treo22

Sorry didnt see any replies, I ams till curios though if there is anything attached to the lock rod end and the end of the actuator (the part that allows for manually locking and unlocking the door) ?????

Tangoman

There shouldn't be much, if your new actuator is in exactly the position it is supposed to be in, then the rod that goes to the outside of the door is exactly the length it is supposed to be, then you should be good. That plastic clip has to be popped back into place when you reinstall it, but you shouldn't have any issues. Maybe take apart your other door and compare?

Wakefield

Could someone please confirm the part numbers on the drivers and passenger side actuators? Are they the same part?

Tangoman

http://www.acuraoemparts.com/delray/...t&ListAll=Part

Should be different parts...

72115-SDA-A01 ACTUATOR ASSY., R. FR. DOOR LOCK 2004 TSX
72155-SDA-A01 ACTUATOR ASSY., L. FR. DOOR LOCK 2004 TSX

alarus

what kinda piece of garbage this car really is. I was considering to replace mine with another Acura (mine is 2004, got it new, and wanted to get a new one). Now, at 66,000K i have spent nearly $5,000 for repairs plus scheduled maintenance ran about $3K. Driver's door actuator died at near 45K, now passenger door one is dead. Each repair runs at $288 at dealer's (a rip off!). i had a VW Jetta years ago, it ran without a glitch until 117K miles until thermostat died. I replaced that for $90 and then it ran another 80K miles. Of course I agree that VW service sux, no argument there. Acura dealership service is a lot better but is a lot worse than Lexus. I also have a Toyota RAV4 and they kiss my ass like I am a queen when i bring it for service. BTW, at 67K miles on Toyta nothing has ever broke....geez...i am really pissed at Acura.

Tangoman

Just a bad experience I guess, I bought my car (2004) at 47k and now I have 106k, only had to replace the door lock actuator. Just regular maintenance besides that, even my AC is working well. I did have to put a front and rear camber kit in because the car was wrecked before I bought it and had some alignment issues. Other than that, the car has been great.

Sorry man.

daver70

Great instructions.

Has anyone done the rear seats lock actuator? I haven't been able to find one for sale.
Is the rear seat actuator the same as the front?

1999 3.2TL

Tangoman

This write up is for a TSX, not a TL...

Ryan331

At only 59,000 miles, all four of my door lock actuators are failing. My heater blower motor is failing (dealer - Ron Tonkin - refused to address while under warranty because it worked when they tested it despite my video of it cutting out), my driver side map/dome light only works about half the time, the front rotors warped (service bulletin - documented, but dealer also refused to address) the driver seat creaks & flexes (service bulletin, btw I only weigh 180). I love my TSX, but Acura quality has seriously slipped. By comparison, my 2000 Ford has only had an alternator connection fail.

MayoCapone

I replaced the front driver's side actuator today and it is working fine now. Crazily, the passenger's side power lock went out while I was replacing the driver's side. It looks like the actuator is broken the same as it was on my driver's side. Is there something I could have done while fixing the driver's side that would have caused the passenger's side to fail?

Tangoman

I can't think of anything that would cause that.... Maybe some spark buildup or something, I can't speculate. Bad luck I guess?

PhiDelt

The actuator is just a cheap plastic part with plastic gears, Honda/Acura uses the same one in alot of there cars. Thats all it is CHEAP.

Soundwordz08

^ yea i agree. I was talking to a parts guy at Acura and he said there is really no way around this. The only way to avoid the actuator failing is not using it.

scadavid2000

I just replaced my front passenger door actuator.
Suggestions:
Use the correct screw driver for the three locks holding the lock mechanism. You do not want to strip the screws. Never had a problem with it but since they are torqued from factory the first time removing them might be a bit tougher. You might want to use a ratchet set with an extension so you can get a bit more leverage. Do it slowly.

Remove the attachment to the window railing at the bottom in order to completely remove the door lock mechanism. Be sure to disconnect the linkage inside by popping the brown linkage to the open side and unplugging the rod from the mechanism to remove the unit.

For me I found it easier to unplug the actual black door lock at the top in order to remove the mechanism. You might get the goo holding the waterproofing plastic on the door. WD40 will clean it right up so don't worry.

