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How To Remove a Door Panel
Removal of a door panel allows you to upgrade the speakers, or to add lights in the doors. All four door panels are removed exactly the same way. The only difference is the driver's door has a bigger electrical connector and the locking mechanism for that connector is slightly different. It is best to take your time when attempting this removal and the reinstall.
Use a medium Phillips screwdriver to remove the screw in the armrest.
(All of these pictures are of the right rear door)
The door handle trim is clipped to the door panel. Use a medium flat screwdriver or a plastic pry tool to remove the door handle trim. Do this by gently prying the door handle trim away from the door panel.
Use a medium Phillips screwdriver to remove the screw that was behind the door handle trim.
Starting at the front, pull the armrest insert straight up.
Then pull the back of the armrest insert straight up and free of the door panel.
Disconnect the electrical connector from the armrest insert by depressing the locking tab while simultaneously pulling the connector. It may be helpful to wiggle and pull at the same time, in order to work the connector free.
For the front doors only, remove the sail panel that houses the tweeter speaker by pulling the panel away from the door. For additional room, disconnect the electrical connector from the tweeter.
Starting at the bottom forward corner for the rear doors (or at the bottommost edge for the front doors) pull the plastic door panel slowly and deliberately away from the door. You will hear and feel plastic clips being pulled out of their sockets. (Don't worry, they will snap back into place when the door panel is reinstalled.) Keep pulling as you work up the forward and rear edge of the door panel, then finally remove the top edge closest to the widow by pulling the entire door panel away from the door.
This is a view of the door latch lever behind the door panel. The door latch lever is secured to the plastic door panel by an upper and lower plastic clip, and movement is restrained by a keyway. Gently spread the clips apart to free the door latch lever from the door panel. The door panel is now completely free of the car.
To reinstall the door panel, reverse these steps. The initial lineup of the top edge of the panel to the door is the hardest part, then the rest is easy. Make sure the plastic clips line up to their sockets before pressing the panel home, or else you may break the clips.
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