Gaining Access To Repair Power Windows,
Door Locks, Side Mirrors and More.
(Covers Model Years 2006 to 2010)
In This Article:
The side mirror cover is removed,
the door pull handle is split apart, a small cover is
removed behind the door release handle, and several
screws are removed. The switch panel is removed and the
door panel is pried away from the car. The door latch is
detached from the panel.
This Toyota RAV 4 had
three hidden screws that I needed to remove.
I started by removing
the side view mirror cover.
Using a tack puller, I
pried on the top area of the mirror cover to unsnap the
clips behind the plastic cover.
View of back of mirror cover.
The arrow points
to the snap clip.
I pried on the seam in the pull handle to split
the handle in two.
I used the tack puller for
this, and started prying at the bottom area.
As I moved
upward, prying lightly to avoid damage, I was
able to unsnap the rest of the outer part of the
pull handle.
View of pull handle after separating the outer
half.
There were two screws behind the this
cover.
I removed the
top screw with a Phillips screwdriver.
Then I removed the bottom screw.
I used the
tack puller to pry the cover from behind the
inside door latch, starting at rear area.
Then I removed the cover from behind the latch
handle.
Then I was
able to remove the Phillips screw behind the
latch handle.
To prevent scratching the door panel,
I lined the front area around the window switch
panel with masking tape.
Then I used a small flat screwdriver and
carefully pried the switch cover up at the
front.
The switch
panel had a snap clip in the front, and the back
hooked into the door panel.
With the small flat screwdriver I pressed in the
lock tab on the wire connector...
...and pulled
the connector out of the switch.
View of the four covers that have to be removed.
This plastic
door panel had some very difficult snap clips.
As usual, I started prying the door panel at the
lower rear corner.
Using a thin rigid putty knife, I pried
the panel out enough to insert a small pry bar
(wonder bar) behind the panel.
With some force I was able to release the snap clips.
Once all the
snap clips were released, I pulled the
panel outward slightly and lifted it up to release
the door panel from the top lip.
On the back of the panel at the latch area, I
pried up the mounting tab for the inside door latch
assembly to release it from the panel.
Then I was
able to slide the latch out of the door panel.
Some of the snap clips stayed in the metal panel
and had to be removed and placed back in the
plastic door panel.
View of back
of plastic door panel.
View of metal door with panel removed.
Note
how the door latch is just hanging by a pair of
cables.
Removal of Side View Mirror:
To remove the
side view mirror I disconnected the wire
connector first (green circle).
Then using a 10mm socket I removed the
mounting bolts (red arrows).
Caution: Have someone hold the mirror...
if it falls it can damage the outside painted
part of the door.
