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There was a small section on one of my rear door window seals that was not exactly quite right (from my earlier attempts), so I took this opportunity to redo that door panel/seal, with AlexNY's new technique. Wow, what a difference. I was in and out in minutes. Dare I say, the rear door speakers (and probably the front doors too) are now easier to do (because of the Metra wire adapters) than the dash speakers. It is a piece of cake now. You rock, AlexNY! This has got to be the "official" Lexus/Toyota way to do this. I was so stoked I pulled off and replaced the other rear door too, just for practice. All 4 doors now look/feel exactly like they did when they left the factory (other than the shoe scuffs).
Let me add just a little to what AlexNY has already said:
Disassembly
- Because of the way the clips for the rubber seal clip in, you are not going to be pulling horizontally on the door panel to pop it off. You will still need to pull up when you take the top part of the panel off, and not outward. The clips and rubber seals will be attached to the door panel that you pulled off.
- The metal tabs are clipped in place, and pop out easily, if you put a screw driver in the middle slot and push inward to activate the release (see pics below).
- Transfer the metal clips and rubber seals to the metal door seam, as per AlexNY's instructions
Assembly
- Once you have the seal and clips installed on the metal door seam, then unlike when you took the panel off, you are now pushing horizontally on the top part of the panel, just like the rest of the panel....no pushing downward at all.
- For me, the forward-most top clip moved a bit when I put the clips and seals assembly on the door, so be carefully of the alignment with the clip holes on the panel.
This shows the metal clip, from the bottom looking straight up, as it fits into the plastic part of the door panel. Notice the 3 slot-like areas in the plastic.
This shows where you should put your flat blade screw driver in to release the clip. You are pushing in to push a tab on the metal clip, while pulling on the metal clip to pop it out.
Why do they go so cheap on sound systems in a car like this.
<opinion>
Lexus puts a mediocre sounding set of speakers in the non-ML model to make the ML system sound so much better, so that you will be willing to part with more $$$$. The base system markets well enough: "Lexus eight-speaker Premium Sound System, with subwoofer", but sounds pretty flat and hollow.
This (front-dash speakers at least) upgrade is a very cost effective way of leveraging the decent enough amp and subwoofer, and the sheer quantity and placement of those 8 speakers, to turn the system into a not-too-far-off-the-mark ML-ish system, for pretty cheap.
</opinion>
Hey, if anyone wants my Metra 82-8149 adapter rings (needed for the front door speakers, if you are putting in 6x9s), I am not going to use them. They are yours...just pay the shipping. PM me.
Since upgrading the 3 dash speakers I feel absolutely no need to change the door or subwoofer.
I increased the bass 3 notches to the right + turned off surround sound and the hip-hop from my cell phone's Bluetooth is sounding beautiful!
Again, this upgrade is a must! This thread is A+
At the minimum, i strongly recommend the 3 dash speakers. plenty of good 4" speakers in the $50 or less range.
This was my total out of pocket:
3 x dash speakers (2 sets of ref 4022cfx) = $102.16 which includes 2 sets of metra GM wiring harnesses. This cost can be slightly lowered if you find someone to share 1 of the speakers on the set, as you will be left over with 1 speaker from the second set,
Installation is 30 mins top for all 3, even if you are DYI dumb like me.
You can stop right here for pretty good sound, but i just couldn't stop here as i felt the dash speakers were overpowering the door speakers no matter how i set up the dsp options.
4 x door speakers with 2 sets of focal isc 165 = $159.99 + tax. If you order from crutchfield they give you the metra speaker kit + harnesses for free.
Total = $262.14+ tax + 5 hours of frustration figuring out how to re-assemble rear doors + 6 pack of cold beer and some red bull.
This was the best $300ish i've spent on my car.
nachoNYC = good luck to anyone doing this.
I was actually thinking of this. i checked a video on how to remove OEM radio out.................is no joke. You gotta remove half of the freaking dash to get to the radio, this includes trim pieces of the cluster, above glove box, etc. Now this is an area i do not F with.
from what i can see, the unit itself is plug and play once you remove stock radio.
I wonder though, does the mouse function afterwards?
Our car's screen is so ufar up front, touchscreen only controls would mean we have to lean forward every time, this would be a no-no for me.
Hi all. I decided to make another try at my front door speakers, so I ordered the Metra 82-8150 adapter and the Infinity REF-6622ex 6.5" speakers. I'll be doing the install in a few days, once all the parts arrive.
While I am at it, I decided to add in some sound proofing material. I am using the Frost King material, as per this thread: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es-...my-2013-a.html. I got some at Lowe's for about $20/roll (including tax), which is 15 ft x 1 ft x 1/8 inch thick. I went with this because it is cheap, and twice as thick as soundproofing material like the Noico 80 mil. Also, it is NOT tar-based, like some material, and is made for household ducts, so there are no smells or fumes.
