HELP! Wanted

Nearly every auto parts store has an aisle containing an eye-popping array of small, packaged items that don’t fall as neatly into classification as the rest of the items in the store. “Chemicals,” “Appearance,” and “Towing” are straightforward. But what about that aisle with the smorgasbord of parts? If you’re a counterman, tech, service writer, or shop foreman, odds are excellent you just thought to yourself, “Oh, that’s the HELP! aisle.”

HELP! has become synonymous for the small parts needed to get out of a jam. By consistently delivering what that packaging promises—HELP!—we coined a category of products so distinctive the store section is labeled by brand name alone.

The HELP! line launched in 1981 to provide repair parts that were then considered difficult for vehicle owners and mechanics to buy both at the dealer and in the aftermarket. They came to be known as hard-to-find parts. And the name? Clear, simple, and direct, it was crafted to send the message that we offer creative assistance to those tasked with fixing a car. One of our go-to methods was improving OEM part designs that were known to predictably fail in the same fashion—the cornerstone of today’s modern OE FIX components.

Of course, some things about HELP! have changed. It was originally a sub-brand of Motormite Manufacturing, which folks of a certain age will remember for its signature vee engine logo with brawny, yoked arms. Motormite and Dorman merged in the ‘90s, and Motormite was officially retired as a brand in the 2000s, but HELP! kept going as a Dorman-owned brand. Today, our drive to deliver parts that solve problems is as strong as ever.

This very guide in your hands is a record of what our drive has helped us accomplish this year and in years gone by.

It’s also our way of eagerly sharing parts that stemmed from that drive. The UN46-era Explorer mentioned in that old ad you can see to the left isn’t relevant any longer. Providing a way to repair just the broken parts of expensive assemblies is still very much part of Dorman’s DNA, though. We developed the OE FIX umbrella to clearly label those Dorman products that offer a better repair than the OEM. In a sense, OE FIX kind of picked up where HELP! left off, especially on parts of the vehicle that are beyond the scope of an ambitious weekend warrior.

Working within door panels has gotten more difficult as the number and complexity of items found in doors has increased, so technicians are increasingly likely to be asked to repair them. OE FIX solutions, like their HELP! predecessors, still stem from the underlying ethos of repairing instead of replacing, saving a buck, cutting down time spent on the job, and increasing longevity and reliability.

HANDLE - INTERIOR DOOR

97961: Toyota 4Runner 2021-10

For instance, you can now find our 97961 door handle and its family of OE FIX relatives that cover several positions and interior colors for the Toyota 4Runner. When a handle breaks on one of those trucks, the repair necessitates the purchase of a complete door panel. They say history doesn’t repeat, but we find it often rhymes. The applications and the specific parts to fix vehicles change, but the basic problems really never do.

We’re here to help save money, save time, and if we can, help save the planet a little bit by not filling it needlessly with waste. We’ve got your shop’s back with OE FIX parts, but whether a repair is trivial or towering, one thing’s for sure: we’re still here to HELP!