Door panel

[joepro]

Hi,

I've had it enough with my doors rattling, so i've decided to fix it myself. Problem is I've never removed a door panel before so not sure where to start and don't wanna break anything. Any help will be appreciated. I'll try to take pictures to help out other fellas with door rattles and the window popping sound issue.

 

[fam]

Hi,

I've had it enough with my doors rattling, so i've decided to fix it myself. Problem is I've never removed a door panel before so not sure where to start and don't wanna break anything. Any help will be appreciated. I'll try to take pictures to help out other fellas with door rattles and the window popping sound issue.

Shes under warrantee just take her in to have them look at it. If you are insistant, there are phillips screws in multiple places in the doors some will have little covers that have to be popped off gently with a sharp flat screw driver. Once those are all out you wil have to take out the piece of plastic that goes behind the door handle form the inside. most of these things only come off 1 way or they break (plastic pins etc) so be careful, door panels zre expensive, Once that is out you can lift the panel straight up and it should come off, If it doesnt budge there may be little plastic pushpins that have plastic edges that hold itself in the hole. You can get those out with a flat screwdriver if you are talented, or else youll have to buy a special tool. Most door panel noises are because someone removed the door panel improperly! So that is my WARNING! If you have a friend that has done it before, let him!
good luck

 

[skiprat]

Above person is right, take it in while it's under warranty. I took mine in 'cos both front doors were rattling, it turned out the drivers side panel was incorectlly installed and the passenger side window mechanism was faulty, both of which they fixed overnight. Be careful though, I drove off without double-checking and when I got home I realised the passenger side panel on top of the door right below the window was all buckled and dented from not being put back on properly - I took it back and they bent it back into shape... it would have taken ages to order a new one otherwise. No rattles now though, I'm happy to report. I'll check my reciept from the dealer tonite so I can tell you exactly what the problems were - I'm at work right now.

 

[joepro]

Shes under warrantee just take her in to have them look at it. If you are insistant, there are phillips screws in multiple places in the doors some will have little covers that have to be popped off gently with a sharp flat screw driver. Once those are all out you wil have to take out the piece of plastic that goes behind the door handle form the inside. most of these things only come off 1 way or they break (plastic pins etc) so be careful, door panels zre expensive, Once that is out you can lift the panel straight up and it should come off, If it doesnt budge there may be little plastic pushpins that have plastic edges that hold itself in the hole. You can get those out with a flat screwdriver if you are talented, or else youll have to buy a special tool. Most door panel noises are because someone removed the door panel improperly! So that is my WARNING! If you have a friend that has done it before, let him!
good luck

Thanks for the heads up warning. I'll get a buddy of mine to supervise the operation.

 

[joepro]

Above person is right, take it in while it's under warranty. I took mine in 'cos both front doors were rattling, it turned out the drivers side panel was incorectlly installed and the passenger side window mechanism was faulty, both of which they fixed overnight. Be careful though, I drove off without double-checking and when I got home I realised the passenger side panel on top of the door right below the window was all buckled and dented from not being put back on properly - I took it back and they bent it back into shape... it would have taken ages to order a new one otherwise. No rattles now though, I'm happy to report. I'll check my reciept from the dealer tonite so I can tell you exactly what the problems were - I'm at work right now.

If you could give me that information I'd appreciate it a lot!

 

[Don Lockwood]

Just take you car to the dealer, its under warranty. My front passenger door is rattling and i told that to the Mazda Canada when they called me for a survey. My dealer called me for an appointment ... that dealer wants me happy i guess! ;-)

Why mess with something that can be fixed by a pro for free???

 

[joepro]

Just take you car to the dealer, its under warranty. My front passenger door is rattling and i told that to the Mazda Canada when they called me for a survey. My dealer called me for an appointment ... that dealer wants me happy i guess! ;-)

Why mess with something that can be fixed by a pro for free???

Why? Because in my 2 months of ownership I've already been to the dealer 5 times... Maybe I'll just schedule this when they receive my
"Solenoid Evap" thingy or when I go in for my first oil change. I mean I LOVE this car but every visit to my dealer is aggravating me a little more. Yeah Yeah, first year car, blah blah... I've heard it all. So if I can fix some of these minor inconveniences myself, it'll save me the trouble of another aggravating 40 minute drive to the dealer.

 

[goldwing2000]

So if I can fix some of these minor inconveniences myself, it'll save me the trouble of another aggravating 40 minute drive to the dealer.

Damn straight. I'd MUCH rather fix it myself.

 

[fam]

If youre dealer is stupid, take it to another dealer, its still under warrantee, I once changed out the complete interior in my 2000 mustang with a 98's because it was black leather vs cloth, I did it the right way, I knew what i was doing, but the interior still squeaked and rattled! Just a warning!

 

[sndsgood]

its a cheap car taking it back to the dealer will just fix the noise for a week or 3 until the squeak or noise comes back, i'd suggest gutting the interior, covering the back side of any plastic panel with a thin foam material. headliner material works good. also the inside of exterior panels can have sound damping applied to them as well as the inner metal panels. acoustical foam can be put near the back by the rear wheel wells and up under the firewall. will take a long weekend, cost you from 20$-300$ and will cut your noise in half if not more and 90% of the squeaks will be resolved.

 

[PhilGood]

Removing the door panel is not as difficult as someone mentioned, here's the instruction in Japanese and wish it help:

To enlarge: http://mazda3forums.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10504/DoorPanel.jpg

 

[joepro]

Thanks everybody for your input. I'll get around to it over the weekend and will probably even install dynamat kits in them. I'll take pictures if possible. There is one thing bothering me though. If my power windows break sometime in the future, will they blame it on me playing with the door panels and s***?

 

[sndsgood]

if you broke it you'd have to damage the wire or the clip or the motor. something phsically damaging where it would be noticable. and they would have to prove that. don't worry about it. chances are pretty good your car will be out of warantee before they break lol..

 

[PhilGood]

This guys has pics taken on how to remove the door panel! Check Page2 and onward...

http://www.sounddomain.com/memberpage/495957

 

[joepro]

I removed the door panel tonight and figured out what was causing the rattling. It's a little plastic clip that holds a piece of foam. Unfortunately, it's not easily reachable since it's hidden beneath the second door panel. What is the best way to remove that second panel without breaking the window? Any ideas?

The piece of foam can be seen through the clear piece of plastic and is located at the bottom right of the door.

I'm not putting the panel back on until the rattle is fixed. I guess I'll have to figure it out soon since it's now rattling even more without the panel on.

 

[PhilGood]

This may help: http://mazda3forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=5314&highlight=remove+door+panel

 

[PhilGood]

joepro, after doing all this you mean consider putting dynomat on the door panel to quiet down the car

 

[TStar]

just use the how-to for the speakers/doorpanels.. it's really easy.. but i hope the rattling thing is really the panel, not the doorlock (as it was in my case)

 

[joepro]

This may help: http://mazda3forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=5314&highlight=remove+door+panel

Thanks dude! After I removed the black plastic piece, the loose clip was easily accessible. It won't rattle anymore Now when I get a chance I'll dynamat the doors and see what can be done with the wheel wells and firewall.

 

[ferris209]

Plastic Pushpins

Anyone know where to get some of those little plastic pushpins, I lost a couple then broke a couple more in my inifinite clumsiness. I need some black ones.