How To Remove Front Door Panel 1995-2005 Chevy Cavalier

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In this video, we're going to show you how to remove the driver's door panel on this 2000 Chevy Cavalier. Pretty much the same operation for all four doors it's just a couple of different mounting locations with some screws. Regardless, you're going to need a Phillips head screwdriver, a window crank handle removal tool or, if you don't have one, use a paper clip, and we'll show you how to make one. This applies to many model years of the Chevy Cavalier.

Remove the Phillips head screw in the triangular plate above the door panel by the mirror. There are six screws that hold the door panel on. That was a Phillips head: one there, two there in the pull handle area, then three along the bottom. I'll go ahead and fast-forward as I take those six screws out.

The next step is taking the window crank handle off. It can be a little tricky, so I wanted to just show the clip that holds it onto the door it's that brass clip there. I'm using a little paper clip, with a bend, maybe an 1/8th of an inch right-angle bend on the end. Then you're going to hook it through that clip, and pull the clip out to release it from the window regulator. You'll see, in just one second, how it pulls out.

Now that you've seen what needs to be done to get that window crank handle out of the way, let's go ahead and pull it out. I found the best way to do that is to apply pressure to the door panel around the crank handle there. That gives you a little bit of room to get your paper clip tool in there and be able to see what you're doing. Find the area where you can get that tool in there to pull up on that clip. Get your hands in there behind the door panel, and give it a pull, so that the plastic clips that hold it to the door release. Once you've got that done, you're going to need to lift the panel and get that door handle out. Then lift the panel up off of the sill. Once you've done that, this particular door panel has one switch, so it's got a little wire to it. That is for the power door locks. Go ahead and disconnect that.

When reinstalling the door panel, make sure that you have your seven plastic clips on the inside edge of the door panel. Those are going to go in the corresponding holes in the door itself. Reinstall the connector for the power door lock switch. Once you've got that done, you're going to want to hang the top of the door panel on the sill of the door. Make sure that it's seated correctly. Once you've done that, you can line up the holes and the plastic clips that are on the inside edge of that door panel. Then give it a couple of taps around the entire outer edge of that door panel to seat those clips.

Reinstall the clip that we took out of the window crank handle. Slide it through the grooves and onto the handle. Once you've done that, you can reinstall it onto the post that comes through the door panel for the window regulator. You're going to get your little plastic grommet the black plastic grommet. Put that first around the post, then slide your window crank handle on. Give it a tap to seat it. You can go ahead and reinstall those six Phillips head screws. I will fast-forward as I do that. Reinstall the plastic triangular cover that goes in the upper right-hand corner there.

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