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  1. #1
    Veteran Member Four Rings jimrobbington's Avatar
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    Door Panel Removal

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    Everyone asks how to do this their first time, and there is no official DIY for this, just random pictures someone sometimes tries to show people how. I was doing this anyway, so decided to add this to the archives.

    Tools you need:

    A fairly long Phillips head screwdriver, a flat head screwdriver, possibly some needle nose pliers, and if you want, replacement door card clips.

    Step #1: Remove door trim.

    Door trim comes off with just a good hard pull, nothing you can break here, so don't worry.

    The rear doors are very easy to take off. Simply get your fingertips under the front end and pull straight away from the door.






    There are about 5 tabs that will snap out and at the very opposite end from where you are pulling has kind of a hook, so when all tabs are released, pull the trim towards the front of the car to remove it.

    The front doors' trim is more flush so it is harder to grab by hand. You might need to use a flathead screwdriver here to create a gap large enough for your fingers, then pull it off the same way as the rear.




    On the driver's side door, there is also a small plastic cap underneath the handle.



    Now that all that is removed, every screw you need to remove is accessible. Locations are all noted below.

    The two rear doors have 4 screws each, the front passenger door has 6 screws, and the driver's door has 7.

    Placement of said screws for reference:

    Main difference being, on both front doors there is one center screw at the very bottom of the panel in the middle, and driver's side has screws under the armrest handle, whereas the passenger side has a screw in the armrest like the rears.






    The screws in the armrests are the most difficult to remove, and even harder to re-install. They are inside the door panel about 3"-4" inside with no guide to find them with the screwdriver. It is half luck, and how well you can "feel around" with a tool. As you can see here, this is the angle at which you need to be looking. Straight through the hole from side to side, but at quite an angle above the hole.



    Once you have all the screws removed, the entire door card needs to be pulled out towards you. Start from the bottom, as the top MUST come out last. This is where the extra optional "snaps" come in from the tools needed list. There is literally zero to no chance of pulling these off without breaking a couple. They get old, they get brittle, and they aren't meant for continuous usage. The key is to pulling out as perpendicular as possible to the door. Work your fingers around the outside of the door until you find a place you can get a good hold and pull. Work around from positions 3 o'clock to 9 o'clock until the whole bottom is off. Now you need to pull the top out of the window well. This is done easiest with the windows down of course. The best way is to grab it on the outside corner and pull up in a "Lamborghini doors" type motion.



    As seen in the picture above, right where I am grabbing the panel, the grey part of the panel is molded around the black part of the door. This is where you need to pull the door card towards you until you clear this spot, then pull straight up.

    Now you must unhook the latch mechanism, and the wiring from the door.




    Pull the little white plastic part straight out, then unhook the hook at the end and you're loose.

    The rear doors have this little brown plug:




    On the passenger side the part you have to push in to release is against the door, and on the drivers side it was on the visible side.
    The front doors have this thing:




    The orange part is locking it in, you must pull down in this picture to unlock it, then pull the whole thing down.



    If I remember correctly, there were clips into the speakers on the stock speakers that you would also need to unclip.

    That is it. You have successfully removed all door panels from your vehicle and now you have to put them back. The hardest part is getting the screw inside the armrest back in. A magnetic screwdriver would work the best, but I've done it several times without one.
    Last edited by jimrobbington; 03-28-2011 at 08:43 AM.
    2021 Audi S4, P34 Intake

  2. #2
    Administrator Four Rings Anthony's Avatar
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    Feb 10 2004
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    2009 A4 2.0T Sedan
    Location
    Bay Area, CA

    Nice write-up, Jim.

