PACman

I got mine from this folks...

http://www.acuraoemparts.com/delray/jsp/home.jsp

eltownse

I can't thank this forum enough. After seeing all these careful pictures and step-by-step remarks you are making it extremely easy for me to schedule for the dealership to take care of this.

Buffman

Another big thanks for this thread and DIY guide. I just replaced mine and it works perfectly now.

I have to add in that the 3 door/actuator screws are a PITA. I got the top 2 fine, but stripped the bottom one. I spent more time on this screw than the entire replacement. I ended up taking it to the mechanic to remove and he did it for $15 (worth it).

Thanks to PACman for the replacement screw part # - I'm ordering it right now.

Overall, the manual replacement is worth it than paying someone. If I had to do it again (i'm sure the passenger side is coming soon), I can do it in ~1hr. A few parts are tricky, but once you tinker around you'll get it right. I also found a small hand mirror useful for looking inside the door.

Now on to figuring out why the damn manual truck release switch and trunk button won't work (just the remote works). I was hoping it was actuator related, but its certainly not.

eltownse

Well crap, mine just died completely. I got an impact drill for Christmas so I am going to attempt this myself.

I am looking forward to it though, I just hope I am not driving around with half my door panel missing when I finish!

eltownse

Done! Everyone has pretty much said what I encountered as well.

Just some further endorsements and/or tips:

• Slip a mechanic $15 and get those screws loosened. It seems we all have tried and about 75% of us have stripped it.
• The second smaller rod for the lock assembly is the mechanical arm that allows you to use your key to unlock the door. Be very careful to not bend this rod. It is very easy to bend while removing the lock assembly. If you do, try and bend it back and place as much as you can. It makes re-assembly that much easier.
• Any rod (the two rods for the lock assembly, your inside door handle, the cable pins have these pin and collar configurations. They have these plastic swivel pieces that come down and snap on the rod. A screwdriver with proper leverage should snap any of these off the road.
• I did not have to remove those pink pieces in one of the pictures. (Then again I am not sure if the guide or pictures told us anyway, but they were circled in one of the pictures) If you disconnect the rods you should be able to pull the whole lock assembly out and remove the actuator while those pink pieces and the respective cables stay in place.

Finally, like everyone else has said this is an incredibly frustrating fix. If you order the part online and get it for cheaper you might be able to negotiate your dealer down to a $150 job. If so, I would be all means have them do it.

Having some experience though, if I have to do the passenger door I think I could do it in . . . 90 minutes (with mechanic loosening the bolts)

Oh yea not a bad outcome here, but did anyone notice that their power window no longer goes down with one press of the window button?

Thanks again everyone though!

kmk42019

A couple weeks ago I installed the actuator but ran into a little problem. I broke a little clip. Now I am looking for the rod clip that connects the rod from the cylinder set(where you manually insert your key and turn) to lock assy. on the drivers side door. It was a small white/yellow clip that connects to the rod then snaps through a metal hole on the cylinder set. It looks a lot like this one I found on amazon.


I currently cant unlock/lock my car manually with my key. Im having trouble finding this little part. It was white/yellow in color. Any ideas where I can find it?

eltownse

I am not sure what the name of it is, it is either "collar" or "lock rod clip" as Amazon describes it. At any rate, I have the pink one off my old actuator if you think that will help. Though if memory serves correctly the top clip of the rod you are talking about seems to be a different color.

kmk42019

Yea the collar clip thing was actually almost like a clear white in color. I cant seem to find it anywhere

HandsOnThis

Hi folks,

Thanks to this guide, my buddy and I put together a video tutorial which should help you change the lock actuator on your TSX. My car is a 2005 TSX. Note - you can see what happens when you try to use an impact driver to remove the screws from door latch. Oops.

2005 Acura TSX Lock Actuator Replacement Video

Hope it helps.

-Dan

HandsOnThis

Looks like the auto-embed won't allow HD viewing. I'd suggest going direct to YouTube to view in HD: http://youtu.be/kosYzSwYyEo?hd=1

ProjectT4

AWESOME! Definitely helped me out.

siggy833

I just did both front doors...thank you so much for this post! Made the repair so much easier!!

