Toyota Nation Forum banner

Door Panel Removal Tutorial (56k, only if absolutely necessary)

62K views 25 replies 17 participants last post by  dscek 
#1 ·
Alright, since this always seems to come up, and there is always someone who "doesn't get it," I'll take the time to write this up, once and for all (for those of you who are too cheap to go get a Haynes Repair Manual) since I remove my door panels all the time for my stereo.

Mind you however, this is on a 99 XLE so you're model may be slightly different.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
****************************************************************************************************************

For starters, you'll only need minor tools: Two Screw Drivers (one small Flathead (I used 1/8th Inch) and one Phillips Head (I believe I used a #1)) and some electrical tape (not required, but useful).


Use the tape, and tape over the head of the Flathead. You'll use this taped-over Flathead to remove cover pieces and pry at things as needed (the tape provides some protection against scratching your interior all to hell).

Now that all our "prep work" is done, we'll start of easy. There isn't an exact order that is necessary to do all this in, but it helps to be logical. I start at the side of the door, work my way around, then attack the center, and it gets the job done.

Areas that need attention: Red being our main focus (screws, bolts, etc...) and the green being internal panel retainers (holding the panel to the door from the inside, they allow for a snug connection; be gentle with these, they're not cheap to replace, and are a headache if you need to replace them See here for inner pic of panel).



Start at the outter edge of the door. You should notice a small plastic circle within a circle. This is a panel retainer that needs to be removed.


Take your Flathead, and depress the button in the center.


Then just pull the piece out with your fingers. It should come out fairly easily.


From here, I move to the top inner (vehicle) side of the door, where there is a round plastic cover, that is snapped onto a screw.


Get your Flathead out again, and pry off the cover, gently, so you don't break it, it is rather thin.


Remove that cover to find the Phillips head screw. Unscrew that.


From here, we move to the bottom of the door, the very bottom, to find two phillips/hex head screws/bolts. Remove these two and we're done with the outside fixtures.


Moving to the center of the door, you should find two covered holes on the side/bottom of the armrest. The outter one has a larger cover.


Remove that cover with your Flathead.


Underneath, way down in there, you'll find a Phillips head screw awaiting your removal.


Once down with that one, move to the other covered hole and repeat. The two screws are identical. If for some reason you think you've removed the screw from its threaded hole, but it doesn't come out, wiggle the door panel, and they should fall from their places.


While we're on the armrest, go ahead and remove the control switches for the windows and locks. To do this, slide your Flathead under the back of the panel and pry it upwards. Be careful because there are three plastic attachments (one on the nose and one on each side). There is a spring-like piece of metal along the back that holds the panel in place, you need to push into this with the Flathead before you pry upwards. Slide the panel back and up until the entier panel is out from the door panel.


Once the panel is out, we need to disconnect the wireharness. Take your Flathead and push down on the middle section and slide out the harness.


Once that is done, we move on to the cou-de-gras: The Door Handle!

First, we need to pry open the screw cover that is recessed in the middle of the handle.


Once that is open, we find the Phillips head screw awaiting removal, so do it.


Then, this is where people get confused. To get the door handle trim ring out, it is necessary to pry at both the top


and bottom


to remove the trim ring. Once removed, you can see how it is affixed, and why it can be difficult to remove if you don't know its intricacies. The two marked areas show you that there are holes that act as securing grooves on the door handles side of things (think male to female connection).


Once all your parts are removed, you would think you could just pop off the panel...WRONG! Those four interior panel retainers need to be removed from their securing places, so pry along the edges noted before (the green areas) to pop the retainers from their places.


Once that is done, you'll need to angle the door panel up, meaning the anchor point will be near the sail panel on the inner (vehicle) side of the door. Angle up from the outside working your way inwards. The bottom green line in the picture below denotes the outter rubber window seal that is attached to the door (you know, to keep the water out when it rains and whatnot). The upper line is the panel being angled upward. Normally, these lines will be parallel, forming a seal against each side of the window.


Once removed, you can see that the door panel has a metal track along the top that matches up with the door frame's lip at the top. this track has segments that act as clips to secure the door panel to the top of the frame.


Then...TADA!!!


You have a bare door to do with whatever you please. To reattach the panel, simply reverse the instructions, again, minding the sail panel, retracking the panel to the door, guiding your wireharness back through to the controls, and screwings your screws back in and replacing your coverings. One specific thing you'll find once you've removed the door is that on the outter edge, where we started, there is a while plastic piece, this is what that original panel retainer affixes itself to, so be sure that it gets back where it belongs.

And thats all there is to it. See, I told you it was easy! And so help me god, if anyone ever asks how to do this again...well...you don't wanna know...:nutkick:
 
See less See more
24
#9 ·
Thanks for the replies guys, at least I know I didn't screw something up.

Yeah, thats factory. And the grey is way better than anything else I've seen. Only problem is I need to figure out how to ventilate the seats. that leather gets real damn hot and makes me sweat like a fat kid out here in AZ.

Dave's said:
Great job, now- how do you get the passenger side off??? (Just kidding) :D
And I told you...:nutkick:





:headbang:
 
#13 ·
That's terrific, thanks for posting this. I'm about to tackle a speaker replacement on my 2000 XLE so this will help a lot. My one question is: do you need to use any sort of adapter for the speaker itself? Is it a 6 1/2" round, or is it mounted in a 3-hole triangular plate like the rear ones? I read somewhere else that the door speaker might be an irregular size or even a 6x9 but I find that hard to believe.
 
