APA Replacement Chevy Silverado Sierra 99-07 Textured Black Tailgate Door Handle with Bezel Set 15997911 15228539

This is my third one of these (various brands), they're all junk unfortunately. The upper tabs had mold flashing left so didn't engage on the tailgate. The tabs have the pasty white "about to break" stress lines after the removal, so the glue pads are the only thing holding the bezel on. The handle hits the bezel when pulled, which hasn't happened on any I've had before. These need to be made of glass reinforced nylon, not weak, brittle ABS, and fit right so they handle doesn't hit. When this one breaks off in a few months, I'm giving up and joining the thousands of handle-less Silverado's that shame the earth.

First off, go ahead and buy this one if you need a tailgate handle. The part is as good as any of the others I've bought at local parts stores if not better. Very simple installation.Couple helpful tips.The bezel is held in with tabs on the top and bottom.Grease all the moving parts before installation. I used lithium grease.1. Pull the bezel off. Pull out and up.2. Loosen the 3 1/2" SAE bolts that hold the handle to the tail gate.3. Place new handle in the tail gate and thread in the bottom bolt to hold it in place.4. Re-attach the rods to the new clips.5. Tighten all the bolts and make sure the handle is straight.6. Snap the new bezel on. Done!

This replacement part Is manufactured by several vendors. This is my 3rd one in as many years, which is frustrating. Having learned from experience now, I've found that there is a design flaw which appears to result in a weak point on the left control arm attach point. The part failure can be circumvented by making sure to pull the release latch more to the right side, as opposed to pulling from the far left [I hope this makes sense]. This is how I release the tailgate latch on the one currently installed. The other issue is of course the adhesive tape for the cover is not guaranteed to work "as advertised". I recommend doing all you can do to ensure adhesion IE wiping down the surface with Isoprophyl alcohol and a clean dry cloth. If this fails purchase some 3m double sided adhesive tape and replace the faulty factory tape.

Okay so far. Like many others, I broke the 2 tabs on the bezel when trying to install. I put it on anyhow and it fits pretty good and seems to stay in place for now. I think part of the install issue is that it is just hard to get it in. I think if you leave the 3 bolts very loose that mount the handle, it may give you enough working room to actually get the bezel in without breaking the tabs. I may buy another bezel and try this method as they are pretty inexpensive.

Worked great and looks / works just like factory. A lot of people talk about the tabs breaking on install. It is a very tight fit. I put some grease on the tabs and heated them up with a heat gun till they were slightly playable but not soft or to bendy. Snapped right in with no broken tabs. Just take your time and heat the tabs up a bit.

The handle came with a very rusty threaded hole, but cleaned up with a metric tap. The handle included the little rod retaining clips, one of which was what actually broke on my truck. The bezel clips were very weak and broke off during installation, so now I am looking for another new bezel. Stronger plastic such as ABS for the bezel would have been better. However, the same clips also broke off my old bezel during removal.

I ordered on Sunday and it arrived on Thursday. Removal procedure:Use some king of rust breaker liquid on the old bolts if they are tight.Pull off the old bezel (mine was already broken off)Rotate the plastic rod clips down.Pull the rods out of the latch. They are long enough that you don't have to worry about them falling into the tailgate.Use a 13mm socket to remove the three bolts that hold the latch on.Installation:Bolt the latch on.Push the rods into the latch and rotate the new clips (supplied) upward. I used a long-nosed pliers to get the clip to snap on.Use alcohol to remove any remnants of the old two-sided foam. Remove the paper from one side of the foam on the new latch.Position the bezel over the latch. Set the bottom tabs of the bezel into the holes in the tailgate and snap the bezel in.It looks and works fine.

Great replacement handle and bezel, do not try and replace the bezel of it is cold. Took me three attempts after breaking the tabs off each time and having to buy a new one. I finally placed the bezel in the sun about 2 hours on a 90 degree day and it snapped right into place no problem.

First off , took 39 days to get this piece ..the holes in the plastic clips are to small for the rods to go through .. so useless.. put together and it sits crooked in tailgateGo someplace else to get this piece, for sure .

Goid

Would definitely recommend

Perfect fit, excellent replacement tailgate handle.

Broke first day installed no word back from Amazon about this problem