Hello,

can anyone please help me with how to remove this plastic divider in the rear passenger door? It is preventing me from disconnecting the door handle/actuator rod from the handle. it also prevents access to the handle bolts. I've got everything dismantled and i've been messin with this thing for a while. i cant seem to find a way to get it to dislodge from the upper left next to the window track. what is holding this think in there? Is it even needed? Im thiking of whether i should bother replacing once removed.

How do you get this thing out?

Thank you in advance for any suggestions!

 

Not sure what it does, but I have two guesses. My first is the plastic protects the glass from getting scratched by the linkage or wiring loom as it goes up/down. Or, it may protect electrical components from water.
As far as removing it sounds like one bolt still needs to be pulled. Your photo cuts off part of the door, but often there's a black sticker a bit bigger than a quarter that covers a hole in the door shell. If you remove the sicker you can use a socket on an extension to remove the bolt. You see that a lot on the door handle bolt. As far as removing from door, something that big I'd think would slide out the slot where the glass is.

Don't get frustrated and rush. There's a logical way Toyota assembled it, they didn't do anything you can't replicate. Remember, a Toyota tech at the dealership has to be able to get that out, and they have essentially the same tools as you.

 

Hello Jimkola, i think you are right about the purpose of the black plastic piece on both of those guesses.

i never did figure out how to get that piece out. the way its attached would make it near impossible to put back in as well. what i ended up being able to do was to flex and work the piece out of its mount/brace and work it as far back out of the way as possible. i then was able to scrap together a the shortest screwdriver possible to fit. I was able to remove the actuator. i new putting it in would be a bit harder. What really helped was simply pre-threading the screws into the new actuator. this allowed me to barely fit my hand in enough to get the screw to thread/bite in so that i could get the screwdriver back on it and re-tighten it. this was a total bitch of a job to change out.

good news is....this was the last actuator to replace. all doors function perfectly again. and a single key matched to all.

 

also, in case anyone comes across this thread working on their front actuators, here is how to depin them. another puzzle to solve.

 

dont waste your money on depinning tools. i bought a weird 6 sided tool made by Lisle that didnt work at all for this application.

what worked was a small flathead screwdriver like the ones used for repairing eye glasses. If you look in the top pic with the close up of the plug.....the bottom row of three prongs/pins. Look at the center one as it shows the "release" the best. Focus on the T shape. the flat pin is within the top of the T. about In the middle of the T you can faintly see the "tab" that is holding the pin in. you gotta get the screwdriver under this tab. once the screwdriver is in the right place the pin will slide out with only the resistance of the weather sealer plug thing holding it in. it comes out pretty easily when you get it. took an hour to do the first and 20 seconds each additional lol. you will need to take out 3 that go to the magnet lock holder switch thing. and plug back into the new actuator which is why i put the other picture up for reference.