AudiWorld Forums - leather door handle install (long, BWW)

I replaced the interior door handles yesterday with OEM leather handles that I got from vagparts.com. They are listed under Audi, TT, interior, leather grab handles. The quality of the pieces is excellent and they've got a nice cushy feel as compared to the hard plastic of the stock pieces. My original grab handles have gotten pretty beat up and since I had just replaced the ebrake handle I figured it'd be nice to R&R these as well. Martyn @ vagparts can set you up with these, they are offered in 6 colors, and audiworld folks get a 10% discount. You'll need to setup an account and then email Martyn your account number and he'll update your account info, then all of the catalog prices will reflect the reduced prices.

The install is fairly difficult in a few places and I couldn't find any complete documentation online that described the whole process so this is my attempt at doing just that. If there are any corrections or things that I should have done differently please let me know. And many many thanks to several folks on the forum who have posted information that was invaluable to getting this done.

Tools:
small allen key to release aluminum trim cap
Torx T30
razor blade
small regular screwdriver for gently prying

Time:
It took me about 5 hrs total but that included alot of time on the forum trying to figure out how the window switch was supposed to be removed. I think the second door only took me about an hour to do.

Directions:

Undo the aluminum cover. Use a small allen key and insert it into the hole under the trim piece and press up while rotating the cover counter clockwise. You need to enter the hole straight in order to hit the catch. This picture shows the allen key pushing the catch with the cover already removed.
<img src="http://lz7w.com/albums/doorpull/IMG_2243.jpg">

Release the rubber grommets on both ends of the door.
<img src="http://lz7w.com/albums/doorpull/IMG_2244.jpg">

The bottom of the rubber cover on the front of the door is held in by a tab that slides up.
<img src="http://lz7w.com/albums/doorpull/IMG_2245.jpg">

The open side can be difficult and you might need to pry the top grommet loose. The large opening is where the red reflector clips back into place.
<img src="http://lz7w.com/albums/doorpull/IMG_2247.jpg">

Undo the screw inside of the window switch trim. It is a long Torx T30.

Lower the windows if they are not already down. This might not be necessary but I had the windows rolled down and they never got in my way. It seems like it would be easier to lift the door panel off if the windows are down and out of the way.

Get a small regular screwdriver and keep it within reach at all times, this will be used to pry the wire harnesses free in the next steps.

Stand on the inside of the door with your back to the car, facing the door.

Lift up the door panel making sure that the rubber grommets are free. The door should just lift straight up off of the mounting rails. It is pretty light but don't go too far with it becasue there are a few places where cables and wires are attached to the door and must be released. You only have a couple inches of slack.

First pop off the door release cable taking note of how the white plastic clips into place.
<img src="http://lz7w.com/albums/doorpull/IMG_2248.jpg">

While holding the door cover slowly sit down on the sill while rotating the door panel to horizontal and keeping the wires loose so that they don't get pulled out. There is just enough slack to be able to sit down and work on this which will make your life much easier unless you have a second set of hands to hold the door panel while you release the connectors.

Once sitting grab the small screwdriver and use it to help release the wiring harnesses.
On the driver's side there are four plugs, on the passenger's side there are just three. Two of the driver's side plugs are different and are pretty easy to remove. The smaller clips are a bit harder and may need some gentle persuasion. Be careful not to break the clips.

Here are the four plugs on the driver's side.
<img src="http://lz7w.com/albums/doorpull/IMG_2268.jpg">

This is where the plugs connect.
<img src="http://lz7w.com/albums/doorpull/IMG_2265.jpg">

And on the passenger side the three plugs.
<img src="http://lz7w.com/albums/doorpull/IMG_2249.jpg">

And where they connect.
<img src="http://lz7w.com/albums/doorpull/IMG_2254.jpg">

A closeup shot of the plugs that might need to be gently pried free. The hooks on either side of the plug are what hold the connector in place.
<img src="http://lz7w.com/albums/doorpull/IMG_2250.jpg">

A picture of the backside of the door panel with the padding still in place. (passenger's side)
<img src="http://lz7w.com/albums/doorpull/IMG_2253.jpg">

And the inside of the door itself. (driver's side)
<img src="http://lz7w.com/albums/doorpull/IMG_2269.jpg">

With the door removed take out the torx T30 screw at the top of the door pull.
<img src="http://lz7w.com/albums/doorpull/IMG_2257.jpg">

Using a razor blade carefully cut away the glue holding the padding to the inside of the door panel.
It needs to be folded back far enough to expose the window switch assembly. Be careful when removing the metal rod from the switch assembly.
Alternatively you might be able to get away with just cutting a small hole near the switch assembly but I didn't try that.
<img src="http://lz7w.com/albums/doorpull/IMG_2274.jpg">

Now the bottom of the window switches is exposed, release the wiring harnesses on them. On the driver's side be sure to note which wire goes to which switch since there will be two.
<img src="http://lz7w.com/albums/doorpull/IMG_2276_close.jpg">

This picture from the Bentley manual shows the switch assembly. 1 is the switch itself (only one shown here), 2 is the connector that plugs into the switch. 3 is the release tab for the connector. 4 indicates the 4 places that you are supposed to pry to release the switch from the assembly.
<img src="http://lz7w.com/albums/doorpull/GetImage4.gif">

This is where things start to get tricky. What you are trying to do now is remove the aluminum trim piece and the door handle but in order to do that the switch assembly has to be removed from the panel first. The switches themselves get in the way of the aluminum trim sliding out.