When putting everything back together test before putting the door panel back on.

If you try to open the door from the inside lever and does not open but you hear it move inside the lock mechanism you just forgot to attach the white plastic piece to a U shape piece of metal that holds the outside of the rod on the door panel.

This is the part I used:
http://www.carparts.com/results/?Ntt...l&N=0&uts=true

So far it works great but time is the only one to tell. Received the item very promptly and paid $23.45 with shipping. Not bad.

I do take the car to the dealership often to get it checked up and oil changes and last time I was there I was told the actuators are plastic and notoriously this is why they go bad. However, if Honda made everything perfect they wouldn't be getting much money for maintenance at all. I rather be replacing inexpensive door actuators than more expensive mechanical parts.

I wished I had taken pics of the replacement for everyone to see. One more thing. Using trim removal tools help very much. You really do not want to scratch the door or break anything. Luckily my friend had his tool set with him at the time of the replacement.

clutchlucky

Thank you for this post! My brother and I just replaced my front pass. door actuator. Took us about 3 hours... Only problem is I can't find one of the pieces! We think my 6 month old puppy ran off with it =(

Tangoman

Oh no! My year old puppy used to love to grab anything that hit the floor - he is almost grown out of it thank god. You can't watch him constantly...

Was it an important part? I am waiting for the day where I have to replace my driver's side, and then comes the rear...

sandmn3

As others have mentioned, be careful not to strip the 3 screws holding the lock mechanism. I stripped one and did not have the tools to fix it and ended up taking it to my mechanic anyway. So, that was money down the drain.

The mechanic told me they always use a hand impact driver, since those screws are always so hard to loosen. I wish I would've known that before I screwed it up (No pun intended)! You can find them at Sears or other hardware store or online. I am going to buy one just to have in my tool arsenal anyway.

Also, I called 3 different dealerships to price out the actuator (2004 TL drivers side front door). I was quoted $26, $34, and $49. The closest dealership was at $34, but matched the $26. The other dealer would only go down to $45. So, shop around and ask them to match the lowest quote.

jocox2

I just replaced the door lock actuator on my '05 TL passenger side front door. I tested the new actuator before re-assembly and it worked fine raising and lowering the door lock. After re-assembling the door panel and closing the door, the door is now stuck in the closed position.
After reading earlier posts, I realize this may be due to an incorrect run on the rod connecting the inside door handle to the actuator. However, I am unable to get the door open and subsequently unable to get the door panel off to take a look at the internals. The outside handle will not open the door either. I've tried manually pulling up on the lock while trying both handles - no luck. I've tried unlocking manually with the key inserted into the driver's door handle. Also tried the remote. Nothing has worked.
I would bet a paycheck that I connected the outer handle to the new actuator using the plastic clip but I suppose it's possible I did not. Is it possible to install the actuator in the wrong position relative to the lock/unlock status of the lock and have this problem?
Does anyone know how to manually open the door? This is my last ditch effort before paying the dealer what I anticipate being a lot of money for labor.

PaHonda

I posted a link to a DIY on an accord actuator repair. I don't know if the acura unit can be taken apart and repaired like the accord actuator. It would be interesting to find out to save people even more money.

Hopefully it is ok to post links to another forum. Mods can delete if it goes against forum rules. It should not be hyper linked, so you will have to copy and paste this in your browser.

honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2465699

Wubby

BUMP! THANK YOU SIR! THIS HAS BEEN A GREAT HELP! =D I see that you're from Chicago too! xD

TSX_driver

Hey guys, this thread seems very helpful to me but I was wondering where I can buy the driver side actuator to change, how much would it cost and if they ship to Canada?

Thanks

TSX_driver

I ended up buying it at the dealer.
Cost me $52 with tax.

ninothing

Need ideas on how to get my 3 lock mechanism screws out. Tried a #3 screw driver - not much success. Tried and impact driver #3 - hammered driver against the screw with just the same result.

Everything else is going great - just hit a major road block here.

ninothing

stopped by the dealer service dept this morning. explained the situation and the service tech laughed 'yeah, those can be a bit tricky'. He made be feel better about my troubles by bringing out a 2.5-3ft ratchet w/ screw driver tip to bust the screws loose. i definately didnt have that type of equipment sitting around.