So, I went ahead and did the rear doors this morning. Pretty easy job. I pulled off the clear plastic that Lexus put on the door, and did the doors with two long pieces. I used a box knife, which cuts this stuff very easily. This stuff sticks pretty good, so I am not worried about it falling off. I did not do the inside of the doors (I might do so for the front doors). I have enough left over to I think do 1 front door, maybe even more.
The obligatory photos:
The rear door, when I started. There is a *little* insulation there already.
After the plastic was peeled off. I did not bother removing the black sticky adhesive stuff.
Top piece in place. I just made an X using my box knife where the cables go. I just used by hands to smooth it out and get it to stick to the metal.
Bottom piece on too. I cut the speaker hole about 1/2 inch too small, and just bent the material in, in order for the speaker to mount nicely on the foam material.
Speaker mounted and about ready to close up. Not shown, I also cut out where all the clip holes were so that the clips could go in their holes. There is a gap between the two pieces, and I tried to close up with duct tape, but it would not stick to the foil. On the second door, I overlapped a little bit, and it looks better.
Also, I decided to record myself this time, taking off and reinstalling the door panel. It's a little rough, and boring, but here it is:
isn't the sound deadening material supposed to go also on the inside of the door? i mean the whole area behind the speaker, where there's like a square already done from factory.
you might want to try this as well while you are at it:
doesn't have to be this one specifically, you can use any foam weatherstripping from home depot or lowes. I hear this helps with sound leaking and bass. I've already order some and will be installing this weekend, just to improve the bass a bit more.
isn't the sound deadening material supposed to go also on the inside of the door?
Yeah, I have seen some installs that do the inside of the door and some that do not. I do plan to try doing the inside of the front doors, when I do the front speakers, as well as the layer like I did on the rear doors.
Originally Posted by AlexNY
Good job on the video, you look sexy sir
I thought only my wife thought so, thanks!
I looked at a lot of other videos for these doors, and this is the only one that uses the reinstall technique you discovered, which is a whole lot easier.
Ok, I am done with the front doors and speakers. Photos:
This time I did the inside of the doors too, as far as I could reach (which was the vast majority of it).
All done, with outer layer on too. I ran through both rolls that I had, completely, so if I had done the inside of the rear doors too, then 2 rolls would not have been enough.
Verdict: For the door, this definitely sounds different when you close the door. The thump is now several notes (maybe half an octave) lower than before. It is not quite a Geo Metro door vs a Rolls Royce door, but it is sounds noticeably better when the door is shut. I did a reading with an app on my iPhone (I know, not exactly precise), and the engine idle sound dropped 2.5 dB after the front door install.
For the speakers, they sound good, and there is way more bass (I may even need to dial it down one notch), but in the very little music I listened too, it it not boomy. Now is this purely because of the speakers, the sound deadening material, or some combination of the two, someone else will need to figure that out.
I am new to sound deadening. When I drive the car now, the little reflectors make a different, lower thump when I drive over them now. It might be my imagination but it also seems like most of the road noise is coming from the top half (the window area) of the door now.
not your imagination, lot of wind noise coming from the windows in my 2015 as well. This car is in serious need of dual pane glass, which i believe the ultra luxury models have.
Sound insulation definitelly not a strong suit on the ES. Even the doors, once i removed the panels..........i see minimal sound deadining from factory. Just 1 small square in the outer shell behind the door speaker and then that plastic cover.
One thing i notice, my upgraded speakers sound very good when i'm parked. But when i start driving in the highway, wind noise makes my system sound a lot quieter than when i'm parked.
Also, i notice the 6.5 in the front doors make the panel rattle quite a bit when i approach volume level 40.
I've ordered some noico sound deadining mats from amazon, i'm just going to install them in front door panels due to the rattling and loss of bass/volume when going above 40 mph.
Ok, I am done with the front doors and speakers. Photos:
This time I did the inside of the doors too, as far as I could reach (which was the vast majority of it).
All done, with outer layer on too. I ran through both rolls that I had, completely, so if I had done the inside of the rear doors too, then 2 rolls would not have been enough.
Verdict: For the door, this definitely sounds different when you close the door. The thump is now several notes (maybe half an octave) lower than before. It is not quite a Geo Metro door vs a Rolls Royce door, but it is sounds noticeably better when the door is shut. I did a reading with an app on my iPhone (I know, not exactly precise), and the engine idle sound dropped 2.5 dB after the front door install.
For the speakers, they sound good, and there is way more bass (I may even need to dial it down one notch), but in the very little music I listened too, it it not boomy. Now is this purely because of the speakers, the sound deadening material, or some combination of the two, someone else will need to figure that out.
Overall, I am glad I did it.
This is a great work I'm sure!!!!
I wished I have this strong will to remove all the panels
04-08-19, 09:24 AM
All 4 doors now look/feel exactly like they did when they left the factory (other than the shoe scuffs).
