Front Door Trim / Panel Removal

LS400 front door trim / panel removal.

1. Undo all the screws you can see at the bottom of the door panel plus one about halfway up the door catch end.

2. Undo the larger screw hidden under the armrest / handle.

3. Using something stiff, wide (about 50mm?) and thin, like a plastic glue spreader (or a panel removal tool!), lever out the wooden trim and undo the screw you find under it.

4. Undo the screw inside the door air vent supply hole.

5. Using your panel removal tool, lever out the surround of the door opener / lock. You may dislodge the seat belt adjuster switch but it just clips back into place from behind. You will have to pull on the door opener lever to free the surround. Let the surround hang free

6. Pull at the trim from the bottom to unsnap any plastic clips.

7. At the hinge end and the door opening end, pull out the trim so it clears the speaker housing and window frame and lift the whole panel up to unclip it at the top. Don't pull the panel away because it will still be connected by wires.

My passenger door lock had dropped inside the handle and I wanted to see if I could remedy it. Behind the panel there was a thin plastic sticker covering a hole that let me push the lock back into place after a lot of twisting and turning. There was also a nut visible through the hole. I undid it (10mm socket with blu-tack in the end in case the nut fell into the door) to see if the whole door handle came away but it only loosened it. That’s where I stopped.

Re-fitting is the opposite of removal but bear in mind that the door opener / lock surround has to sort of slide back in from the rear because there is a lug behind it that has to catch behind something. Also remember to push all the panel clips back home.

I think that’s about it. I did this armed only with the knowledge of how my wife’s old Fiesta trim came away and a you tube video showing the same sort of thing in an RX. If I’ve missed anything, please let me know.