Remove the switch assembly from the panel. It is held in on each side by rails and should release on the side opposite where the wires plug into the switches. I used a pair of pliers and pulled the assembly out trying to pull from the side opposite of where the connectors plugged in. I am almost positive there is a better way to get this out than brute force but I was not able to figure it out.

This is the window switch assembly removed from the door panel. Note this is the driver's side since it has two switches. Also note the markings from it being yanked out.
<img src="http://lz7w.com/albums/doorpull/IMG_2280.jpg">

*EDIT*
YosemyTT seems to have found a better way to deal with this step. Instead of removing the entire window switch assembly he was able to remove the switches themselves. Unplug the wires as above but then use a small screwdriver to pry the switch loose. The pics below show the entire assembly removed from the door but you should be able to get the switches out without having to remove the entire assembly.

This shows where to insert the screwdriver blade
<img src="http://lz7w.com/albums/doorpull/DSC04594.jpg">

And the tab that you end up prying against
<img src="http://lz7w.com/albums/doorpull/DSC04595.jpg">

Finally, the switch removed from the assembly
<img src="http://lz7w.com/albums/doorpull/DSC04596.jpg">

With the switches out of the way it should be easy to slide the aluminum trim piece away from the door and slide the handle down and out of the door panel.
This Bentley pic shows how to slide everything out.
<img src="http://lz7w.com/albums/doorpull/GetImage3.gif">

And a picture of the real thing coming out.
<img src="http://lz7w.com/albums/doorpull/IMG_2281.jpg">

Be sure to keep track of the metal tab that is on the end of the door handle and note its orientation, this will need to go onto the new door handles when you install them. The flat side is the side the screw will go into. The nub will face towards the inside of the car.
<img src="http://lz7w.com/albums/doorpull/IMG_2262.jpg">
<img src="http://lz7w.com/albums/doorpull/IMG_2264.jpg">

Slide the new handle into the aluminum trim piece and into the door, slide the whole assembly back in place making sure the metal clip is on the end of the handle and oriented correctly (flat side towards the inside of the panel).

If you removed the entire switch assembly slide is back into place along its rails. Make sure that it grabs the plastic rails on the aluminum trim piece otherwise it will fall off. You may need to remove the window switches from the assembly in order to do this. On the driver's side the driver's side window switch will most likely need to be removed this can be accomplished by pulling straight down on the switch with a pair of pliers. The Bentley diagram shows that the switch can be removed by prying on the four pressure points but I didn't have much luck with that. Using a pair of pliers and pulling straight down on the switch worked much better.
Once you slide the switch assembly back into place on the door panel make sure that it has really engaged the rails on the aluminum trim piece by pulling down on the switch assembly or by pushing down on the switch. If it is not seated correctly it will fall off and you'll have to do it again. It's much easier to do all of this with everything already out of the way.
This is a pic of the assembly being slid back into place. Note that the driver's side window switch has been removed so that the switch is out of the way while sliding it back in.
<img src="http://lz7w.com/albums/doorpull/IMG_2284.jpg">

Once the switch assembly is secure replace any switches that needed to be removed by pressing them back into the assembly until they click.

Plug the wires back into the switches making sure on the driver's side that they go back into the correct switches.

Replace the insulation being careful to tuck it back in where needed and around the door clips. The glue that was cut should readhere with light pressure. Be careful when placing the metal rod back thru the switch assembly that nothing gets dislocated.

Replace the T30 torx screw at the top of the door pull. This might be a bit difficult to get started. I was able to press in on it fairly hard to get it to seat into the metal clip that was slid over the door handle until it was started.

Make sure everything is put back correctly and that the window switches are correctly seated before putting the door panel back on the door.

Place the door panel back onto the door doing the reverse of how it came off. Start by sitting on the sill and plug in the wires, then rotate the door to vertical and connect the door release cable. Finally get the door panel seated on the door. You'll need to flip the rubber caps out of the way on both ends. Use the frame from the small wing window as a guide to lineup the door panel with the door.

Once everything is seated make sure the window switches and inside door release are all functioning correctly.

Replace the long T30 torx screw.

Reseat all of the rubber gromets on both ends of the doors. The top most ones on the open side of the door will be very difficult.

Twist the aluminum cap back into place and you're all done.
<img src="http://lz7w.com/albums/doorpull/IMG_2292.jpg">