that simple is it, turns out the screw is tight, but the grab handle is snapped at that location and it is now creating a gap between the handle and chrome trim when pulling the door shut.

So my question is this, is that handle assembly available as a separate piece or is only available as a complete door card? If it is a separate part, does anyone know the part number of it for a right hand drive car?

Edited 13 November, 202513 Nov by Graham Butcher

Kodiaq door handle.pdfAs far as I know it's 9nly available as a full door card but is an easy fix... If you remove the top of the handle and the card from the door a small nut, bolt and washer will do the job...

https://www.kodiaqforums.co.uk/threads/broken-handle.4109/#post-33938

Edited 13 November, 202513 Nov by skomaz

Thanks, I'll have a go at this, but I'm not sure that it will work for me as the plastic is broken away, I have tried to glue it, but no luck. I have to take the card off and have a good look.

Edited 13 November, 202513 Nov by Graham Butcher

The epoxy weld putty might be needed, if you have anyone with a 3D printer maybe the could knock something up that attaches.

You got a picture of the break?

No I don't have a photo, maybe I'll take one tomorrow if its not pouring down, but the break is round where the handle is fixed to the door card, the piece that sits flat on the card and is attached to it in some way has broken away from the actual handle. The handle, then, comes away from this bit at 90 degrees, so there is nothing there to work with I don't think.

These photos I took from the link that @skomaz posted, the spline is where the Torx screw is located, and the other one is behind the windows switches, and the broken part is around that spline. These photos are from another forum where this problem seems to be a common one with Kodiaqs the damage shown is very similar to mine.

The handle and armrest does look as if it is removable to me, but can't be sure until I get the door card off the car.

It looks to me as if there are 4 more Torx screws on the rear of the card that screw through into the padded part of the door armrest/door pull? I have yet to get the door card off the car, this I can't do myself as I can't get down low enough to rotate the 2 bottom twist locks. I'll have to ask my son to help with that sometime.

Although the video shows the N/S rear door card being removed, the principle is the same.

It could certainly have been repaired more attractively and better.

But our 2019 Kodiaq is also on its way.

Hi @Graham Butcher I think I know what you mean - the flat 'plate' end of the handle that fastens to the door card has come away from the rest of the handle?

If so, then it looks like there are various internal reinforcing 'webs' within the hand section - as shown in the photos. My approach would therefore be to make up an addition L-shaped plate to fit inside the handle section, one leg of which could be attached to those webs within the handle section and the other to the flat 'plate' end that has come away. The approach taken on the pdf document can then be used to re-affix the handle to the card.

@skomaz the ideal thing would a metal plate that the shape of the internal part of the end cap, complete with "thimble" to sit inside the extrusion with the splines on it so that the Torx screw could once again be tightened and hold the entire handle firmly in place by sandwiching the broken part between it and the door card, if only that were possible....

I managed to repair it first too with some screws. But at the end of the day it did not work out and I replaced thye whole cardboard. Cost something around 600 euros.

Ouch, it seems to be a common problem with Kodiqs, I'm leaning towards getting a longer fixing screw and large washer to sandwich the handle and the card between the washer and the door?

I believe it can be fixed. Mine lasted a year or so, just got tired to deal with it.

Just now, linni said:

I believe it can be fixed. Mine lasted a year or so, just got tired to deal with it.

Just strikes me as a poorly designed item, given that the handle is going to get a lot of use, not so much by the younger person but certainly the older generation, like myself. I saw that because the car itself is so easy to get in and out for when you find it hard to get down low enough for a graceful entry and exit from more conventional cars, and then that large handle come in handy as an extra support, a couple of extra mm thickness of material at that top mounting would be a great idea.

Got some longer screws incoming and also some 24mm square washers, the plan is to cut the washer so it forms as near as possible as a second flat plate (the shape shown by the green area) that is almost the same size and shape as the inside section of the handle where it meets the door card. Screw the longer screw through the washer/plate into the door and so trapping the broken pieces and the reaming good piece of the handle between the card and the reshaped washer. Dremel the "thimble" off the snap on cover, as this piece will now be in the way and then snap this cover back onto the rest of the handle, using the 5 metal clips which will grab this piece of trim in the locations in the locations depicted by the red circles. Hopefully this should be an almost permanent repair of the handle, if not then maybe a trip to a breakers' yard might be in order?

Update time, and I'm very pleased to be able to report that by replacing the M6 screw in the top of the handle with one 40mm long and passing that through a plate, trimmed to fit as mentioned above and the removal of the splined "thimble" piece and cutting out the shelf piece that it sits on, but leaving the stiffening rib in place, it seems to be a pretty good fix. The top cover went back on, and you have to look and hard to spot any sign that it had ever been removed. The handle is now good and solid, and let's hope it remains that way. 👍

Edited 19 November, 202519 Nov by Graham Butcher

I did something similar as well, changed the bolt type. The other issue was that the other side of the door card broke a few of the clips permanently, and as such I added another screw from the panel into the door itself.