Front Door Panel Removal BMW F01–F04

Introduction This guide is intended to help those who are not familiar with the procedure of removing the door panel on a BMW 7 Series, F01‐F04. I tried to be as clear and accurate as possible, as the removal of these door panels is somewhat more complicated than most door panels that I have removed in the past. I initially decided to create this guide because the only other existing guide that I have found was from a BMW USA manual, and it was extremely vague. I tried my best to word the guide in a manner that would apply to both the driver’s and passenger’s side doors. While the photos in this guide are all from the driver’s side door, I used terminology such as “FRONT” and “REAR” rather than saying “LEFT” and Right”. “FRONT” refers to the side of the door closest to the front of the car, while “REAR” refers to the side of the door closest to the rear of the car.

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Step 1 ‐ Remove the Tweeter Housing

A. Roll down the window of the door that you are about to disassemble. Disconnect the negative ( ‐ ) battery cable.

B. Use a thin flat plastic trim panel removal tool to disengage the four (4) latching tabs on the angled portion of the tweeter housing, closest to the front of the door.

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C. Push down slightly on the tweeter housing, compressing the foam insert (approximately 3‐4mm) until the edge of the tweeter housing that is nearest the window is clear of the window edging, allowing the tweeter housing to be removed. There is a tab that must clear the door edging before this is possible. D. Disconnect the tweeter electrical connector and place the tweeter and tweeter housing safely to the side.

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Step 2 ‐ Remove the Door Handle Trim Cover

A. Approximately 4cm behind the door‐pull, on the bottom side of the door handle, there is a pin which prevents the trim panel from being removed. Use a 3mm allen wrench or similar instrument to push the pin into the trim panel. The pin should slide up approximately 2.5cm until it stops. The pin can be recovered when the trim panel is pried out from the door panel in the next operation (B.). Note, the photos here show the pin in various positions to demonstrate how it interlocks the trim panel with the door panel.

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B. Starting at the TOP REAR, use a flat plastic trim panel removal tool to carefully disengage the three (3) clips to the REAR of where the locking pin was located. Next, starting at the TOP FRONT, carefully use a flat plastic trim panel removal tool to disengage the two (2) clips to FRONT of where the locking pin was located. Only pry the panel out 1‐1.5cm, as the plastic hooks shown in the photos will prevent the trim panel from being fully removed. You may need to pull out slightly on the door‐pull to disengage the front clips. Finally, use a thin flat plastic trim panel removal tool to carefully pry the panel just to the TOP REAR of where the locking pin was. The panel will bow slightly, releasing both of the plastic hooks from the door panel, and the trim panel will then come off. Place the Door Handle Trim Panel safely to the side.

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Step 3 ‐ Remove the Door Panel

A. Now that the Door Handle Trim Panel is off, there are three (3) T‐27 Torx screws that need to be removed from the door panel. These are in place to make sure that the door panel is solidly fixed when the door is pulled closed by the door handle. Once removed, place the three Torx screws safely to the side with the other components that have been removed.

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B. The door panel is now ready to come off. Disengage the door panel clips one‐by‐one, in the order shown in the photo below, by using a plastic trim panel removal tool and/or your hands to firmly pull the door panel away from the door.

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C. Before performing the final step of removal, I recommend having a cardboard box (or other “pedestal‐like” object that will not harm your door panel) nearby. It should be about 40cm tall and be able to support the entire door panel once removed. Place the box next to the door, lift the REAR of the door panel out of the window sill until is clear of the door lock indicator. Then lift the front of the door panel until the entire panel is free. Use caution, and set the bottom edge of the door panel on the cardboard box, but do not let go of the panel until the next two operations are completed.

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D. Remove the door‐pull cable from the door latch mechanism by rotating the bottom of the connector towards the front of the door and up, until the connector slides off the metal hook on the door latch mechanism. Lower the cable and let it hang gently to the side.

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E. Finally, disconnect the harness plug that is next to the door latch mechanism by squeezing the two release tabs on the electrical connector. There is one on each side as shown in the photo. Now the door panel can lay flat on the cardboard box.

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Reinstalling the Door Panel

In general, reinstalling the door panel is just a matter of reversing the steps listed for removal. However, I thought it would be valuable to include a step‐by‐step summary as well, since some items are more easily performed in a slightly different order.

1. Lift the door panel into the vertical position, resting on the cardboard box. 2. Reconnect the door latch cable by sliding it onto the metal hook on the door latch mechanism, and rotating it down and to the rear until it is fully engaged. 3. Reconnect the electrical connector next to the door latch mechanism by pushing it straight into the receptacle. 4. Lift the door panel up, and insert the FRONT edge of the panel into the FRONT of the window sill. Next, guide the REAR of the door panel over the door lock indicator until the door panel is fully seated down into the window sill. 5. Starting at the TOP FRONT, carefully align and press‐in the door panel clips in the reverse order of removal. 6. Insert and tighten the three T‐27 Torx screws into the door handle area of the door panel. 7. Slide the door handle trim plate over the door‐pull and insert the REAR (black) hook into it’s receptacle. Align the FRONT (silver) hook with its receptacle, as well as the door handle trim panel clips. Push firmly, but carefully on the hook and clips in the reverse order as removal. 8. Reconnect the tweeter electrical connector and insert the TOP edge of the tweeter housing, closest to the window, under the window edging and push the bottom in, compressing the foam insert inside of the tweeter housing . Next, carefully align and reengage the four tabs on the front of the tweeter housing with the window edging. 9. Reconnect the negative ( ‐ ) battery cable and roll up the window of the door that you were working on. Make sure that all of the controls and door latch mechanism function properly.

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