#15 ·
Need the fasteners and screws.

Great thread. First off I have to tell you I am a woman who has changed the window motor/regulator about 3 times and the outside door handle. I even had to switch my inside handle with the back door one. My driver side door is just constantly falling apart. My window goes up crooked unless I push it while it goes up. I have to fix it again and to be honest I am sick of doing it but can't afford the service charge. I was wondering if anyone knew exactly what screws and fasteners I need. (How many, what sizes). That way I can order them and put it back together complete this time. It seems like I lost a screw or broke a fastener every time I messes with this door. I would like to have all the nuts and bolts, lol. I actually can take the whole door apart in like 20 minutes. While I have it torn down I plan on getting the window better aligned so it goes up smoother. Can I buy these retainers, fasteners, screws at home depot? Any help would be appreciated. I just need enough for the driver side door panel. I wonder if changing out the whole door wouldn't be easier.
 
#18 ·
nice writeup. i changed my driver door handle (outside) with an ebay part today. taking the trim down was the easy part in that. getting the 3 screws out to take out the handle and putting them back with a new handle was time consuming since i don't do it everyday. overall, it took me about 2 1/2 hours. forgot to take pictures though. thanks for this thread. if not for this, it would have taken me a long time to do this. the part itself costs about 110 at the dealers (i got for 25 at ebay) and may be another 100 to install.
 
#19 ·
Alright, since this always seems to come up, and there is always someone who "doesn't get it," I'll take the time to write this up, once and for all (for those of you who are too cheap to go get a Haynes Repair Manual) since I remove my door panels all the time for my stereo.

Mind you however, this is on a 99 XLE so you're model may be slightly different.
Hi, not sure if you still use this forum, but the photobucket pictures from your post are no longer available. Would it be possible for you to make them available again? I may need to replace a door lock actuator and seeing the pictures to remove the door panel would be very helpful. Thanks.
 
#22 ·
Seems like the only thing they forgot was the push in clip on the outer portion of the door panel. You push in the inner part and pull the whole thing out. Also, if you have a panel puller, start at a bottom corner and work around until all the clips are released.
 
#23 · (Edited)
Would you happen to know what the exact name of that plastic push in clip is and what the toyota part number for it is? (In the video above, the guy refers to it as a pin at ) Unfortunately, after taking the door panel off, when it came time to putting it back on, the guy helping me slammed his first against it thinking it needed to be punched in and broke it. So looking for a replacement now.

Update:
I think the part number I may need is 904670706622 (2001 Toyota Camry LE (VIN: JT2BF22K) 3.0L AT Cap; clip - 904670706622 - Genuine Toyota Part), which Toyota calls "CAP; CLIP". Not sure what color this is though as I imagine it should come in different colors to match the various interior trim colors.

Found another part number 9046707066P1 that seems similar (2001 Toyota Camry LE (VIN: JT2BF22K) 3.0L AT Clip. For front door trim board; for rear door trim board. Dk.charcoal - 9046707066P1 - Genuine Toyota Part). This one's name is "CLIP". Not sure what the difference between this and 904670706622 is. Maybe just the color? For Front Door Panel Glass parts (FRONT DOOR PANEL & GLASS. 2001 Toyota Camry LE (VIN: JT2BF22K) 3.0L AT | Toyota), it lists both as having # 67601B, but they have different part numbers. I'm confused what the difference between # and Part Number is on Toyota's parts site.
 
#25 · (Edited)
Just the pin piece. White bracket the pin goes into is still fine.

It seems that part number 904670706622 is black color based on a few photos on the web I've been able to find. Not sure about 9046707066P1 as I can't find any photos for this. The description on Toyota's parts site for this includes "DK.CHARCOAL" but also "DK.SAGE ". Sage is a greenish color so charcoal / sage doesn't make sense.

I am needing a grey colored pin to match the original one I had. I think a different part number actually corresponds to the grey color - 9046707066B0 (2001 Toyota Camry LE (VIN: JT2BF22K) 3.0L AT Door Interior Trim Panel Cap (Front, Rear). Clip (Door Trim Board). MEDIUM - 9046707066B0 - Genuine Toyota Part). Toyota names this as "Door Interior Trim Panel Cap (Front, Rear)". Weird how they give different names to all these.

All these pin parts that seem to be the same but with different colors have a MSRP under $2, but with shipping/tax, the total cost would be closer to $10. Seems a lot for one tiny plastic piece. I would be ok buying a generic piece of any color for a couple bucks, but not sure where to get one that has the exact fit. So maybe I just got to pay the price to buy one of the Toyota OEM parts, and if I do that, might as well try to get the right matching color.
 
#26 ·
I just realized that on the web site of certain Toyota dealerships, it's possible to order parts for pickup at the dealership to avoid any shipping charge. The web site of the closest dealership to me doesn't support ordering parts online at all, but another one that's not too far away and that's in an area where I sometimes shop does and has the local pickup option. So that's what I'm going to do to get the ~$1 part I need (part number 9046707066B0) and avoid paying a jacked up shipping charge for it.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top