2000-2006 Drivers's Door Lock Actuator Removal Process
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,284
Likes: 37
From: North Carolina
2003 S500 - Toyota Corolla (in the rain)
2000-2006 Drivers's Door Lock Actuator Removal Process
I could not find enough information in one place that demonstrated how to removed the dreaded door lock actuator so I am creating a new one. Apologies if there is already one available.
After much misery and a few words of choice I decided to document my process in hopes that it will assist others and make their repair much easier. Here is the PDF file I created. Comments, suggestions, and corrections are welcome.
After much misery and a few words of choice I decided to document my process in hopes that it will assist others and make their repair much easier. Here is the PDF file I created. Comments, suggestions, and corrections are welcome.
Last edited by ibeforreal; Jun 28, 2014 at 10:40 PM.
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 432
Likes: 96
From: Just north of Detroit,Michigan
2012 E350 4Matic P2
John,
Thanks for taking the time to share this tutorial! This should be in our encyclopedia for sure! Both of my front doors the soft close has stopped working and need to have the actuators rebuilt. I plan on doing mine sometime this summer and will follow up with my story to add to yours. I am glad that you eliminated removing the window as instructed in the WIS.
Thanks again, Bob
Thanks for taking the time to share this tutorial! This should be in our encyclopedia for sure! Both of my front doors the soft close has stopped working and need to have the actuators rebuilt. I plan on doing mine sometime this summer and will follow up with my story to add to yours. I am glad that you eliminated removing the window as instructed in the WIS.
Thanks again, Bob
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,284
Likes: 37
From: North Carolina
2003 S500 - Toyota Corolla (in the rain)
OK so it was raining here all day today and I had a day off....well sort of. Trying to think of things to do I got real crazy....OK, most folks say that is normal for me. Listening to the radio I heard the Lionel Richie song EASY where one of the lines in the song is.... "Might sound crazy but I just can't stand the pain".
So I took all of my door panels off and put zip ties around the part of the actuator that always seem to crack. I guess you could call it preventive maintenance. I didn't have to take the actuators out in order to install the zip ties. Hopefully this will relieve some of the pressure that is applied during the soft close. It probably took me about 1/2 hour per door.
We'll see if it does any good in the future.
So I took all of my door panels off and put zip ties around the part of the actuator that always seem to crack. I guess you could call it preventive maintenance. I didn't have to take the actuators out in order to install the zip ties. Hopefully this will relieve some of the pressure that is applied during the soft close. It probably took me about 1/2 hour per door.
We'll see if it does any good in the future.
Last edited by ibeforreal; Jul 22, 2014 at 12:12 AM.
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Newbie
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
s500 w220 2004
s500 rear door actuator
I could not find enough information in one place that demonstrated how to removed the dreaded door lock actuator so I am creating a new one. Apologies if there is already one available.
After much misery and a few words of choice I decided to document my process in hopes that it will assist others and make their repair much easier. Here is the PDF file I created. Comments, suggestions, and corrections are welcome.
After much misery and a few words of choice I decided to document my process in hopes that it will assist others and make their repair much easier. Here is the PDF file I created. Comments, suggestions, and corrections are welcome.
Do you have similar information for rear doors?
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Newbie
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 8
Likes: 1
S320 1999 w220
I could not find enough information in one place that demonstrated how to removed the dreaded door lock actuator so I am creating a new one. Apologies if there is already one available.
After much misery and a few words of choice I decided to document my process in hopes that it will assist others and make their repair much easier. Here is the PDF file I created. Comments, suggestions, and corrections are welcome.
After much misery and a few words of choice I decided to document my process in hopes that it will assist others and make their repair much easier. Here is the PDF file I created. Comments, suggestions, and corrections are welcome.
Junior Member
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 18
Likes: 10
From: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
2001 S55 AMG
A thousand thanks for this very detailed guide! I am currently repairing a broken actuator on my front passenger side door [2001 S55], and was going crazy trying to remove the unit assembly without having to drill out the rivets. As you pointed out, they do have to be drilled out. So I can proceed knowing there's no other practical alternative.
Again, thanks a lot.
Again, thanks a lot.
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,284
Likes: 37
From: North Carolina
2003 S500 - Toyota Corolla (in the rain)
You are certainly welcome. I know how frustrated I was when I had to do mine. I attempted to put it in the simplest terms that I could.
Super Member
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 980
Likes: 224
2005 S500 Designo
Just did this for the driver's side door. Appreciate the writeup. Bought seemingly the last door latch in the U.S., mercedes now lists it as discontinued. I plastic-epoxied the notorious soft close mechanism on the bottom, hopefully it'll stop it from going pop too soon. If you do this, make sure to order the rivets with the door latch. I didn't, and had to use aluminum rivets which aren't as strong as steel rivets. I hope there isn't a metal incompatibility issue. Also when drilling the old rivets out, use a larger drill bit, not a smaller one. You want to take the top off the rivet, not drill through it. Also replaced what mercedes calls the "check strap"; part #: 220-720-00-16. It's the part that notches the door.
Very clever design depending on what side it goes on, you flip it around. It has two labels on it on the tops/bottoms "VL" and "VR". VL = "Vorne Links", front left. VR = "Vorne Rechts", front right. If it goes on the driver's side door ("Vorne Links", Front Left), you have the VL facing up, and vice-versa on the other side. You should be able to identify it based on the old one too. You have to have the door panel off to do this and fish it out. I removed the speaker and quickly fished the old one out and installed the new one.
Mercedes doors/trim come together extremely well, you can't tell anyone was in there.
Very clever design depending on what side it goes on, you flip it around. It has two labels on it on the tops/bottoms "VL" and "VR". VL = "Vorne Links", front left. VR = "Vorne Rechts", front right. If it goes on the driver's side door ("Vorne Links", Front Left), you have the VL facing up, and vice-versa on the other side. You should be able to identify it based on the old one too. You have to have the door panel off to do this and fish it out. I removed the speaker and quickly fished the old one out and installed the new one.
Mercedes doors/trim come together extremely well, you can't tell anyone was in there.
