28th Dec 2008, 06:04

I have a 1998 Eclipse GS-T, and when I got the car (not to long ago) I went to try the passenger side, and the handle came off in my hand. It was already broken, but they put that right back on. I think if your handle is broken, Mitsubishi should fix for free, but then everyone would be ripping off door handles for new ones, but still this is ridiculous. I thought those Japanese were smart; why not put a metal handle on a door that weighs 100 pounds?? I'm just glad it's on the passenger side LOL.

My advice to you guys is to just keep the window open a little so you can just reach in and open it, but then so would everyone else.

Thanks for the info though, see yo ~Porter.

19th Jan 2009, 20:20

You are all going to love this! I broke the passenger door handle on my 98 Spyder on Monday, January 12, 2009. ONE WEEK LATER, I am at the mall with a friend, and I break the drivers side handle! What is up with that ^%$#! Thank goodness for AAA. If you don't have it, I suggest you do, especially if you have already broken one handle off! lol. Plastic, I can't believe it! This ranks up there with the time I went to push the window button and the whole button assembly broke off and fell down inside the door. The culprit? Tiny metal screws, screwed into little plastic mounts that, wonder of wonders, break! The REAL beauty is that the replacement part is almost the whole inside of the door! I am buying my next Mits with plastic dollars. See how they like it...

9th Feb 2009, 02:00

Well my door handle also broke off, but I bought a replacement off of eBay for 16 dollars and installed it myself!! I used the guide on www.rcaz.com; it was a huge help, and from the looks of it, a money saver!!

25th Mar 2009, 17:49

About the whole door handle thing. I have a 99' Eclipse and I am going to be going on my 3rd replacement door handle now. Does anybody know of a site that sells metal repacements for the 95 - 99 models?

29th Jun 2009, 20:42

I have a 98 Eclipse and have gone through 4 handles in a year and a half. Surprise.

9th Dec 2009, 15:55

My husband has a 98 Eclipse, the handle on the passenger side broke off about 2 years ago. He hasn't been too worried about it until recently, since I now ride with him more often and he is tired of opening the door from the inside for me. The problem we are running across is that they only seem to sell the replacements in black now, and the car is white. Plus, all of the replacements are plastic.

Why would we want to replace a part that broke (which was plastic in the first place) with another part that we can only assume will eventually break as well?! Does anyone know where we can find a white replacement, and maybe one that isn't plastic?

28th Dec 2009, 11:31

I know! I have a 95'.. I drove my car to the DMV to take my drivers test, and when we went out to the car to get in, the handle broke off and the lady told me we COULD NOT TAKE THE RIDE unless I get the handle fixed.

Hmmm? That was a bummer. I wanted to cry.

Seems like it would be a recall. This would be the 4th time this year! Why can't they make an iron handles? You can get new handles at O'Reilly for like 20 bucks! But all that money adds up! I'm so tired of this. If anyone has info on iron handles, let us know thanx.

16th Jan 2010, 00:55

Sounds silly, but since I have the original handles on mine from 95' I think I have something to add here.

One, these are inherently poorly designed. They are weak, and they will break, IF, you are rough on them. Here's what I do, and I have never broken any of my Eclipse's handles. I have had 3 of them, and have one right now as my daily driver.

It's very simple. Don't use the handle to pry open the door. Open then door (slowly) and then let go of the handle and use your hand to grab the frame and pull the door open the rest of the way. Don't grab the handle, and pull it all of the way open. It really works, trust me.

19th Aug 2010, 19:02

I'm very careful with my Eclipse door handles. I've owned the car for four years, and recently my fifth handle has broken. It's the only huge negative thing I would say about the car. I replaced them myself, which is very difficult (probably why the dealership charges so much). My friend is about to change the handle he broke on my car today; it's going to be hilarious watching him get frustrated trying to install it. I think I'm just going to get the pop door mechanism installed, because these handles are a huge problem! The car is a great besides the handle.

29th Aug 2010, 07:24

I've had this happen to me about 8 times in the 12 years I've owned my Eclipse. It's just a cheap part that can break easily. It's not that hard to swap out; the trickiest thing is getting the "door" rod back on the handle. There are a few things to take off, and you really want to be careful not to break anything in your door panel.

As a side note, the 3000GT door handles are real close (not the same), and they're made out of metal!