How do you remove the interior door panel on a 2000 Pontiac Grand Am?

Answer 1

Okay, I currently have a 2000 Pontiac Grand Am GT1. I went to go replace my stock speakers and found it quite difficult. Here is how I removed the door panel and got access to the speaker holster:

(I SUGGEST DOING IT FIRST ON THE PASSENGER SIDE WHERE THERE ARE LESS WIRES AND COMPONENTS)

1) Take off the tweeter (triangular thing). It is simply clipped on and will come off relatively easily. Pinch inward and pull out.

2) Then proceed to roll down the window ALL THE WAY. This will prevent you from scratching or shattering the window if a tool slips. Next, pop off the window and lock control panel (with a flat-head screw driver) off the door panel (it is simply clipped in with 2 metal tabs on each side to hold it in) to reveal the inside of the door and ONE LARGE SCREW.

3) Start to take off the door panel screws. From what I remember, these are the screws and their locations: (in order) a) Small screw holding in door handle cover. (this removes the protective door handle thing)(the protective thing needs to be removed: simply pull on the handle while slipping the cover out.) b) Large screw under the handle of the door. (this will loosen the whole panel) c) Large screw UNDER the reflector plate on the door. You will have to take off the reflector in order to gain access to this screw. CAUTION: the reflector is VERY fragile and can crack easily. (this will loosen the whole panel) d) Large screw right behind the window controls. (this will disconnect the whole panel from the door itself.

DO NOT TRY TO REMOVE THE PANEL WITHOUT REMOVING ALL THE SCREWS AND THE PROTECTIVE PLATE!!!

4) Electronic Obstacles...yea...kinda hard to explain: Well, first off, the panel will not be able to come off without disconnecting the door control panel. Since you already popped off the window controls, all you need to do is disconnect the adapter that the wires plug into. On the passenger side, this is easy, simply pinch in on the two connectors and pull out. These "ribbons" may need a bit of convincing, but they DO come off. The driver's side electronics are EXTREMELY complex and are EXTREMELY hard to take off, to tell you the truth, I only rotated the disconnected door 90 degrees which left just enough room to solder and install the speakers. I did this so that I didn't need to disconnect ANY parts of the door controls on the driver's side. I only needed to pop off the window control panel, no disconnection of any wires. (the driver's side wires seem to have more slack than the passenger ones. I found this easy with two people.

5) Now for the hardest part, taking off the door panel itself. The whole panel is held on by white PLASTIC bolts that are ribbed. These bolts can be pretty annoying, but secure the door quite well. First, I started by the tweeter. There should be a small space where you can fit a hand in and start pulling. DO NOT PULL OR TRY TO PULL ALONG THE TOP OF THE DOOR, START YOUR HAND ON THE TOP BY THE TWEETER AND WORK YOUR WAY DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE TWEETER SIDE (while hand still between the panel and the door itself). THEN START PULLING ONCE YOU ARE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE DOOR PANEL. As you work your hand down the door, you might here a sound of breaking plastic, this is what you are looking for. The ribbed bolts are being pulled out of their holes. Eventually, once a majorority of a side is out, it will make it MUCH MUCH easier to pull the remaining bolts out. Once you get the hang of hearing the bolts come out, and you are able to get a bigger grip on the panel, the whole door will eventually POP off. Now that it is popped, lift the panel up and it then should come off cleanly.

• NOTE* - You WILL NEED a Torx wrench to replace the speaker ($4 at Home Depot)

For re-installation, simply backtrack. Make sure all your electrical connections are solid and the door is connected securely to the door. Attach the door, put screws back in, put handle plate back on, and you're set.

Hoped this help, I know I needed this when I took off my door panels.

-Dave