Broken tailgate handle

Well, it’s cold out. I went to open my tailgate and the plastic where you would pull to open just came off in my hand. I didn’t even lean on it. So I can lift on the edges and it opens but the whole center is gone. Y’all ever had this happen? I guess I need to order a new handle assembly.

 

i've heard of this happening with door handles and tailgate handles in cold environments or when they're frozen and people just yank on them trying to open it. The plastic gets brittle and just cracks. i haven't heard of it happening a lot, but once in a while I hear about it. check scrap yard. you may just need the handle part. same handles on 2014 and up i believe

 

How cold is it for you? -40C with no issues here.

 

It was 8 when it happened. I wish I had the chance to yank it.

 

What year is your Tundra? Warranty left?

 

I had this happened about a decade ago... I went OEM, but I spray some lube on the insides every now and then to make sure it doesn't break again... mine had dirt and sand trapped inside which caused it to jam and eventually break.. It did give me warnings in the way of getting harder and harder to pull open..

 

That’s the weird part. After the center of the handle ripped off I grabbed the side and just lifted and opened it. Wasn’t hard to open at all. Only thing I can figure is the cold maybe made it somehow brittle

it’s a 2014 1794. I’ll buy another from Toyota, just was curious if anyone had seen this before.