I've been doing cosmetic work on my TL-S that I purchased in December. The right passenger door panel was hanging off. I figured out that the clips were broken and whoever owned the car before me has the wrong clips in the door. I replaced those, but I also realized that they had the wrong screw holding the door panel on. Does anyone know where I could buy this screw other than the Acura parts website? Shipping on there is too expensive for just a single screw. I went by Home Depot earlier on today, but they did not carry a screw that size. Thanks!

 

You might be able to find a similarly sized screw somewhere else on the car in a place where it's less needed. Otherwise a junkyard or something like that. Should be the same screw for a lot of different honda vehicles I would think.

 

If you lived in ny I could give you one. I have spare Acura/Honda screws, relays, all types of spare parts out the ying yang. If I were you I would just go check your local u pull it yard. Probably your cheapest bet.

 

Thanks guys. Seems like my best bet is a junk yard. Just need to find one now.

 

Just go to the dealer?

Or if you go to the acura site, look at the diagram, it tells the size of the screw, take those measurements to a hardware store or home depot etc and buy the screw.

 

The only issue I have is that the closest dealer to me is 31 miles away. As I mentioned in the post I did take it to Home Depot, but they didn't carry a screw that size. Ace has a large selection as well, but if they don't have one there I'll just have to try and find one at a junk yard nearby.

 

Hey H3br3w_Hamm3r, don't sweat things like a screw.

If ya got the right clips and are only missing a screw, than just take one from the other side's door to any nearby place that may carry hardware, such as screws and such.

While it's always best to ideally have an exact fit for your screw into the receiving hole,......but at times, if that's too much of a hassle, a screw that's close in size will fit with a little effort ! Trust me, as I've improvised at times and made a screw fit. Good thing is that it'll usually stay put and hold until you decide to pull it back out.

 

Do you have a Honda dealer near by? If so go there.

 

I tried a screw from somewhere else and it seems to be holding. Thank you! Hopefully it will hold, but if it doesn't I'll try a Honda dealer like fsttyms1 suggested, or try and find a slightly bigger screw like 3.2TLc suggested. Thanks again everyone!

 

Yeah, ya gotta hate when somebody opens something up and does'nt take the time or effort to put it all back together correctly. In your case, even the proper screw may not fit .....due to the screw hole's threads possibly being reamed out by whoever tried to just stick a screw into it. They do sell a self tapping type of screw if this is the case. Sometimes ya have no choice but to improvise !

 

You would think putting something back together the way you took it apart would be common sense, but then again common sense isn't so common. If this screw doesn't hold (which it has been so far and I'm hoping it continues to), then I'll definitely get a self tapping screw and give that a shot. I've got another thing crossed off my fix it list now. All I have left to fix on the car is the driver side headlight, which won't turn on and gets moisture in it and the rear right passenger lock. Sometimes it locks/unlocks and other times I have to do it manually. Thanks again for the help! I really do appreciate it.

 

For the headlamp, if moisture is present....then the HID components (ballast/inverter/ignitor) may be compromised by corrosion. Inspect the connections and grounds. Try swapping a known good bulb with the faulty side. No go, then ya have a choice of attempting to replace the OEM parts or go for the newer compact and water resistant units available from our sponsor in the Black Market.

As for the lock, try pulling the interior panel and observe the locking mechanism while working the lock. Sometimes the mechanism's rods and pivoting points need lubed. If the actuator was bad, it probably wouldn't be intermittent as you described. Check it out !

 

I will as soon as I have the time and the weather is decent. I don't have access to a garage I can put my car in just in case it starts raining, which it looked like it would all day today. I found another thread relating to the headlight for '02 TL's that outline the problem with the moisture inside the lens. I plan on replacing the seals around the headlight as well as checking everything you mentioned. If I did need to replace those parts would aftermarket units fit? I really don't know a lot about cars. I downloaded a repair manual for the car and I've just been learning as I go.

As for the lock, I've taken off the door panel before, but there's a white, thin, plastic liner covering the inside of the door. Should I tear that off and do I need to replace it?

 

Carefully move it to the side to access the internal mechanisms. If you should have to completely remove it, you can reuse it.

 

I just need to figure out how to get it off to move it. It has a yellow adhesive holding it onto the door.

 

Pull on it starting in a corner. Use a hair dryer (especially if its colder out) and heat it, it will soften the glue and make it easier to remove. If it tears just tape it.

 

I never would have thought of that. Thank you. Greatly appreciated.