You know the story... door lock on my 2005 LX sedan died; would not lock or unlock anymore but it just wiggled. Got the new actuator part from Rockauto for ~$22 shipped and went to work...
Here is how to do this. It is more pain in the a** than it being "hard", namely because all of those parts (and how they move) are pretty unfamiliar. Lots of levers, cables and cramped spaces.
Remember: EASY DOES IT. You do not want to bend/break any hooks, latches or cables, and there will be plenty. If you have no patience, might be worth it to take it to the shop. Just saying... :thumbsup:
1. Take the door panel off; DIY for that here. I did not take the switches out, but disconnected them from the back myself.
2. When the panel is off this is how it all looks like:
Note that the window needs to be UP at this point!
3. I simply pulled off the moisture barrier slowly, shoving the black sealant back with a stick of wood. Watch it, this stuff is super sticky and is PITA to wash off your skin, likely impossible from clothes. Just take your time and do it slow. I did not warm it up beforehand, it was gooey enough anyway (~80 degree weather):
I pulled it off about this much and then taped it down with some masking tape. Watch those sticky edges! Hair hazard! :naughty:
4. Now, the part that we need to replace is out of sight (of course) - I am holding it in this photo; the whole latch assembly needs to come out! Start by unscrewing this:
This holds the window left rail, where the window slides into the door. I left the rail in but loose at the bottom, it gave me enough space to work.
5. Unscrew the following 3 screws:
6. Unscrew this screw and unhook two black plastic latches as shown:
7. Unhook two electrical connectors from the actuator; note where the arrow is; this is a little tab that you need to press in the direction of the arrow and then pull out the connector. Not easy as it is a bit cramped.
8. Unscrew the driver's side door lock thingy (I am sure it has a proper name):
9. Now it gets tricky; there are two rods connected to the part you need to take off; Princess posted a PDF in this thread that holds the key for how this needs to be done, here is a relevant part:
Now, I thought that one of rods was easier to unhook from the latch side and the other from the handle so this is what I'll show. The first rod, from the latch side:
Black clip needs to be rotated like so and then the rod comes right out in the direction of the arrow.
You end up with this:
Now for the second rod, pop out the plastic off the little maintenance window here:
Now, it is tricky to see but there is a green plastic clip that needs to be unhooked by rotating it in the direction of the arrow and then the rod comes right out, toward you:
(see the above illustration that helps here I think)
10. After you did that... freedom! Navigate the latch out:
11. This is what you got out; a few shots for reference; we need to take it apart:
12. To start taking it apart, unscrew the only visible screw on it:
13. Then slide the cable which was in the black bracket out of it, so you can have slack when you open the latch assembly:
14. Now, I pushed the metal piece sticking out of the plastic, which sort of separated the two pieces as we need them to be. You can use small pliers or something to do this:
15. It comes apart; one side (for reference):
And the other (where I need you to notice stuff):
- unscrew the circled small screw
- you will need to undo the hooked cable, and pop the pink cable bracket off once you take the actuator off
- note the position of the actuator "hand", as noted by one of the arrows
- also note that the actuator is "flush" with the metal piece of the latch assembly; important to note, when you put the new actuator on!
Essentially, once the screw is off, it all kind of comes apart and you can replace the actuator, moving the pink clip between the parts:
That is in fact all; at this point, it is all about putting it back together, as they say "in reverse order".
Double-check all of the connections, screws and electrical plugs. Don't forget to connect the driver inside door handle cable and all. Then test it. Hopefully it all works!
Here is how to do this. It is more pain in the a** than it being "hard", namely because all of those parts (and how they move) are pretty unfamiliar. Lots of levers, cables and cramped spaces.
Remember: EASY DOES IT. You do not want to bend/break any hooks, latches or cables, and there will be plenty. If you have no patience, might be worth it to take it to the shop. Just saying... :thumbsup:
1. Take the door panel off; DIY for that here. I did not take the switches out, but disconnected them from the back myself.
2. When the panel is off this is how it all looks like:
Note that the window needs to be UP at this point!
3. I simply pulled off the moisture barrier slowly, shoving the black sealant back with a stick of wood. Watch it, this stuff is super sticky and is PITA to wash off your skin, likely impossible from clothes. Just take your time and do it slow. I did not warm it up beforehand, it was gooey enough anyway (~80 degree weather):
I pulled it off about this much and then taped it down with some masking tape. Watch those sticky edges! Hair hazard! :naughty:
4. Now, the part that we need to replace is out of sight (of course) - I am holding it in this photo; the whole latch assembly needs to come out! Start by unscrewing this:
This holds the window left rail, where the window slides into the door. I left the rail in but loose at the bottom, it gave me enough space to work.
5. Unscrew the following 3 screws:
6. Unscrew this screw and unhook two black plastic latches as shown:
7. Unhook two electrical connectors from the actuator; note where the arrow is; this is a little tab that you need to press in the direction of the arrow and then pull out the connector. Not easy as it is a bit cramped.
8. Unscrew the driver's side door lock thingy (I am sure it has a proper name):
9. Now it gets tricky; there are two rods connected to the part you need to take off; Princess posted a PDF in this thread that holds the key for how this needs to be done, here is a relevant part:
Now, I thought that one of rods was easier to unhook from the latch side and the other from the handle so this is what I'll show. The first rod, from the latch side:
Black clip needs to be rotated like so and then the rod comes right out in the direction of the arrow.
You end up with this:
Now for the second rod, pop out the plastic off the little maintenance window here:
Now, it is tricky to see but there is a green plastic clip that needs to be unhooked by rotating it in the direction of the arrow and then the rod comes right out, toward you:
(see the above illustration that helps here I think)
10. After you did that... freedom! Navigate the latch out:
11. This is what you got out; a few shots for reference; we need to take it apart:
12. To start taking it apart, unscrew the only visible screw on it:
13. Then slide the cable which was in the black bracket out of it, so you can have slack when you open the latch assembly:
14. Now, I pushed the metal piece sticking out of the plastic, which sort of separated the two pieces as we need them to be. You can use small pliers or something to do this:
15. It comes apart; one side (for reference):
And the other (where I need you to notice stuff):
- unscrew the circled small screw
- you will need to undo the hooked cable, and pop the pink cable bracket off once you take the actuator off
- note the position of the actuator "hand", as noted by one of the arrows
- also note that the actuator is "flush" with the metal piece of the latch assembly; important to note, when you put the new actuator on!
Essentially, once the screw is off, it all kind of comes apart and you can replace the actuator, moving the pink clip between the parts:
That is in fact all; at this point, it is all about putting it back together, as they say "in reverse order".
Double-check all of the connections, screws and electrical plugs. Don't forget to connect the driver inside door handle cable and all. Then test it. Hopefully it all works!