2003 S-10 Third Door pull broke...again!

Hello all...

The plastic door pull/latch assembly that opens the third door on my '03 S-10 extended cab broke clean off today. I was more than a little torqued by this, as the one that came with the truck lasted for three of the approximately four years that I've owned it (bought it new). This one managed to last just over a year.

I didn't mind paying the $30 for a replacement about a year ago. Now the same part is $42, and I just won't pay that. The dealership said that I could pull the broken pull/latch out and sneak my fingers inside to activate the mechanism and open the door. That's a fine solution...but after having my seat adjuster handle break off and seeing that a "better" replacement part was available, I am wondering if anyone markets a better replacement door pull assembly.

William

I have had the thrid door handle break twice ateast on my 2002 S-10 pickup. Each time it was repaired under warranty with no questions. I have seen this problem mentioned a couple diffferent places, and my service writer gave me the impression he wrote it up quite often.

I also asked what can be done about it. The main thing is to put no pressure on the door when opening. Negative pressure is even better. Push in on the door when squeezing the latch from the outside. Since I use my S-10 as a work truck and the extended cab area is for tools and equipment that I want to keep protected like meters, cable scanners, laptops, video test monitors etc I almost never have a passenger in the jump seat so it pretty much always gets opened from the outside.

One thing to add is that if you get ANYTHING stuck or jammed in the door it puts a lot of extra pressure on the latch mechanism when you are trying too open it. The front seat belt seems to be the biggy, but magazines, job files, equipment case straps, and who knows what all can get between that third door and the frame. When that happens you really need to lean in on that door so you don't put too much force on the latch mechanism.

Sorry, that's the best I can do for you.