missheatherh Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Is there any way to take the drivers side door panel off my 95 Lexus ES300 without taking the whole door apart? There was a hole in the little door compartment and my GPS card fell down in the door!!I thought I should be able to take the lil panel off where the windows and locks are but I cant seem to get it to pop out and dont wanna break anything!! Thanks in advance if u can help me!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexis lexus Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Shouldn't be too much of a problem, if you're mechanically inclined. good part is that it isn't a greasy job. but it does require some time and patience. using an inexpensive set of door panel pry bars (harbor freight) makes the job easier and w/ decreased liklihood of breaking or losing parts, but a large bladed screw driver covered w/ duct tape will do in a pinch. It's been a while since I did this so I may not have all the steps, but if you take your time it should come off well. First remove the plastic cup behind the door open lever, this boy can break so be gentle, it's held in place by a few clips, may need to be slid forward or reversed to free them up, and once free, it slides over the handle which remains in place. Next is a screw located at the bottom of the finger grab on the door rest, may be an insert of felt like material that has to be removed first. There is also, if I recall correctly a screw under a plastic snap cap on the surface in the front of the door, the surface that meets the dash when the door is closed. May be a similar screw on the rear articulating surface of the door as well. Now your ready to start popping up the many plastic pop rivets that hold the door panel in place. You couldn't remove just one part of it, since it's all one piece. The switch panel does come out separately, but only when you unscrew it from inside the door panel. You were right to not press your luck, since that switch panel is very easy to crack. You may be able to find your card at the bottom of the door, and this may require only lifting the panel out and rooting around inside w/ your hand. If this doesn't work, then after popping the bottom and side rivets, you have to lift up on the panel until it moves off the top, then the only thing holding the panel in place are 3 (or 4?) electrical clips to the window, lock, light,trunk/gas release switches, and speakers. Re install in the reverse order, popping clips back in by smacking them with the palm of your hand on the surface of the panel. Good luck. LL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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