A Texas woman named Jennifer Daniel tried to get into her Volkswagen during Winter Storm Fern, but the door handle snapped off because of heavy ice. Replacing an exterior car handle can cost between $150 and $500. The most important rule when dealing with frozen car doors is to never yank the handle. Breaking a frozen car handle is easier than you thinkPulling too hard is the fastest way to break it, which is exactly what happened to Daniel. Make sure to keep it inside your house, not in the frozen car.