Over the life of your GTI MkIV, the doors will take a tremendous amount of abuse and sooner or later something will fail
If you need to service your doors mechanicals or want to freshen up the appearance with new trim you will need to remove the door panel.
Project Photos
Figure 1 There are three main components that need to be removed to remove the door panel. The door pull (red arrow), the Philips head screw by the triangular trim piece (yellow arrow) and the three T20 Torx screws alone the lower door trim (green arrows).
Step 1: Remove the Inside Door Handle
This car is built with plastic snaps that keep together a majority of the plastic panels, handles, and latches. The part you grab on the passenger side door has a ridge running down the middle. Use a flat head screwdriver, or pocket knife, protected by a cloth so as not to damage the handle, to wedge a gap in between the two pieces of the handle.
Step 2: Remove Door Panel Screws
You will need a T20 Torx bit to remove 3 screws at the bottom of the door panel, hidden under the edge as pictured. There is also one other sneaky screw on the inside edge of the door, near the top. You will need to open the door as far as possible, and still may have trouble getting an angle at the screw.
Step 3: Mind the Tricky Parts
Once the door panel is completely off and disconnected, do whatever you took the door panel off to do. (DUH)
Step 4: Reassembly
To put your door back together, first reconnect all of the electrical components. Then make sure the door latch hook is put back in the hole in the inside of the inner door latch. Raise the door panel over the locking mechanism such that it lines up with the hole. This is easiest to do while holding the lock steady from under the panel.
