Removing Door Panels on 96 Jetta

[thsfootball68]

I recently purchased a 196 VW Jetta Trek Edition and the alarm sensor on the drivers side is shorted or disconnected, I need to get to the wires in the door to fix it, but I can't seem to get the door panel off. I loosened the hex screws on the sides and bottom, but the door seems to be fastened by hidden screw around the manual window crank and the door release. If you know how to fully remove the door panel please reply ASAP.

[rubyms]

I just removed the inside panel off my 96 Jetta. You need to pry off the armrest and there are two screws there. In addition, (be careful because I screwed this up) there is a tiny screw underneath the cover to the inside handle that you need to remove. Make sure you remove all of the screws (little plastic heads with torx operators) located around the edge of the door (hold the inside panel to the door frame. You also need to carefully pry off the inside cover to the side view mirror.

If you buy the Haynes Manual (~$15) it gives you a step-by-step instruction (but it doesn't mention the tiny screws holding the side view mirror operator nor does it tell you to remove the plastic torx screws. It tells you to pry the panel off which breaks the clips.

Hope this helps. Good luck.