Advice on No Key Hole Door Handles

[escaladeMD]

My 2003 EXT was broken into via the passenger door and wondering if people had custom work done to change out the door handle with key entry - to plain door handles like the rear doors have. If you have done this, can you post pictures - or recommend/ or not.

[jrs05caddyext]

After my old 02 EXT got stolen I got the handles replaced with rear ones. The body shop had to do some minor modifications but worked out great.

[fluke]

Originally Posted by escaladeMD

My 2003 EXT was broken into via the passenger door and wondering if people had custom work done to change out the door handle with key entry - to plain door handles like the rear doors have. If you have done this, can you post pictures - or recommend/ or not.

I'll post up a pic when I have time this weekend. Your passenger door has a keyhole? I only replaced the driver door with the rear w/o a keyhole. I did it myself. After looking at what the previous idiot did when breaking into it, you can see how easily it is to unlock the door. I won't say how, but it's funny because when I actualy went to the dealership to order a rear door handle part, they had tons of driver door handles in stock. Hmmm. . . I wonder why. I wanted to shave all door handles but that would have been expensive, including installing actuators and what not. If anyone else has done this, post some pics. Anyone notice other people's Escalades in parking lots? Look at their keyholes. I'd say majority of them you can see that it's been tampered with.

[darthcaddy]

Can they break in through the back door keyhole/latch, or is it the side doors that are vulnerable?

[Synergetic]

Using a screwdriver, they can pry underneath the door handle and unlock it. Its been done to a few my buddies with Chevys and each time they either have to replace the handle or repaint their door.

They make some kind of metal plate that helps prevent them from actually unlocking it. But won't prevent them from sticking their screwdriver in. If they can't get in that way, consider it easier for them to simply smash the window.

It just helps to have a solid alarm system. When I was broken into, they couldn't get the alarm to turn off. So it had basically killed itself by the time I got out of the movie theater. And they went through my window by the way.

[CTS-V-TWIN]

Too bad GM couldn't make better door handles for any year of the Escalade. Even the new 2007 model door handles are cheap and flimsy and probably very easy to get into to.

SG