As usual VW don't do things by halves and the door cards are no exception. The door card is straight forward and I will show the removal with photos to guide. The inner skin however is not the usual plastic sheet held in place with a bit of sticky, these have a metal plate held in place by 10mm bolts instead. I will cover the plate in a seperate blog. View my about.me page here!
I have used a rear door card to remove as an example although the proceedure for the drivers and front passenger are almost the same. There is no need to worry about switches or speakers as the door card comes away with all the covers intact.
Firstly you will need to prise out the plastic cover over the inner door handle which conceals the two main screws that need to be removed. If you look to the inner side of the door handle right at the point where the plastic and the door card trim meet you may just about see the leverage point (see the second picture below). Place a small flat blade screw driver into the join and prise the plastic cover out from one corner. You may need a second screw driver to prise the plastic while the first holds the gap.
Now remove the torx bolt at the bottom of the door card located in the centre and is held in place with a T15 torx bolt.
Now you can unclip the door card using your fingers starting from the bottom. If you are unable to get the card to come away then a flat blade screwdriver strategically positioned will do the job. Be careful not to damage the door card or metal work if you use a screwdriver. As you pull the door card you will hear the clips pop as they break free, you will not cause any damage so don't worry here. From the bottom pull the door card out slowly and carefully, you may not break the clips but you can break the door card if you are too rough. Once you can feel the clips have free'd you will need to lift the door card upwards to free it from the door lock nib and the window seal that the card sits over. Now hold the card and keep it close to the framework as you still have all the internal electric connections attached.
Unplug the puddle light connector and window switch. The final part to remove is the inner door handle wire. To do this I found it easiest to look into the door card through the window from the outside so you can clearly see the wire. It only needs to be pulled back slightly and it will come away from the plastic guide, then you can lift out the hook that connects to the back of the inner door handle. Now it will be free the door card can be put to one side.
If removing a front door card there is no need to pull away the wing mirrors internal cover as it does not get in the way and the proceedure remains the same and even the plastic holding clips are the same. When refitting the door card the process is the reverse of the above guide. When the door card is in place but not fitted take a look along the sides of the door card to make sure the clips line up with the locking points on the door frame as this is where you can end up breaking the clips off if not careful. Use the palm of your hand or back of your fist to press down where each clip sits so you can hear it pop back into place.
Here is a picture of the rear door minus the door card but with the metal plate in place. As you can see all the components sit on the plate and not the back of the door card trim which makes things a little easier when taking the card off. However the metal plate cover holds in place the window mechanism and electric motor so I will remove it and document it at a later date.