Tangoman

Yes, I believe these screws were the ones with lock-tite on them. When I did this, my car was not nearly as old as it was now, they seem to get harder to take out with time.

Glad you figured it out. Also, 52 bucks sounds about right - you didn't get ripped off.

BlackAce

Hi guys, in the process of replacing the actuator in my driver front door (06 TSX). Got about midway through to the part with the countersunk screws, and discovered that one of them is pretty close to stripped. I had some body work done on that door after an accident, so maybe they left me that as a nice present? They also did a terrible job at resticking the plastic sheeting under the panel. Ugh.

Anyway, I've got a screw extractor that I think will work, but I have no idea where to get these screws. I checked at a couple of local stores without success.

Any suggestions? Also, during a recent car wash visit, the vacuum ate the little rubber insert in the door handle behind the switches that covers that screw. I'd like to replace that as well.

Thanks!

PACman

^you can order the replacement parts online. http://www.acuraoemparts.com/delray/jsp/home.jsp

BlackAce

Thanks PACman, I have looked on that site and a few other Acura OEM sites, and have not been able to locate the screws. Anyone have a part number?

PACman

^When you say countersunk screws, are you referring to the 3 screws accessible from the side of the door & that hold the actuator assay in place? If so,

90103-S7S-003 SCREW, FLAT (6X18.5)

listed as #31 found on http://www.acuraoemparts.com/delray/...All&vinsrch=no

Here's the other link for the rubber piece in the door handle, listed as 17 or 26

http://www.acuraoemparts.com/delray/...All&vinsrch=no

BlackAce

Thank you so much. I know understand how their catalog works. As result I was able to secure some other parts I've been needing as well. Door actuator fixed as of about 5 min ago. Success, except that I managed to slice the tip of my finger pretty good somehow.

gotmilk9579

This car is truly wearing out it's welcome in my garage. The door lock actuators are gone at 85K WTF?

Love the instructions- so thanks for that, but about 1.5 hours in I broke the clip for the window switches, 1 hour later I stripped the 3 screws holding the door lock mechanism. Local mechanic quoted me $210 + parts, will now probably be $300+.

Do yourself a favor, enjoy your weekend and let a mechanic fix this one. It's a decision you'll never regret.

What a miserable job this is.

lewest

Hey Tangoman, is the replacement actuator from Honda the same as the original or is it new and improved? Same part for both sides? And BTW, with the help you've given all of us, I will try this myself. I just bought an 05 TSX @125,000 km and found the front door locks non-functional! The VW dealer I bought from thought the fob just needed to be reprogrammed...

Tangoman

Yea, the actuators are probably bad in that car. Mine went out at 80k milesI think? They didn't look like they were new and improved - one thing you can bet on from Honda is that they really don't like to change things. This is good, as long as the parts are good to begin with - unfortunately I don't believe they revised these at all.

Anyway, make sure to read the previous posts about the countersunk screws in the door - don't strip those out.

Ck98vteC

Took my cousin and I less than an hour tonight to replace the front passenger actuator. The 3 side screws were much easier to remove than some people on here had mentioned. While we were at it we fixed the slight rattling I had in the speaker by isolating the metal speaker ring from the door with some electrical tape.

By the way I got the part from Rockauto.com for like $16 shipped.

itsHue

and the dealership was going to charge me about 700 dollars to fix my two driver and passenger doors.. where can I purchase an acculater?

Karlo

This DIY was very helpful for me (along with this). The dealer wanted to charge me $280 for driver's door actuator replacement. I bought mine for 21.79+shippment from rockauto (STANDARD MOTOR PRODUCTS - DLA135), and it took me less than two hours to fix it. 2 months since then - everything is OK

Ken2007

Here's what the inside of an actuator looks like.

vtboi4sho

thanks for the DIY guide. mine went out at 120k just replaced my actuator in an hr.

detch

I have to replace my driver door actuator so I am using this post as a guide but I cannot find any of the pictures that go with the post. Any suggestions?
Thanks.

DannysTSX

does anybody know where i can order that actuator for the door?