2012 Yukon Interior Door Panels
- Thread starter bill1013
- Start date
Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.
swathdiver
Full Access Member
For the life of me I do not understand why they put that big bulge in the panel and made the handle so much larger.
I disagree. I just went through 7-8 used panels from both eBay and a local yard from 07- 10 Tahoe’s, Yukon’s and Burbs when doing an interior swap on my 08 Silverado, in order to find 4 good ones. They break where the screws attach the metal plates or door panel itself into the handles. The screw races break apart and The Whole panel becomes weak because those steel plates are what holds the handle and panel to the door so if the plates aren’t attached to the panel securely, the panel can’t be attached to the door securely. It’s a shit design. There’s no aftermarket alternative.
OP
OP
bill1013
Full Access Member
Thanks for the info. I’ll keep all you suggestions in mind. Aloha!
There isn’t anything aftermarket. They don’t break if people aren’t abusive to them. People like grabbing and pulling as hard as they can and slamming the door for whatever reason. My 12 has 182k miles and still has the original panels.
swathdiver
Full Access Member
Or kids hanging onto them when exiting the truck.
They’re a weak design just like the dashes. I bet if anybody pulls the handles off their door panels on these trucks you’ll find where the screws thread into the plastic is all broken. Eventually the handles will pull off the majority of them and fixing them is almost impossible due to the design. Here’s some pics of the broken screw races. Of the 7-8 door panels I bought, 75% of the things were broken and wouldn’t hold a screw. There’s about 12 screws that hold each handle and the metal plate to the door panel and most of them wouldn’t hold a screw. I got refunds on 3 panels and made the other 4 work but they’re not 100%.
You can see the pic of the metal plate there’s supposed to be 6 screws that hold that to the panel, and when you install the panel you bolt that plate to the door. That provides all the strength so when you pull on the handle it’s supposed to be directly attached to the door via that metal plate. But as you can see in the picture nearly all of the plastic screw races in the door panel are broken and when I removed the screws all the broken plastic fell away and there’s nothing for the screws to screw into. It’s one of the worst designs I’ve ever seen and once that plastic breaks there’s no way to fix it. At least not without re-engineering the whole thing.
OP
OP
bill1013
Full Access Member
My panels are completely plastic with soft rubber handles. I don't abuse the doors and take very good care of my Yukon. Think before you make a blanket statement like that. In my case, it's the heat coupled with age. Plastic doesn't do well in heat, it gets soft from the heat, then it cools down, then reheated...any mechanic knows what that does to any material. It's a crappy design and GM knows it. I will find a way to correct this problem, it's just a matter of time.
My Tahoe had a similar problem. The OEM equipment could not handle the heavy door. I replaced them several times with OEM equipment, but the poured aluminum device kept breaking. It wasn't until I found some solid steel chrome pieces at an aftermarket website that I solved the problem. I changed out all my handles, inside and out. Problem solved!
So I would say that you're very fortunate that you haven't had this problem. I wish I could say that too...
I live in GA and my 12 came from AL so it’s been in the heat it’s whole life. You don’t have to get defensive about it, I’m not saying you trash your truck. Most people don’t even realize they’re doing it. I had to train my wife not to yank on all the handles but rather just get the door moving gently and the weight will take over. It is a cheesy design but being gentle with it is the only thing that’ll make it last.
Similar threads