UNCatTech

Thanks for the information.

I changed the actuator on my 99TL last night.

This thread was very helpful.

The job did end up being more than I planned, because on the 99 the rod from the handle to the release mechanism doesn't have that pink plastic piece. It doesn't seem to be able to come off at all. I ended up taking out the whole handle and everything.

Also I pulled out the window guide and that was a major help in putting it all back together.

Everything works well now.


Now I need to change my power steering pressure hose. Not sure if I am up for that today.

optomos

I'm doing this right now and you are correct. There is no plastic piece that you can rotate. It is a white plastic solid clip that holds the rod in and there is no way to remove it. I may have to remove the whole handle as well.

optomos

I followed this thread to get the part out. Much easier than I thought.

https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tl-1999-2003-98/diy-door-actuator-replacement-w-o-removing-anything-inside-704477/

Phillip864

Thanks for the post. I used the step by step instructions and everything went as advertised... until I found that I had received the wrong part. Put everything back together and am waiting on new part. Should be able to replace the actuator even quicker next time.

alxlxiv

Finally got this done, it was pretty frustrating at points but I am a novice when it comes to working on cars. Ultimately it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The most frustrating parts were

1. taking the plastic cap off the actuator housing. Just took me awhile to realize where the tabs were.

2. routing the rod that went to the keylock. Took awhile to realize that connecting the rod to the actuator first and then to the keylock was much easier than the other way around on the reinstall

3. realizing the door wouldn't open from the inside and then figuring out the cable had been misrouted.


The screws that hold the actuator housing to the door were not even close to as bad as I had read. I just had a sufficiently large screw driver, put some gloves on for sure grip, got good leverage and with just enough force they loosened up.

all in all i think it took me longer because I am less experienced. Frustrating for sure but rewarding now that it is done and knowing how much money i saved!

Hambone13th

I have a 2005 Acura TL, I replaced the front passenger door actuator few like 3 months by disconnecting the battery to reset the "brain" to allow me to open the door.
Then just last night the same door went out, believed to to be same issue. So I attempted to reset the "brain" again and no luck this time wtf! After reading many many words of advice from other related topics I'm stuck!! I pealed back the top portion of the panel from inside the car to find out my door latch cable is broken. Using needle nose pliers I pulled on the cable to open the door.... No luck! Do I need to continue to rip off the door panel? .. Or should there be a way to open the door? I'm at wits end with Acura's, piss poor parts. Not to mention I still need to replace my clutch to my compressor for AC

Tangoman

Wow, I started this thread and I haven't responded in years! I'm glad everyone is getting good use out of it. My car is at 150k now and all the door lock actuators are still working well.

And yes, when I put it back together I definitely misrouted the inside cable and locked my girlfriend in the car when she tried to get out. Ha!

RG08

I'm not sure it's the acuator, on my 08 TL. I recently had the driver window regulator replced and since it's been replaced. I can lock my car with the remote but i can't unlock it (with the remote) but once driver side door is unlock with key i can unlock on the other doors with the remote. Would that be an acuator issue? i can lock, unlock the car from side no problem just can't unlock the driver side with the remote. it's very annoying.
I did have the all the wires looked and everything apparently is connected properly after the regulator was replaced.

watermarksham

great thread

Tangoman

If you can lock it with the remote it isn't the actuator.

thtran

I have tried this fix and was able to install the actuator but now my door does not open.

How do I open the door to check if I routed the cables correctly? I can barely access behind the panel from the window opening but do not know and/or cannot find the cable to unlock. Please help.

Tangoman

Even if you misroute the cable, it should still unlock (with the remote) and the exterior handle should still work.

Once you get the door open, take off the panel again and make sure the cable is routed through all the correct cable holders.

If you can't get the door off or if the exterior door handle doesn't work, then you didn't hook up something right. I'm not sure how to get it open then...

