alan311

This should work for 2002-2006 and or any models with a similar situation. My car (ES300 2002) has 8 ohm speakers in the rear doors (fronts might be the same but I haven't checked yet) and their cone diameter is 3 inches (without the surround rubber). The rear door speakers had a really low volume and I had repaired the surrounds 10 years ago using silicone caulk which worked for a while. Doing that most likely made the speaker stiffer though, causing reduced bass. In any case, the surround had rotted out finally.
I put in 4 ohm 6.5" speakers which are commonly available and I'm satisfied with the results, looks great and works better than before. There are likely more expensive better sounding speakers but I used these JBLs (stage 602E) which have satisfactory reviews.
The sound is much better now. There is increased bass and increased volume and the front OEM speakers still have better bass, however (1) I dont know what the OEM speaker would have sounded like if its surround was still in good and original shape. (2) Maybe the front speakers are just better in producing bass. (3) Its possible I have less bass in the rear because I didnt properly air-seal the speaker in its various locations to create a good sealed 'bass box' (made by the door's empty space).
I have a 12" sub in a box with a nice amp in the trunk so I get great bass from that and I don't really need it from the door speakers and again at least the bass in the rear speaker is better than before so I'm satisfied.

Tools needed: 10mm socket or screw driver, drill with a 4mm drill bit or whatever is enough to fit zip ties for step 6, Dremel with cut-off wheel (skip if you buy new speaker brackets)

Steps for replacing the door speakers in the rear:

1. Take off door panel: Carefully pry out the door window switch fixture and disconnect its cable. There you'll see one long screw and there's one where the door opener is located. Pull the panel carefully towards yourself horizontally and then upwards. Now un-link the two steel cables for the door lock and door opener and unhook the cable for the door light. The panel is free now and you can take it off.
2. Take out speaker: Disconnect the speaker cable. Take out 3 screws on the plastic speaker bracket. Use a flat screwdriver to carefully release the speaker bracket from the metal frame (its attached with foam). Speaker assembly is now free from the door. Use a T20 hex socket to take out the OEM speaker's bracket and take the speaker out.
3. Modify Speaker bracket: Use a Dremel with a cut-off wheel, use safety glasses, be very careful and protect your hands and fingers. Use the Dremel to cut out the plastic as close to the wall of the speaker bracket as possible. Its going to be messy, that is fine. Fit in the new speaker to see what else you need to trim. This is the most difficult part of the job. Just do it carefully and take your time (will take about 10-15 minutes).
4. Solder old speaker connector to new speaker (self-explanatory; use a soldering iron to take off the connector and put it on the new speaker)
5. Cutout a card-board piece, circular in shape and about half an inch in width. Flatten it out to improve sealing. It will help to seal the speaker with the plastic bracket and help with better bass. Or use something else if that works better for sealing like silicone. New speakers came with some rubber cement but it was too little and sticky. I just thew it away.
6. Drill hole and Zip-tie the speaker to the plastic bracket: Place speaker in the modified bracket, mark holes that you can use for two or three zip ties to fasten the speaker to the plastic case. See the pictures below. use pliers to tighten the zip ties as much as possible. Push it around to check if it fits good. I used ties that were about 3mm wide (medium size will do, or any length more than about 6 inches). When using the ties, make sure the zip tie connection comes up on side where the door panel will be. This way you'll have a relatively flat piece of plastic where the speaker bracket meets the metal door frame.
7. Attach new speaker to door: Make sure the new speaker is connected to the internal connector in the plastic frame before you put it back on the door. Screw in the 3 bolts. Test the audio. Good? Put the panel back on: connect door light, locking and opening door steel cables, door window connector needs to be routed through the panel hole, insert the door panel from above, push it down and then lightly thump the sides of the panel so it locks onto the fasteners, put back the 2 screws you took off, reconnect Window up/down fixture, insert plastic cover for Door handle area

ALTERNATE: If you cant/dont want to modify your existing speaker bracket, buy Lexus speaker brackets from Ebay ($13). Take off door panel, Original speaker assembly, un-solder the speaker connector and put it on the new speakers, attach your new speakers to the new bracket and put it back on the door, put the door panel back on. That is it. If you use these new brackets, you might have better sealing and therefore slightly better bass-response. My brackets had one of the 3 fastening holes somewhat broken but I made it work. If yours are really bad, you might have to buy new.

ANOTHER ALTERNATE: Repair the bad surrounds and use the OEM speakers (their magnets are very heavy and its possible that its hard to find any speaker better than them with regards to bass quality). Issues: (1) need to find good quality surround rubbers (foam rots, rubber is likely more stiffer and therefore causes less bass) and need to buy the correct size surround (2) Need to go a good job on the repair,
OR give them to a nice car audio shop for repair and they'll take care of it. Do what you like and what you can afford.

I think the front speakers have cloth surrounds which is why they've lasted all this time and still have good bass.


Old OEM rear speaker assembly


Modified speaker bracket with Dremel + cut-off wheel


New speaker with cardboard ring cut-out. Note that one of the mounting holes is broken but I made it work. It still worked in that state and I was able to securely attach it to the door with two good screws and one partially good. Some pictures here are from the other speaker where the mounting hole wasnt damaged like this one.


New speaker - JBL Stage 602E --- or use any 6.5" 4-ohm speaker of your choice.




Done. Looks great, sounds better than before (more bass and volume compared to broken OEM speakers with bad surrounds. Still less bass than front speakers)

pramod109

Great post 👍