Door Panel Removal On 98

[thirdmotion]

Guys, im trying to remove my interior door panel on my 98(passenger side)..

I unscrewed a screw near side view mirror covered with a little round black plastic piece and unscrewed another one where my door knob is.. it seems like the whole bottom area is detached but somewhere in middle or the top where window is is still intact. I didn't wanna break anything so i didnt force it. Are there any other screws that i missed or maybe do i have to take out the whole door knob area or the window controls..??

[camlex]

what about lifting up and see if comes off

[thirdmotion]

yeah i tried that too but didnt wanna lift it too hard cuz i was afraid of breaking something..

[khhoang]

this issue was just covered a few days ago. read thru this thread:

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=18985

[thirdmotion]

what's a tweeter?

[thirdmotion]

I managed to take door panel off without breaking anything with help of this thread

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=18985

The whole purpose of this was to change my side view mirror.

I have NEVER touched or worked on anything on any car before, this was my first time. I took time and was very careful and it all worked out fine and saved me few bucks. :D

I took some pictures during the process with my camera phone so the quality isn't that good..

1) REMOVING THE SCREWS

First, I removed the speaker cover to see where the screws for side view mirror was located.

It was fairy easy to take out the covers, all i had to do was lift it upward with little force and came right out.

I wasn't sure if this screw had to be removed to open the door panel but i did it anyway..

2) PRYING OUT TRIMS

I found it easier to pry out the trims using these spots without breaking anything..

I used a taped flat-head screw driver to pry out the trims so i won't scratch anything.

The main screw to open the door panel is located under window switch panel.

Once the trim is pryed out, disconnect all the plugs from switch panel.

3) OPENING DOOR PANEL / SNAP PLUGS

After removing all the trims(door handle, switch panel), use some force to unplug the snap plugs. There are total 7 snap plugs holding the door panel and the door together. Try working from the sides or the bottom. I found easier to unplug these working from the sides first. . Once all these are out, slightly lift up the door panel and should come right out.

4) TAKING OUT SIDE VIEW MIRROR

Once the door panel is removed, it should be easy to take out side view mirror and install the new one. But first you have to remove the speaker to reveal side view mirror screws underneath it.

Here's a picture of what it looks like after removing the speaker.

After unscrewing the bolds and removing the side view mirror.

Install your new side view mirror, connect all cables, screw back in everything and done!

I hope this helps! :)

[khhoang]

excellent writeup with pics!! definitely deserve to be placed in the Workshop Tutorials section ;)

btw, what was wrong with your original side view mirror? looks like you had a cracked mirror? i believe just the mirror piece could have been replaced instead the whole assembly. owell good job anyways.

[thirdmotion]

the mirror was cracked but i wanted to change the whole thing because there were noticable damages done to casing also when mirror was damaged... I picked up the mirror for $120 at a local junk yard so it all turned out good~ :D

[Lexusfreak]

Indeed a very well detailed write up! Nice job. B)

[steviej]

kudos to you on the write up.

I will let it stay here for a few days, then I will move it to the Tutorial Workshop section to join all the other threads regarding DIY procedures.

Thanks for your hard work,

steviej