Driver's Door
I'd been dreading this part of the job as it seemed to be a much more involved dismantling job but with my new found experience of the rear door Proplate I set about the task...
The Remis blind can be removed by just pushing out the small logo panel in the corner from behind and undoing the single screw that it hides. I found that was sufficient to be able to jiggle the blind assembly enough to allow the armrest to be lifted away from its brackets.
There's a fair bit of work to remove the armrest. First I levered out the window and mirror controls, this is a bit daunting as none of the trim removal tools were right for it so I settled on a slim screwdriver carefully entered into the top rear join and levered up. It came away cleanly and left no marks. The two connectors can be unplugged and the switch panel put to one side. There are little locking levers on the connectors which need to be understood before you use any force to release them.
Next, the speaker has to be removed after levering off its cover (with the same slim screwdriver). Its held in place with screws and a wiring connector. Once released it was put to one side.
To uncover all the armrest torx bolts there is the rear corner trim to prise off (screwdriver again), it comes off best upwards with the Remis frame held as far out of the way as possible. There's also a little cover plate where the inside door handle is, this again prises off and you can then get to all the armrest torx bolts.
The armrest pulls away quite easily in a slightly upwards direction. It will still be attached by wiring but this can be left in place, just hook the whole armrest safely as far out of the way as possible.
The lower door pocket is straightforward to remove.
The door trim was tricky. I couldn't find a tool that did the job exactly so it was a mixture of inserting a wedge at each stud location by feel and using (gentle) force to ping it. The panel came of all the locating pins leaving them firmly fixed in the door. With that out of the way I was faced with a foam membrane which is firmly stuck at its edges to the door. I didn't want to cut a hole in this so I released the top corner by the outside handle using a modelling knife carefully to cut through the silicone type adhesive and gently peeling it back to allow enough room to get a hand into the door.
So to work... The handle is held by 3x10mm nuts this time and you guessed it, one is impossible to reach. However there is an oblong grommet that can be removed to get a long socket through. There's also an actuating rod to release.
With the handle free and dangling outside the door its the same job as before. Offer up the Proplate to check its fit, this one fitted the door perfectly. Apply the sealant/adhesive and put it back together. The internal deflector plate needed a little bending to get it to fit nicely inside. It does need to be a good fit otherwise the nuts won't go back on as the bolts are not very long. Wipe off any excess sealant that may have been squeezed out onto your paintwork.
A little tip to save dropping any nuts into the door cavity is to cover each with a small piece of masking or insulation tape before jamming a socket onto it. It will stay in the socket until you are ready to pull it off.
Remember to put the grommet back and the actuating rod (again don't ask!)
The rest of the job is a reverse of the dismantling procedure.
Time taken on this door about 3 hours but would be much less if I had to do it again.
So there we have it, a good job done. For more security see our article on Thule External Locks
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