Rattle From Drivers Door Interior Trim Panel

[Justin Smith]

Ever since I got my Focus (a 2006 Ghia model bought second hand) it`s had an annoying rattle coming from the drivers door, I think it`s the trim panel because if you push your elbow against the panel the noise disappears. Has anyone had this and managed to cure it ?

Also has anyone got any hints as to door panel removal ? I`m a bit dubious about doing it after my experience with my wife`s Fiesta. It had stupid (totally unnecessary) hidden door panel fixings and a mate of mine warned me that if you weren`t careful it`s easy to break them when taking off the panel. Incidentally my previous car, a 1997 Ford Escort didn`t have any of those ridiculous hidden fixings (why do you even need them when the panel can be screwed in place at the bottom where you can`t even see the screw head ! ) and I could get the door panel off, change he mirror and replace the door panel in less than 15 minutes. Yes, I had had a bit of practice with all the damaged mirrors, I`d got a paper sketch showing exactly what to do and which tools you needed to do it !

[troy45]

There's a very detailed how-to in the guides section on how to remove the door panels - possibly within the topic for fitting Projector/Logo lighting.

Main tools needed are a thin plastic trim tool of some sort and an 8mm socket + extension.

Basically you remove tweeter cover, remove trim with tweeter mounted in it, pull lower section of door handle trim away with trim tool to help release the clips, pull out the plastic bezel from around the door opening handle then remove the 2 M6 bolts (8mm heads) from behind the door handle trim you removed.

Final step is to work your way round the doorpad, pulling it away to release the retaining clips. This is where it all gets a bit messy - the doorpad can pull away leaving the clips still in the door panel, or their retainers also snap off the doorpad and need re-attaching before you refit the pad. I've ended up using cable ties to hold some of these in place as my basic plastic welding skills aren't up to the job.

The difference between current doorpad fittings and those used on your Escort is the amount of time taken to secure the doorpad in the factory. Belting on a couple of flimsy plastic clips is a lot quicker than the time taken with all those screws.

[Justin Smith]

There's a very detailed how-to in the guides section on how to remove the door panels - possibly within the topic for fitting Projector/Logo lighting.

Main tools needed are a thin plastic trim tool of some sort and an 8mm socket + extension.

Basically you remove tweeter cover, remove trim with tweeter mounted in it, pull lower section of door handle trim away with trim tool to help release the clips, pull out the plastic bezel from around the door opening handle then remove the 2 M6 bolts (8mm heads) from behind the door handle trim you removed.

Final step is to work your way round the doorpad, pulling it away to release the retaining clips. This is where it all gets a bit messy - the doorpad can pull away leaving the clips still in the door panel, or their retainers also snap off the doorpad and need re-attaching before you refit the pad. I've ended up using cable ties to hold some of these in place as my basic plastic welding skills aren't up to the job.

The difference between current doorpad fittings and those used on your Escort is the amount of time taken to secure the doorpad in the factory. Belting on a couple of flimsy plastic clips is a lot quicker than the time taken with all those screws.

Thanks for that Troy, I think this is the (very) detailed info on door panel removal you helpfully found. And it certainly is detailed, though he seems to have skirted over the clip issue a bit, he just seems to lift the door panel off ! Or have I missed something ?

The only thing that`s putting me off is the aforementioned plastic clips, messy as you say...... If you do break them are they repairable ? You mentioned cable ties ?

It really annoys me that Ford (in fact more and more manufacturers these days) are so bleedin` tight, they save 20 seconds or whatever, and their customers are landed with a problem. It`s just like tight aerial installers who fit non galvanised brackets on light coloured painted walls ! They save a couple of quid and the customer has to repaint his wall every few years for ever ! !

[nazsky786]

Some clips may break when you remove the panel of the door itself.

So it would be better if you had some spare.

There are some on eBay.

[Justin Smith]

Some clips may break when you remove the panel of the door itself.

So it would be better if you had some spare.

There are some on ebay.

Thanks Naz. Are they this type ?

[nazsky786]

Yep they are the ones. I think each panel has around 8-10 of them clips.

[Justin Smith]

Yep they are the ones. I think each panel has around 8-10 of them clips.

Thanks I just wanted to check as the clips for the MkI look different. Mine`s a MkII like yours.

[troy45]

I bought a set of spare clips before I tried removing my door panels but have hardly used any of them - they're not the weakest part of the door fixing system by a long way.

In my experience either the clip disengages from it's holder on the doorpad and stays in the door panel, or it breaks the holder off the doorpad. These are heat-staked in place, I've often plastic welded these back on but gave up this time and drilled some holes through the housing so I could wrap cable ties round the whole retainer.

Didn't get any photos of my latest repair, if the pad does have to come off again I'll try to remember taking some.