How to Remove a Door Panel from a Volkswagen Passat

Applies to: VW PASSAT (1998-2005) GOLF GTI (1999-2005) NEW BEETLE (1998-2010) JETTA (1999-2005) GOLF (1999-2006)

 

VW Passat (1998-2005); Jetta (1999-2005); VW New Beetle (1998-2010); VW Golf (1999-2006); GTI (1999-2005)

Pull Tip: A plastic trim tool is better than the pocket screwdriver. Drivers door has 3 screws behind the inner grab handle. Golf, Beetle and Jetta will have a Phillips head screw just below the tweeter, or small speaker.

Estimated Pull Time: 25 minutes

Recommended Tools

  • Phillips Head Screwdriver
  • T-20 Torx Bit
  • Plastic Trim Tool
  • Pocket Screwdriver

Instructions

  • 1

    Start by removing the two T20 Torx at the bottom of the door panel

  • 2

    Using a trim tool or small flat blade screwdriver remove the door pull handle trim cover. Take care not to damage the trim

  • 3

    Remove the two Phillips head screws behind the trim

  • 4

    Check for aftermarket speakers which may need to be unscrewed and removed before you can get the panel off.

  • 5

    Starting at the bottom of the time panel, gently pull the panel away from the door. Work around the outside of the panel to release the trim clips

  • 6

    Once the trim clips are free, pull the door panel up and over the lock rod

  • 7

    Reach behind the trim panel and release the door latch cable from the inner handle

  • 8

    Carefully disconnect all of the electrical connectors including the light at the bottom

Hey everybody, Charles for humblemechanic.com here with another DIY and Drive Tutorial with Pull-A-Part Used Auto Parts.
Today, I'm going to show you how to take off a Volkswagen door panel. The great thing about this is you're only going to need a couple of tools. A Phillips-Head screwdriver, a T20 Torx, as well as a flat blade screwdriver, or something like this pocket screwdriver. So there's four fasteners that hold this door panel on. There's two Phillips-Head screws behind the handle. And then there's two T20 Torx at the very bottom of the door panel. We're going to go ahead and start at the bottom screws. And the one at the front of the door panel. In order to take this plastic trim piece off, what we're going to need to do is take a tool, like a flat blade screwdriver, and go at the bottom front of that pull handle. There's a tiny little gap in the plastic that will allow you to put a tool in and twist, or pry, to get the cover off. So we're going to go ahead and pop this trim cover off. Sometimes, these can be a challenge. Sometimes, they come right off. This one looks like it wasn't too bad. If you look right here, you can see that little spot I was talking about a little bit more clearly, where you can put the tool to either twist or pry. There are two Philips-Heads way inside these handles. Let's take the Philips-Head screws out. Now in order to take the door panel the rest of the way off, we need to release the trim clips that run along the front and the back side of the door panel. And the easiest way to do that is to start in the middle at the bottom. So I pull the door panel away just enough to fit my fingertips in and pull it away. This one came off pretty easy. You run your hand up the back side. And then the front side popping the clips as you go. Now you can't just yank the door panel off. That'll break either it or the lock rod. We actually need to come up and then away from the door. We're going to have to disconnect all the connectors, as well as the inner-door handle. So we're going to do the top two up here. We're going to do the inner-door pull. That's just a hook like that. That gives us enough room to pull this door panel pretty far away. And grab the connector for the panel light, which sometimes is actually easier to grab it with two hands, and pull it apart like that. And make sure you feed your wiring harness back through. And there we have it.
All right, guys. Thanks for watching, and I will see you next time.

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