GeorgeTSX

I found this video on youtube of someone who did this to the drivers side door of a 2005 TSX. Unfortunately some of the more important parts are sped up...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kosYzSwYyEo

Both my passenger side front and rear locks stopped working in my 2004 TSX. It isn't a priority and since my dealer quoted me $250 to fix just one door, I put it off so far. I was debating on doing it myself but it looks a bit intimidating.

Ah! both my passenger front and rear door actuators aren't working and I noticed my trunk release no longer works as well. I wondered why. Thanks!

Also, here is a video tribute to the Honda/Acura Door Actuator...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvYQmltQNtw

dontibbetts

dP-

In case anyone needs the part, you can I have one for my TSX (right) that I never needed since I sold it before I could put it in. I'm located in Canada.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/202066683559...84.m1555.l2649

c130dude

For any out there, I'm borrowing a few pics from the lock actuator replacement. I tried replacing the lock actuator, closed the door, and now both handles are unable to open it. Something either popped off or is broken. I bough a used inside panel and started cutting into the existing panel. I can feel my way to the lock, but have no idea what to push/pull/flip to open it. So, any door experts out there that have any idea, please share. I'm about to order a new used complete lock off ebay to play around with to see how it works. I may need it anyway. But the lock actuator works.

Paraphrasing...

c130dude

I more item, in this pic, both the outside handle and inside handle are attached to this point and moves it. Next, I'll try to take the cover off by feel. Fun times.

Attachment 55144

c9dude

OK, follow up.
CAUTION. CAUTION. For anyone replacing the electric lock actuator, please be careful and make sure the actuator arm goes into the lock lever hole (blue circle). If not, you will close the door and it may be locked and since the actuator won't work, the door is stuck closed. This was my front pax side, so any riders gotta play Dukes of Hazard or hop seats.



Somehow, while putting the screw in that holds the actuator in, he arm came out of the hole and I didn't notice. So I installed the thing with it locked and thus couldn't open the door. So, here's what I did to fix it.

1. Called local Acura dealer. Quote was $600 plus, to include a used interior door panel because they would have to cut into the existing panel. Nope.
2. I bought a used door panel for $87 including shipping. It was in pretty good condition.
3. It made me sad, but I cut into the door panel. 1st, I removed the window button panel, trim from the pull handle, handle screws, and then got to snipping with HD scissors. Basically, I removed the arm rest and handle section, which gave me a big enough hole to reach in (see below).



4. I reached in and even with pics, I had no idea what I was feeling for. So, I ordered a used lock assembly off ebay for about $45. I played around with the used lock and saw the actuator/lock assembly interaction and had my "ah-Ha!" moment. Both door handles felt like the door was locked, even tho the lock rod moved when I hit the lock button (it didn't move normally tho). The door was actually locked. Now I knew where to feel and pull.
5. 1st picture, red circle. The blue circle area is against the door metal, you ain't touching that part. The red circled area you can get to and this pic shows the mechanism in the unlocked position. First, get a small phillips and remove the small screw holding down the cover (yellow circle, pic below). Peel the cover back as best you can, then move that lever, circled red, down; it may not be easy. Had to hold it down (used a wire hook from the pegboard for assistance) and pulled the door handle with the other hand and got the door to open.


6. With the door open, I removed the rest of the panel and removed the lock assembly and yes, it was exactly as I thought, the actuator arm was not in the lock hole. I took it apart and reassembled. I decided to reinstall my own lock as the ebay part was a little mangled.
7. I ops checked the lock before putting it back in the door and all worked. I got the lock back in and everything worked. I cleaned up the new panel and reinstalled. I did use my original window control as I know it works and swapped a few other parts from my old panel (better condition).
8. And while I had the panel off, I swapped the door lightbulb for an LED version.

Afterthought. With all I know now, there might be a way to get a stiff wire down the window gap to the lock actuator (see red circle) as there is a small gap between the cover and the lock (about the 1 o'clock position of the red circle). You would have to form a wire that gets through that gap then engages in that slot and push it down, hoping the wire doesn't bend, and its hard to see down there. I had to pull that lever down hard as the actuator arm was blocking full range.