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Picture guide for taking off door panels

44K views 16 replies 10 participants last post by  justalilslow 
#1 ·
I checked the how-to forum and searched the forums itself and found nothing. I need a good guide with pictures on how to remove the door panels. Anyone?
 
#2 ·
should be pretty easy, tonnes of them are clipped in. I know someone will chime in, but you should be able to pry out the cover on the grab handle where a couple of screws may be, look all around the door panel, if no screws, pry it off. I've never taken a door panel off of a focus, but they are all generally very easy.
 
#4 ·
1. There is one torx screw in the alcove behind the door latch. You need to pop off a little screw cap to see it. Remove that and extract the screw.

2. The bezel around the door latch and switches is held on with pressure clips. Work your fingers into the front edge of it and pull gently, working your way back as the clips come undone. I believe there are 2 at the leading edge of the door and 1 to the rear of the door latch.

3. Using a small screwdriver, stick it up into the two small holes beneath the grab handle in the middle of the door. There is a cover inset into the front of it that you need to pop off. If you work that small screwdriver around a little bit you should be able to raise the insert enough to get your fingers under it and pull it free.

4. There are several torx screws around the outside edge of the panel where it meets the door. Remove all of these. They are the same size as the torx that was behind the latch.

5. There are 2 bolts behind the grab handle that can be reached now that you removed the insert. They require a small socket with a nice long extension to reach. I believe they need a 6mm socket?

6. Once you've removed all the torx screws and the two bolts, the panel should move fairly freely. There may be one or two pressure clips in the rear doors. Remove the panel by pulling it towards you and then up. There is a small lip in the window channel that you need to clear.

And that should be about it!
 
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#8 ·
7. You'll have to remove the trim over the mirror adjuster (manual or power). It pops off and is held on by 3 friction clips. Work from the window side to the front. The 2 clips are on the window side, running parallel with the window, the 3rd is just under the adjuster and runs perpendicular to the window.
Yes! Good call. Forgot about those little buggers on the front doors.
 
#5 ·
why do you need to remove the switches bezel? it's probably not necessary unless it somehow screws into the door, you can remove it all as one piece then unplug it when you are taking it off.

just one less step, also prevents possible damage and chipping of pieces with a sharp screwdriver.

if you can (and if you have it) use something made of plastic to pry on these pieces, also, try to use something that is skinnier and can do less damage than a flathead screwdriver, with more of a surface area thats used to pry, so you dont crack and damage parts.
 
#7 ·
why do you need to remove the switches bezel? it's probably not necessary unless it somehow screws into the door, you can remove it all as one piece then unplug it when you are taking it off.

just one less step, also prevents possible damage and chipping of pieces with a sharp screwdriver.
It's really a convenience thing with the Focus door panels. The door latch is actually half behind and half in front of the switches bezel (if you see it on the car that will make sense, I swear!) and is affixed to the door itself, not the panel you'll be removing. So, if you don't remove the switch bezel then you'll need an extra set of hands to pull on the interior door latch so that you'll be able to get the panel off from around it.

With the switch bezel removed, there is a nice large open space for the latch to fit through during the removal process and you can leave it attached to the door.
 
#6 ·
meh I would say its all down to preference, if you are experienced in taking them off you can leave them all on, really just depends on the door design, where if you can take the wiring out without removing the bezels, you do it.

I've been doing it at work, door panels don't weigh a hell of a lot, won't be too too much strain on the wires, and if you are really that concerned, get a jack and put a cloth on it to hold it up. I guess thats just me though, where I am working we only deal with '02+ Euro cars and I can't damage or chip a single thing or everything gets replaced and replaced out of my ass
 
#9 ·
Good info guys, but no one has any pics? I like to see what I would be doing before I do it. lol
 
#10 ·
Seriously, Kaiser, it's easy as can be. I just removed all four door panels on my car, was able to do it all in about 10 minutes per door.

Remove all of the torx screws around the edge of the door, there is something like 6-8 of them. Remove the torx screw from behind the door latch release handle (covered behind the aforementioned plug). Remove two bolts from behind the door handle itself (not the latch release handle, but the handle for closing the door). They are behind the removable cover on the inside face of the handle itself. For the front doors, remove the interior mirror cover trim that is forward of the window, and if you have a four-door (or five-door hatchback), remove the trim panel there.

If you want, you can then remove the door lock/window switch bezel, but I didn't find it necessary. You can simply unplug the harness from the switch. Once you have all of the bolts/screws, lift the panel carefully from around the window, since that is really the only thing holding it in place. It should slide up with minimal resistance. Once the panel is out of the way, that's when you can unplug your wiring if so desired. Be careful when you remove the panel, remember that the door latch release handle is still feeding through the door, so slide it up and forward to clear the release handle.
 
#11 ·
Ok then I'll take your word for it and check it out. :D
 
#16 ·
Maybe a silly question, but has anyone even put the door trim back on with the window up? When I've taken the door trim off before, I always had the window down to give me some extra room. But this time around I'm going to do some sound deadening, so I'll want the window up to have access to the inside of the door panel. Any trouble getting the trim off and on with the window up?
 
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