  3. #3
    Veteran Member Four Rings jimrobbington's Avatar
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    Dec 03 2008
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    Castle Rock, Colorado

    Thanks Anthony!
    2021 Audi S4, P34 Intake

  4. #4
    Veteran Member Four Rings bmc333's Avatar
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    Feb 12 2009
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    38630
    Location
    NoVA

    NICE - just what I needed for this weekend! Great job man
    2015 S3 - Panther Black P+ / LED Lights / B&O / APR Stage 1 ECU & TCU / APR Turbo Muffler delete / CTS Turbo Inlet/Discharge/Intercooler Pipes / X34 Intake / Superpro end links / VWR springs / 35% Tint / ED CF rear diffuser / 034 CF engine & fuse box covers / ECS CF battery cover / BBS SR's

  5. #5
    Veteran Member Four Rings airbornerifleman's Avatar
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    May 20 2008
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    2013 Passat TDI
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    Toronto Ontario, Canada

    Excellent write-up, thanks!
    2006 Audi 2.0T quattro Tiptronic

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    2013 Passat TDI

  6. #6
    Veteran Member Four Rings jimrobbington's Avatar
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    Dec 03 2008
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    You are welcome my children! I'm glad it has already helped someone. Feel free to PM me with any questions.
    2021 Audi S4, P34 Intake

  7. #7
    Veteran Member Four Rings 80sGuy's Avatar
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    Oct 09 2007
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    Miele S7
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    Los Angeles

    Nice, I had it removed by myself and it was a piece of cake, took about 5 minutes. The idiots from service left my driver tweeter unplugged when the sound from my sub-woofer was cutting off intermittently (loose connection from prior visit when I had them checked for something else, and they couldn't put the panel back the same way). So instead of bringing my car in for them to screw it up again, which I know they will, I've decided to work on it myself. I managed to get the panel off without breaking any of the clips, it is one of the easiest panel I've ever worked on and pretty straight forward. Nice job Jim!

    2008 A4 2.0T | Dolphin Gray Metallic/Dk Gray | multitronic | Bluetooth | Dk Wood | Convenience. | Premium. | Sprt Susp. | Bare-bone 100% factory stock!

  8. #8
    Veteran Member Four Rings Kubus's Avatar
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    Aug 10 2009
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    2017 Audi S3
    Location
    Montreal, QC

    Is the duct tape at the top of the door factory? I've never opened the door before and the dealer never told me they were opening it so when I took the door panels off and saw the duct tape at the top of the door I was a bit shocked

  9. #9
    Veteran Member Four Rings jimrobbington's Avatar
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    Dec 03 2008
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    Re: Door Panel Removal

    I do not recall any duct tape in my doors.
    2021 Audi S4, P34 Intake

  10. #10
    Veteran Member Four Rings Kubus's Avatar
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    2017 Audi S3
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    Montreal, QC

    So weird. It was at the top of the door taped to the material that separates the door and the door panel.

    Curious why it's there

  11. #11
    Established Member Two Rings lesurfman's Avatar
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    montréal, Canada

    My 2007 also have duct tape inside the front doors near the mirror

    Quote Originally Posted by Kubus View Post
    So weird. It was at the top of the door taped to the material that separates the door and the door panel.

    Curious why it's there
    SPRINT BLUE 2007 A4 2.0T MT6 Quattro S-Line Titanium
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  12. #12
    Veteran Member Four Rings 80sGuy's Avatar
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    I think it's there to keep the panel down and tight. A few years ago when I first took my car in to check on a 'dead' speaker from the driver side door, the panel never felt the same afterwards. Every time when I rest my elbow on top of it, I would feel a cushion of about 1-2mm up and down if depressed. They fixed the speaker but forgot to plug the 'tweeter' in so I ended up with no high-end, needless to say I popped it opened myself and plugged the wire back in but forgot to look underneath. I did remembered feeling something sticky underneath the seam. I compared to feel to the passenger side (never altered before) and it felt tight without any looseness.

    2008 A4 2.0T | Dolphin Gray Metallic/Dk Gray | multitronic | Bluetooth | Dk Wood | Convenience. | Premium. | Sprt Susp. | Bare-bone 100% factory stock!

  13. #13
    Active Member One Ring NICKLIMLAW's Avatar
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    Aug 27 2013
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    Dallas/TX

    My clips were actually REALLY hard to remove in semi-warm weather. They are almost 15 years old now, but the front was SUPER easy - maybe because they've been removed before. If the clips are giving you trouble, here's how they work so you can hopefully not break them like I did. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyNq6Y9ajxs

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