I took my recently purchased 2008 to the dealer for some Select Edition repairs. I had intended to have them tighten the door handles, however upon inspecting two new and two used XK's and XKR's I discovered they were all a bit loose.

Am I loosing it, or are they built this way

 

I have a 2009 XKR and noticed mine are kind of loose too.

 

I assume you're talking about the inside door handles? My XKR is a 2011 model and with 74,000 miles has been well used but there is only slight play in the movement of the lever of the handle but not what I would call 'loose'. There is no excessive play or rattling - it's about what I would expect from a car of its age, in fact, almost what I would expect from a new car.

In what way are yours 'loose'?

 

define loose. Mine are fine. Now if I could just get my passengers to not scratch the paint on the car when they pull the handle…. or push the door panel when the door doesn’t fully latch after closing. ARGH!

 

Pushing on the panel is better than when they push on the glass. I try to train any passenger to push the door closed by pushing on the edge of the door.

 

When I first saw my wife close the door by pushing on the glass I said don't do it again. She called me a jerk. In the end, we were both happy. I'm still a jerk and she just pushes on the handle.

We later had a discussion about closing a door vs slamming it. Same retort from her, same eventual outcome for both of us.

 

We still haven't discovered whether OP Tahoe Dave is refering to the exterior or interior handle ........

Graham

 

My exterior door handles have very slight wiggle. It like the mounts are not tight enough again the door skin.

 

The exterior door handle shouldn't wiggle. It fits into the internal Door Reinforcement which is secured to the door at front and rear:

Door Reinforcement - front fixing screw (arrowed in red)



The door handle pivot fork (circled in yellow) engages with the Door Reinforcement to give a firm front attachment.


Door Reinforcement - rear fixing screw (arrowed in red)



The rear fixing screw holds the back of the Door Reinforcement firmly against the door frame.

If you have outer handle movement, one of these two fixing screws is likely to have loosened or the plastic Door Reinforcement is damaged.

Graham

 

Thanks Graham!

I saw your input on the Door Handle - Replacement thread. Is this something I can do by tightening T25 bevel screw and not remove any interior panels?

Thanks,
Mark

 

Mark,

YES - both front and rear fixings are accessible without removing the trim panel.

Graham