first remove the in side door handle cover and remove the screws




there is a screw under the arm rest/ above the map pocket





there is a screw in the bump stop at the edge of the door. if it spins,
pull the rubber off and pull the door panel over the screw.



pull the door panel from the bottom



becareful when you pull the door cable, it is attached to a hook . the green clip will brake if you it to pull to hard.



you can let it hang or the better idea, remove the window switch plug and untwist the door light out. the weather cover comes off with a razor blade. just pull and cut flush with the door. do your thing then reverse.

 

Having just done this recently let me add my 2 cents

The bump stop: DO NOT over tighten it during reassembly. The Acura tech that replaced a bad regulator in my driver's door did so. This means the plastic receptacle in the door just spun. Major pain in the a$s to get out. Simply tighten in enough for things to be just snug. Any more and you will round off the square part of the receptacle in the door.



The cable clip. There is a very small clip that you can't see in these pictures. It keeps the cable from popping out of the door handle lever. After a few years it does become brittle. The same tech that did my window regulator broke it and had to order a new one. I'd guess you can use a zip tie but just be careful. Once released, the clip can come free of the handle. I know this since I spent 10 minutes looking on the floor for it ! Best to take it out and put it in the same safe place you put the screws.

 

do you need any adhesive on the weather stripping when you button it up?

 

Do you guys know if it's the same way to remove the rear passenger doors?

I want to replace one of the power lock motors.

 

No.

Yes. .. why do you need to replace the actuator?

 

It's dead.

I can lock it manually, but no power locks, so no remote.

Just happened to my passenger side door a while ago. Stuff like this I'd usually fix myself, but I just didn't feel like taking off my door anytime soon.

Went to the dealership, cost me about $240. The part itself? Costs about $40.

So with that being said, I think I'll get off the couch and do it myself this time.

 

?? so only the one actuator won't work but when you use the remote all the other locks go down? Do you have a door open signal on your MID? if so check the harness connection & lines from the panel to actuator.

If you lock the doors with the key on the Drivers door will all 3 go down except that one? If so it's probably the actuator.. you can test the actuator with a continuity test. There is a 3 pin connector to the actuator and the first and last should be probed. If the door is locked and there is no continuity (open) & vice-versa then the actuator should be okay, otherwise replace it. If Acura said it's bad.. you can bet that they checked already so you can skip the test.

Also once you remove the panel and disconnect the connector, it'll cut power to your door including your window so make sure you roll it up if you plan on leaving the car.

 

this is a great guide!!! my front passenger window fell out of its track this morning which did suck to have to leave my car with the window down all day but luckily i found this thread. very very easy to remove the door panel.

also since i now know how to remove the door panel my driver side door lock is not working at all. the power door lock that is. at first it sounded like the door lock was struggling to go down or up. but it still did. then one day nothing. no sound or anything when i try to use it. manual it is fine. now because the driver side will not go down the rest will not go down or up. im thinking the actuator is bad on this and i have to get a new one. does this sound correct to anyone else?

 

Thanks for the great threads guys!

I am a first timer here at the forum and I thought after some dude took my mirror off with his car during winter I thought it was going to be a huge undertaking. However, what an easy easy project and acura are beautiful machines to work with.

After removing all the bolts and dropping the door panel, all I had to do was peel back the weather stripping and remove 3 bolts and the harness to the power mirror. Reverse those step and voila, I have a brand new mirror that works. No more checking my blind spots with a 180 degree pelvic turn. In addition, I only paid $25 plus shipping on a fantastic deal through ebay!!!

Thanks again and I will be back to do some more investigating!

 

Just changed my rear door panel cause it was torn up.
Thanks guys those instructions were on point and it actually isn't hard just don't break that green clip in the picture.

now for my next project i think i'll replace that green clip

 

I need someone to give me advice on how to change the inner door handle cable from aculator to inside door handle..

 

hi everyone. great site. i just removed the door panel and broke the green clip,not the problem. i removed the door panel to get to the screw that holds the metal bracket that the door handle cap screws onto.i got the door panel off and realized that i cant get access to it. it looks like i gotta get in the door itself to do this. does anyone know what the hell im talking about?

ps....the reason im doing this is that the door handle cap doesnt just "snap" on. but it snaps right on to the one it came off of.

 

Good info! I need to investigate a clunk in my door panel so I'll get to this once the weather gets warmer.

 

is there a way to remove the panel with the door closed? my door is stuck shut

 

Thanks for the great post 240sx acura tech! I am going to be doing this to my drivers door today so that I can replace some bulbs that went out in the memory seat buttons. Thanks again!

 

Back 2 life... Thanks it helped!

