Greetings, community, and Happy New Year! Kicking off the tasks for this year, I tackled the repair of the door handles on one of the rear doors—both the interior and exterior ones. The exterior handle was relatively new but failed prematurely, while the interior lever had started to stress-crack to the point of near-total failure. The root cause of all this damage? The latch mechanism itself had seized up, forcing us to apply excessive torque to the handles just to get the door to pop open. ![HiveMotor_portadas-01.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/danielcarrerag/23wgKyxi1LQPVsEPi4meUbp6FFBCQvYcSXTZvYqGrWVGqqkyi45JcWNcX5g4HxtYSy9KK.jpg) I started by dismantling the door panel and hardware. My first objective was the exterior handle. As you can see in the photos, the mounting eyelet where the latch actuator rod connects had snapped off. I came up with a fix using some wire to fabricate a reinforcement loop, melting it slightly into the handle’s plastic to create a solid anchor point. ![IMG_20260104_152704.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/danielcarrerag/23xpB5wkbkT5FVoEyULqjRgbPeC5ehhvExuxWWov6tnxbhFF4hS8T7WSZYS3ox2BFRGjd.jpg) ![IMG_20260104_153653.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/danielcarrerag/23zbaGsz2ToKy9WrYX9EuNdLzG1iuWFMkVaAobFrmTTX8ApTGK41cEooydxxouRjn3CKr.jpg) ![IMG_20260104_173902.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/danielcarrerag/242445oTDLCxY32L4nSGGH5Hq99QwuGUbTCz6RRonaSfZCe9w3uFHjtqCuTo3TYUhm4bP.jpg) Next, I encased the wire structure in epoxy resin to build up a new, heavy-duty eyelet for the rod. Once cured, I filed it down to ensure proper clearance so it wouldn't bind or interfere when pulling the rod. I reinstalled the handle and connected the rod with its retaining clip, which snapped back in without any issues. ![IMG_20260104_175101.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/danielcarrerag/23xydxNhAMH88Lf45xmLkJXjyDxn4mmw4Cxpo81zgnY6TnfZRziQ98B51Ap7PwX2c1jUG.jpg) ![IMG_20260105_155519.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/danielcarrerag/23wMY1Z8TaLsGTD6kAqP8jKQRadhJ8zFhEaYZXCbS2129wMqLENza74wk89WhaSsXNwsd.jpg) ![IMG_20260105_164053.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/danielcarrerag/244KZMk3ZpYM1TiQCWaUAAbAp6TJyZNPZszjt6QLeYvaWptBhRVJ1NPdxfwrEg1mEfhmB.jpg) Then, I moved on to the interior handle. Using a piece of stiff steel wire, I drilled a small pilot hole on the inner face to run the wire along the length of the lever arm. I essentially "splinted" the lever to keep it rigid and straight, then filled the voids with epoxy. The result is surprisingly solid—honestly stronger than an OEM replacement. Aesthetics aren't a concern here since the epoxy work is on the backside of the trim and completely hidden from view. ![IMG_20260105_180058.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/danielcarrerag/242NoY9i39inLmwhHKNePBD1U6qbn9wS1au4T2h4h4eDzX3L2CZySdhDQPTf7aHk5WJDZ.jpg) ![IMG_20260105_180200.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/danielcarrerag/23ywyvaCzj6Lrsjoax39VfTfTMTxghs6WwEtn4YVDfnsxt1HcQzr4Rxh6qJahmt8i3LCD.jpg) ![IMG_20260105_183018.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/danielcarrerag/2423sLd68qf2ShVmmyf61zp3d6dtkNVZgRMUGDvfMbVwLuXic9m9Yi64NtHtJdLq5WnQd.jpg) ![IMG_20260105_183905.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/danielcarrerag/23tmFr275pQyprQsDE6DuXc5vmVhMGZ6Z37ecZKSkwLWSDTRGMNCStSjaoaWJWDr6aVuM.jpg) ![IMG_20260105_190353.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/danielcarrerag/23vhuao4BkNo9ZNScdUrP9m8teqe3YFeKrdBK46UgMqzVbopdk8kngq9vqsHevSXzn7Km.jpg) ![IMG_20260105_183930.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/danielcarrerag/23z79qRPwjMPdHBHqURgDxCxkdtcG8JwkJnJYkNCmX2LuZZ7yKigatA66opYdskTvorbU.jpg) ![IMG_20260106_133747.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/danielcarrerag/23xVPfYfGsnoTbPkMyei8uCvfK9m4tmVSxRKY4RcJzc2GBjdwZrJwMrWiyybje8kZqGeU.jpg) ![IMG_20260106_133754.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/danielcarrerag/23xAa4hjGfNpav4mdqMzoT5EG5kpPrYqTpAcZVouj5ziHS3iSTkMbZ19VhpvSgpsDT3Rr.jpg) Finally, I removed the latch assembly itself. I cleaned it thoroughly with some gasoline to strip away all the old grease and grime. I inspected it and noticed all the mechanicals were intact, so the stiffness was purely due to surface rust and a lack of lubrication. After re-greasing everything following the cleanup, the mechanism is buttery smooth again. Now the door opens effortlessly, just as it should. ![IMG_20260106_162638.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/danielcarrerag/23z7NayybJuVqZV9oxkNyujmzqSdSAtdfRKefuqkkXQvT7hBS4jwuGMXdvBuUASxBAtYC.jpg) ![IMG_20260106_162630.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/danielcarrerag/23zGm3hzDZ5NNCM8Y8aLjgmVB4vwmm5CWA4XWWUA6vAogUWvbvvScjYmnacXkqhCRJP1Q.jpg) *** _{Photos taken by ©danielcarrerag copyright reserved. These images may not be reproduced, distributed or used without the express permission of the author.}

dark chocolate brown door color