acorn Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 What the safest way to remove the interior trim for the door pull and window switches on a 96 es300? There is a screw and 1 clip underneath near the center. Anymore fasteners? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mburnickas Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 What the safest way to remove the interior trim for the door pull and window switches on a 96 es300?There is a screw and 1 clip underneath near the center. Anymore fasteners? welcome to the forum! :) Just a thought, there is a FSM on this forum (see link below). Download it and have a look. Do not want to direct you to the wrong road. http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=26449 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blk_on_blk Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 Your '96 should be a mirror image of my '95. The pull-trim was what I was the most unclear on with the instructions i had. The way they have it in there is a hook in the front curved section pocketing into the door, and that just slides out once you get the clips undone. The "clips" are actually two posts on the top and bottom of the pivot pin on the door pull lever. If you put in a thin, wide flat nosed screwdriver between the pull-trim and the top of the pivot point on the pull-lever, then pry it up and out a bit, the trim will come off at the top, then just do the same for the lower part... once you get the pull-trim off the pivot section, then slide it out of the hooked area in the cupped section. If this doesn't make sense, I'll take a pic and post it. The rest of the fasteners are located: 1) below the ventalation port, in the upper lefthand quadrant of the door panel, there is a black circular piece of plastic (about 3/4" in dia)... pry that off and there is a screw underneath. You need to remove that screw. 2) using a narrow flat nosed screwdriver, pop out the little panel piece in the recess of the armrest on the door... you'll find another screw under there. That needs to come out. 3) pop out the two plastic retaining pins at the aft edge of the door panel... there are only two and again they are on the rear edge of the door panel. pop the top piece up with a screwdriver, and the whole pin will slide out. 4) Slowly, gently, and constantly pull on the little sail tweeter pod... pull from the top. There is a plunger-pin that slips into a rubber socket that retains the sail pod... slow constant pulling will let it slowly slip out of this rubber retainer. 5) If your run your fingers along the bottom of the door panel, you'll feel a recess or two... use the tips of your fingers to grab under these and pull quickly and hard on the door panel... the whole thing will pop off. 6) disconnect the wires going to the interior light and switch panels 7) slide the panel up and out of the window track.... voiala... panel off. If you've got any more questions, feel free to ask. I just did a total stereo upgrade, and there are a few little quirks to look for. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acorn Posted December 30, 2006 Author Share Posted December 30, 2006 "2) using a narrow flat nosed screwdriver, pop out the little panel piece in the recess of the armrest on the door... you'll find another screw under there. That needs to come out." This is the piece of trim I'm trying to remove, it forms the armrest recess on the door and goes forward to surround the window switches and doorlock switch, its not the door lever trim. I've taken the small panel out that is down in the recess and removed that screw. On the replacement there is 1 clip in the center, what else holds it in? What's the best way to pull it out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acorn Posted December 30, 2006 Author Share Posted December 30, 2006 "2) using a narrow flat nosed screwdriver, pop out the little panel piece in the recess of the armrest on the door... you'll find another screw under there. That needs to come out." This is the piece of trim I'm trying to remove, it forms the armrest recess on the door and goes forward to surround the window switches and doorlock switch, its not the door lever trim. I've taken the small panel out that is down in the recess and removed that screw. On the replacement there is 1 clip in the center, what else holds it in? What's the best way to pull it out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blk_on_blk Posted December 31, 2006 Share Posted December 31, 2006 Uh, that arm rest piece is integrated and molded into the door panel itself. If you are looking to get to the switches, you need to remove the entire door panel, and then you can access then from behind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acorn Posted January 2, 2007 Author Share Posted January 2, 2007 Uh, that arm rest piece is integrated and molded into the door panel itself. If you are looking to get to the switches, you need to remove the entire door panel, and then you can access then from behind. Thanks blk_0n_blk, but on my 96 it is a separate piece, I've bought a new door armrest trim piece from Lexus, the original is broken down in the recess and cracked across the door lock and window lock buttons. It has a metal clip underneath near the center and I'm guessing that the clip is what holds it in. Does anybody have experience removing one of these things? I'm about to apply the irresistible force to it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blk_on_blk Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 Oh, wow... didn't know they were different. Good to know. If it's a separate piece, then you should be able to see how it attaches if you take off the door panel. If you can't see any visible screws, then hopefully someone else can give you the secret of how to get it removed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blk_on_blk Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 Okay, so I don't know what I am thinking... I looked at that trim piece today and mine comes out, too... in fact I took it out and lined the passenger side insert with a 'damping strip' to keep it tigher in the door panel so it wouldn't squeak nor rattle with the new stereo. It's a super simple removal, but you do need to remove the entire panel. Follow the steps I outlined earlier, remove the door panel, and it's like two screws from the underside and the whole thing drops right out. Sorry about the confusion... must have lost my mind at the end of the year... found it again :whistles: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acorn Posted January 3, 2007 Author Share Posted January 3, 2007 Okay, so I don't know what I am thinking... I looked at that trim piece today and mine comes out, too... in fact I took it out and lined the passenger side insert with a 'damping strip' to keep it tigher in the door panel so it wouldn't squeak nor rattle with the new stereo. It's a super simple removal, but you do need to remove the entire panel. Follow the steps I outlined earlier, remove the door panel, and it's like two screws from the underside and the whole thing drops right out. Sorry about the confusion... must have lost my mind at the end of the year... found it again :whistles: I know the feeling... Thanks, this helps, I'll give it a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemonhead Posted May 14, 2007 Share Posted May 14, 2007 Do you know how I can get the outside door handle after I remove the panel? My door won't open from the outside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaosfive2005 Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 wait so re-cap what were the exact steps to take off the driver door panel? reason being I'd like to take it off to take a look at my window motor to see why my driver window keeps getting stuck. I figured its not the regulator but the motor, when it gets hot it freezes or gets stuck. I put up a post about it before so now yea i just gotta figure out how to take out the panel so i can take a gander Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaosfive2005 Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 ..and also what i should beware of and precautions so i dont damage anything inside the door Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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