 

thanks for the write up. the plastic chrome crap on the door handle was peeling off so i needed to replace that whole assembly. this was well documented.

again, that one screw on the side of the door is a pain in the a$$. have fun with that one.

 

LONG phillips w/ magnetic tip. Well worth the money spent!

 

i can't seem to get this part out? pulled the rubber out... but the diameter of the screw is overlapping the panel. and the screw just won't unscrew out?
i'm trying to pop it open and seeing if anything is loose. my door currently won't open from the inside. will only open from the outside

 

Either cut if off or pull it through.

 

[QUOTE=TrunKz17;14763057]i can't seem to get this part out? pulled the rubber out... but the diameter of the screw is overlapping the panel. and the screw just won't unscrew out?
i'm trying to pop it open and seeing if anything is loose. my door currently won't open from the inside. will only open from the outside [/QUOTEA

This is a common problem- you need to use a very thin needle nose pliers and squeeze it in between the inner door panel and the metal inner door (being careful not to scratch the paint on the metal inner door), grasp the surrounding metal sleeve of the screw (which screws into plastic), and remove the Phillips screw. When you put it back together, the screw will likely just spin without tightening so you have to repeat the process to tighten as well.

 

thanks guys it'll take me a few weeks before i can get any of this done since i have no garage and its cold out lol

 

Great Thread ..Had to take my driver side off today ,so I can do the regulator ..

 

[QUOTE=erdoc48;14763149]+1... they way I did it was use a very thin flat head screwdriver to wedge in between the panel and the door, next to this screw. Be careful not to damage the paint. Use the flat head to kind of restrict the movement of the clip (its square.) I had to do the same thing when I reinstalled it, and its not a big deal because as mentioned earlier, you do not need to make it gorilla tight.

 

Great thread and very helpful to me. One word of advice. Buy the cable when you buy whatever you're trying to replace inside the door. For me, I needed to replace the acuator. As cautious as I was, that green clip broke and the door handle will not function without it. The cable was only $6 and now I've got to get the lock assembly back out which is a pain. Save yopurself the hassle and buy the cable.

 

My passenger side window presumably fell off the track that raises and lowers the window and is now stuck in the down position. I currently have my window taped up with plastic sheeting as if a drunk college asshole smashed it. Does anybody have experience with dealing with this issue? It seems like this is the appropriate tutorial to get to the root of my problem. All insight is appreciated. Thanks!6

 

I haven't worked on windows in my TL but I have done them in a 350Z and a Saab 9-3. Really not that difficult. Your window regulator is most likely toast and perhaps the motor too. The motor has the cables on spools and that's how the window operates. Search Youtube for "acuar tl window regulator" and there are videos telling how to fix/replace the regulator.

 

I imagine the plastic bit glued to the bottom of the window-glass has shattered (or come un-glued. Once that happens, the window falls in. You won't know for sure till you remove the inner door panel and see what's going on. If the plastic has shattered, you may need a whole new window. I had this happen on my CRX. The other possibility is it's the regulator that broke, and you just need to replace that and re-install your old window. I had this happen on my Element.

Getting the window out on this car seemed tricky to me (when viewing the manual). You need to completely remove the rear window track. Once the interior panel is off, gently slice away at the glue holding the weather seal on with an x-acto (this way you can simply stick it back on). The track runs from the top of the door all the way down into the bottom of the door. Next put the window all the way down. Then peel back the rubber weather seal on the very the top of the door to expose the one screw holding the track on underneath. Then undo the other bolt (or bolts) inside the door at the bottom of the track. Now you can tip the track forward (at the top) and it will come out. If it doesn't come out, you may need to slide out the little piece of quarter glass 1st (I can't remember). Once the rear track is out, you can then gently lift the glass up and out of the door. Now undo the shattered window holder and install the new glass (or replace the regulator)

This is all from memory having read the manual recently, so proceed with caution.

 

Great thread, need to remove driver door panel to replace the lock out button for the power windows and while I'm in there going to install the puddle lights from another thread.

 

I just wanna know how to take the wood grain paneling out

 

It can be unscrewed from the panel from the rear. I think there's 9 screws or so to remove it. Once you have it removed, you can do as you wish with the trim. I recommend a vinyl wrap. NOTE: The circled fasteners represent what is needed to remove the switch.

 

Great Post - just did it myself, I found a couple of useful tool when the inside part to the door cap fell and I really struggle to put it back, turned out a simple bottle brush really did the trick. My second struggle was one screw was easy to get to, the second screw really was block by a big metal bar. I homemade a flexible bit by adding in an extension but not putting down all the way a

nd wrapping it with electrical tape so that it can bend a little bit.

 

Getting ready to do this repair and I wanna order all my parts before I begin. Can anyone tell me the part number for the cable clip? I'm sure I'll break mine getting the panel off.