How-to: Remove door panel and install aftermarket door lock actuator (an $8 fix!)

boro · Mar 13, 2012

If your door lock actuator is getting sluggish or not responding at all, it may be time to replace the actuator. And, if you're dreading the $300 trip to the dealer to get it fixed, or not wanting to spend $70 and have a difficult space to work with to fix it yourself, I'll show you how you can replace your door lock actuator yourself. All you'll need is some basic tools, 1-2 hours of your time, and $8. And best of all, it should be a more or less permanent fix.

First, you'll need to find a universal door lock actuator. Just search for one on ebay, they all seem to be the same. You just need one with two wires. I found mine for $8.

Tools you'll need:

10mm socket
Ratchet
T25 Torx bit
Flathead & Philips screwdrivers
A small punch
Wire cutters/strippers
Electrical tape
Needle nose pliers

Optional, but helpful:
3M double sided tape
Soldering iron

It's advisable to disconnect your negative battery cable before doing electrical work.

Let's get started! First we'll need to remove the door panel. All four door panels remove almost identically. Actuators will install similarly as well. This post focuses on the rear doors, but front doors are similar. Be sure to position your actuator carefully to ensure clearance.

Start by popping off the cover in the door handle socket with your flathead screwdriver. ONLY PRY FROM THE REAR!

Next, use your 10mm socket and ratchet to remove the bolt that was hidden by the cover.

Use your flathead screwdriver to remove the rubber cover at the bottom of the door pull well.

Next, use your T25 Torx bit to remove the two bolts at the bottom of the door pull well.

More next post...
.
.
.

boro · Mar 13, 2012

Next, pry at the rear of the armrest panel with the flathead screwdriver.

Pop the cover upward and pull back to remove. Take note of the clip at the front of the panel, you'll need to remember this when re-installing.

Push forward then push down to re-install when you're done with the repair.

Disconnect the electrical connector to the window switch/door lock panel. You can see the connector already removed in the next picture. (Brown plug)

There are two more T25 bolts to remove. They are under where the armrest console was, on the door side.

Almost there! Next, use your punch to push in the pins at the center of the two retention clips on the outside of the door panel. These will be on the side of the door panel facing the rear of the car.

Once they are pushed in (just push in one click) use your flathead screwdriver to pry the clips out.

More next post...
.
.
.

boro · Mar 13, 2012

Next, pull on the bottom of the door panel, the door pockets work fine. Give it a good yank and the door panel should pop off. Be aware that the front doors have an extra clip behind the panel located in the area where the mirror is. It will need to be pulled off as well. Also note that the top of the door panel hooks over the top of the door sill, like so:

Which you will need to note during re-assembly. To remove, pull until the clips are removed and then pull the panel upward to completely remove. To re-install, hook the top of the door panel onto the door sill and then push the door panel in all around to re-fasten the clips.

You'll need to remove the door pull cable from the interior handle. I had to take the picture after I'd already done it because it was hard to get a good shot of it. Take your needlenose pliers and clamp the forward part of the plastic housing around the cable, then pull the housing rearward. This will provide slack to the cable and allow you to remove it from the handle.

Peel back the white cloth covering on the outer door enough to access the wiring harness for the stock actuator.

Almost forgot, one more change you'll need to make to the car to allow it to clear the door lock actuator (for the rear doors):

That black piece of plastic will need to be removed. I used 3M double sided tape to attach that bottom white piece of styrofoam securely, it relies on the black plastic for support.

More next post...
.
.
.

boro · Mar 13, 2012

Okay! Now your door panel is off and enough out of the way to install your actuator.

There are a few things that will need to be done first.

My actuator came with wires that were too short to be useful, so I had to add extensions.

Be sure to solder for a long lasting connection!

Next, get your mounting hardware ready. Mine came with four bolts and a mounting bracket. I used the two long bolts to attach the actuator to the bracket, and the two short ones to attach the bracket to the car.

I also had to bend the end of the rod to make it parallel to the stock rod for the door lock.

Your door lock actuator will need to be located in about this area:

More next post...
.
.
.

boro · Mar 13, 2012

Okay, now it's time to attach the actuator's wires. I believe all of these are similar (they all have blue and green wires for connecting to aftermarket alarms) but if the locks don't work as expected after connecting, simply reverse the wiring and they will work properly.

Connect the GREEN wire of your actuator to the TAN wire on your car.

Connect the BLUE wire of your actuator to the GRAY wire on your car.

If you disconnected it, reconnect the negative terminal of your battery and check lock function. Make sure the lock tab goes up when you hit unlock and down when you hit lock.

If all is well, solder your connections if desired and wrap them securely. I like all my wiring to look like and have the quality of OEM, so I wrapped everything with electrical tape.

Replace the white cloth cover over the hole.

You're done! Re-assembly is the reverse of disassembly, just take note of the few things I mentioned earlier, and check to make sure that the actuator works with each part you put back on.

When replacing the push pins on the door panels, take out the center pin and put the outer shell in first, then push the center pin in flush.

And you're done! Enjoy your fully functional door locks, fixed for only $8.

.
.
.

ddot · Mar 13, 2012

Does the key fob and all door buttons still function as they should?

boro · Mar 13, 2012

Yep, no change. This fix doesn't change the way the signals for lock/unlock operate, only changes which actuator the signal goes to.
.
.
.

