squeaky door panel

[El Duque]

I just bought a 2008 Explorer and noticed that the drivers side armrest was very squeaky, when opening and closing the door and also over bumps. So I pulled the door panel off and slapped some thick grease on the metal brackets which slide into the door itself and was causing the squeaking.

The procedure was

-pop off the plastic cover on the side of the armrest/switch box/door handle assembly
-lift the switch box out of the main assembly, I used a small screwdriver
-unplug the connectors from the switch assembly
-unbolt two 7mm bolts located next to the door handle, you don't have to remove the bolts all the way
-unbolt two 7mm bolts on the bottom of the door panel
-now the door panel will lift up and off

I then unplugged the power mirror connector and had enough room to work. No more squeak!

Hope this helps someone else

 

[jwright4]

Very useful info...I just bought a new leftover 2010 and the drivers side is doing the same thing...I had an 03 for 5yrs never squeaked at all. So my thoughts were: Take to dealer since it's brand new and have them address it. OR just do it myself as you have directed. lol most likely i'll have better luck doing it myself.

 

[El Duque]

I think you'd definitely be better off doing it yourself. It wouldn't take as long, and I'm sure you'd do a better job

 

[El Duque]

well, that didn't last too long! The squeak is back. I'll probably try something like undercoating this time