DrivenDaily · Mar 13, 2012

Fantastic job! The only thing I would add is to consider using heat-shrink tubing after soldering the connections.

I'm so glad that someone has finally used an aftermarket part to fix what keeps failing. It shows that it isn't always necessary to be forced to pay extremely high prices for junk!

vettenuts · Mar 14, 2012

Just checked ebay, there is a go-zillion actuators. Any more information on the one you used?

TIA

boro · Mar 14, 2012

Any one of them would probably work just fine, to be honest. They all look the same and probably come from the same supplier with a different name stamped on it. But here's one you can use, for $5:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Universal-2...-Actuator-/250992410192?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a70503e50#ht_500wt_1287

The only real criteria is that the two wire version is what you're looking for, but you could make one of the 5 wire ones work as well, you'd just have some extra wires hanging.

You'll note the above one has different color wires than the one I used. Still simple to install, just connect it to the tan and gray wires on your car and if it works backwards, reverse the wiring.

Actually, here's another one you can use that has the same color wires as mine, for just a little over $5:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Aapex-U...8-travel-/230692235078?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35b6542746#ht_1563wt_1270

Should work the same, but if not, again all you have to do is switch the wires.
.
.
.

dbshane · Mar 18, 2012

Thank you! very detailed. I replaced my rear passenger latch last summer, cost me $80 for oem latch and tools. Today the rear driver latch is over too... I'd try this. What kind of punch can drill holes on it? Thanks.

vettenuts · Mar 18, 2012

Is it the one you replaced that failed or the other side? I would hope the OEM unit would last more than one year

I just ordered one of the aftermarket actuators but haven't decided to install it or go OEM yet. One thing is for sure, the lock is a pain in the neck when carrying passengers.

boro · Mar 18, 2012

You're welcome! You just need standard metal (capable of drilling through metal, that is) drill bits. The one that worked for me (slightly smaller than the screws that came with the kit) was 7/64", but your size may vary.
.
.
.

dbshane · Mar 18, 2012

Since I don't have a power drill, do you think a drill like this can do this job?
[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-9099KC-7-2-Volt-Cordless/dp/B0002TXNX0/ref=sr_1_1?s=power-hand-tools&ie=UTF8&qid=1332049131&sr=1-1[/ame]
Thanks.

boro · Mar 18, 2012

Oh yes, easily. The metal in the inner part of the door was not very thick. Just press lightly and go slow.
.
.
.

cesargjr · Mar 23, 2012

Hey boro
Great job man!
About a year ago the 4 actuators stopped working.
Chevy dealership wanted to charge me like 300 dlls each actuator.
But now I can see a light haha, Thank you for the information,
I have ordered the 4 aftermarket actuator and will be installing these
soon. It was a GREAT help from you!
Thanks

boro · Mar 25, 2012

You're welcome guys, glad to help!
.
.
.

dbshane · Mar 26, 2012

I've installed it, thank you for your help. The keyfob works OK, a little hard to pull it up using hand though.

boro · Mar 26, 2012

Hmm, that sounds odd. Mine doesn't feel any different than it did before. Is the path for the rod clear?
.
.
.

dbshane · Mar 27, 2012

The actuator itself is a little hard to pull. I bought the $5.29 one: (http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Aapex-U...t-8-8lb-Torq-7-8-travel-/230692235078?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35b6542746). I guess maybe you got a better quality one.

Jman420 · Apr 1, 2012

Thank you very much, boro!!!

I have a 2008 Saturn Aura XE. I used your method on three of my doors today. Two front and one rear. The second rear was replaced under warranty. The Saturn Aura is identical to the Malibu, even the wire colors are the same. I'm so happy to have my door locks working again for < $20!

I ordered the exact same part you have pictured (AUT-090) from www.sterenshop.com.

I agree with the above post the resistance is slightly more when pulling/pushing the lock up/down manually. It's probably not even noticeable to someone who didn't know there was a second actuator in the door. The extra resistance makes sense, because there IS a second actuator...

Thanks again!

Chevrolet Customer Svc · Apr 2, 2012

Thank you for sharing your success story with your door lock actuators. I am glad things have been resolved.

Michelle, Chevrolet Customer Service

Saticoy · Apr 10, 2012

Thank you so much for the step-by-step instructions. I just finished installing my aftermarket actuator and these instructions made it so easy.
My total spent on this repair; a little over 5 dollars.

Mcontrols · May 6, 2012

Outstanding instructions!!! I will try to upload a couple of Pix taken during my retrofit.

Mcontrols · May 6, 2012

pictures from last weekends retrofit

DrivenDaily · May 7, 2012

Outstanding! Nice to see this retrofit works so nicely and is so cheap, too!

Mcontrols · May 8, 2012

I prefer to use the term "inexpensive",

MC

DrivenDaily · May 8, 2012

Does that qualify as a "cheap shot"?

Mcontrols · May 9, 2012

LOL, low cost shot .......

MC

gsxr1600 · May 15, 2012

Did mine yesterday, it works great.

boro · May 16, 2012

Hi there, just checking in. I'm glad it has worked well for all you guys! Mine is still popping up and down with authority as well.
.
.
.

How-to: Remove door panel and install aftermarket door lock actuator (an $8 fix!)

Attachments

Top Contributors this Month

Recommended Communities