Is your CD stuck in your Honda Element? If it is, why are you still using a CD player, 1990 is over buddy. For those that can’t let an old technology go, here is the answer on how to eject it. Let me start by saying Honda charges big bucks for “replacing your stereo” when this happens. When you see how easy it is you’re going to laugh out loud. I will only charge you one kick in the ass. 
Here’s the the CD player
Here’s the magic.
My window snapped, fell in the door, and wouldn’t roll up anymore. If that’s you, you are about to get some help. Here is my step by step to replace your DRIVER side window regulator. Part number 72250-SCV-A02. Just for your reference, the PASSENGER side is 72210-SCV-A02. I got my part for $91.38 (driver side is more expensive) from a local Phoenix dealer. Bought it on the web, then picked it up via will call. Buying it on the web and then picking it up saved me about $40. If you buy it in person they charge $128. I bought it at http://www.hondapartsunlimited.com/
So I got the Window Regulator, brought it home, and never took a picture of it. However, I did take one of the broken one when I removed it. If you see the springs sticking out, that’s why it’s broken.
So here are my steps for replacing the Window Regulator
Step 1:
Remove the door cover. Start by removing the plate with tiny flat head, then remove 2 screws.
Step 2:
Remove plate with tiny flat head and take out 1 screw.
Step 3:
Remove speaker grill by pulling it out.
Step 4:
Remove 3 screws holding speaker in.
Step 5:
Pull speaker out and disconnect it by pinching white tab
Step 6:
Pull out inside door handle slightly
Step 7:
Remove linkage from interior door handle
Step 8:
Let door handle dangle. No need to disconnect it.
Step 9: THE HARDEST STEP
Remove 2 plastic triangles. The right one takes about 10 seconds (pry from the top down). This is the left most one, and it is by far the hardest thing I had to do in the whole replacement. It took me 30 minutes to get this off. All I can say is this, it needs to come towards you, then up, then diagonal up/right. You will bend this, I promise. I found my best bet was to use two screw drivers instead of one. Be patient, this will take time.
Look inside here to find the brass tab.
Step 10:
Everything is ready, prepare for the door cover to come off. I recommend putting something on the ground to balance the door cover on. Because when it comes off the wires will be connected, but the cover is to short to rest on the ground. I used a 40lb bag of salt.
Step 11:
Remove the door plastic. This is a link to the video, because I couldn’t show it through pictures. Pretty easy to do. Remember to slide the door handle through the opening and leave it connected. Much easier.
http://byanwong.com/vidsbw/remove_plastic_honda_element.mpg
Step 12:
The door is still connected, let’s look in between at the connections. You should see two of them.
Step 13:
Remove white connection blocks by pinching white tab. Shown below in video link.
Video: http://byanwong.com/vidsbw/Unplug%20Power%20Windows.mpg
Step 14:
Set hard plastic off to the side, and we start to remove the Window Regulator. This is what the door should look like prior to removal.
Step 15:
Unplug the Window Regulator. It’s the blue cable behind the white plastic that should be attached to the door via an orange tab. Here is a picture of the cable connected, then disconnected, then broken from the orange tab. Extra photo.
Connected
Disconnected
Removed from orange tab (broken away). Remove the orange tab from wall.
Step 16:
Peel back the white plastic a bit by unplugging black tab out of top left corner, and peeling back from left to right. I didn’t remove it, just peeled it back.
Pull out black tab, then peel.
Result
Step 17:
Remove the 2 top bolts holding the Window Regulator in place (I still have one to go). Make sure the glass is up and secure. I used a couple of paint sponges and lodged them in between the window and the door to hold it up.
Step 18:
Remove the 2 bottom bolts holding the Window Regulator in place.
Step 19:
Loosen the final 3 bolts holding regulator (motor ??) in place. Reach your hand in the door once the bolts are loosened and grab the motor piece. Move the piece until the screws slide out.
Step 20:
Move the glass to the bottom of the door, and carefully remove the two bolts holding the glass in place.
Step 21:
Remove the glass from the car and set to the side. Getting the glass out is pretty easy, however be careful of scratching it on the way out.
Step 22:
Pull broken regulator out of door. Place new regulator in its spot. IMPORTANT: remember how the regulator was in the door (top, bottom, which direction it’s facing). It’s easy to mess that up. But thankfully it’s tough to install it wrong because of the way the three screws from the motor part are arranged in the door. I am holding the regulator up as it will look inside the door.
Step 23:
When placing the new Window Regulator, it should have one bolt pre installed in the long arm. Look at this picture and see the right hand side of the linkage. You should see a silver bolt near it. That pre installed bolt should be slid into that exact hole. You will notice everything will line up perfectly. Next, put back in the missing bolt from step 17 and the 2 missing bolts from step 18 and tighten.
Step 24:
Slide the glass back in the door and let go down until it lines up with these two holes. Once lined up, tighten the window.
Step 25:
Make sure the regulator is plugged in and the new orange tab is snapped into the wall.
Step 26:
Put everything back the way it was.
Step 27:
Say “Fuck that noise, I didn’t pay $300- $400 for this, I paid $91.”
Step 28:
I tried to cover everything that I could in detail. If anyone has any questions, please ask me. I will come back through and try to clean up the incoherent sentences, as well as any content that isn’t detailed enough. Please keep educating the common person with the tools you have at your finger tips. My hope is that the next thing I have to fix will already be documented on the net.
Extra Videos: I am posting a bunch of videos I took along the way. Maybe I will sort them out at a later date.
Aug 25
I bought the extended warranty on my 2003 Honda Element for 7 years or 90,000 miles. I never reached 90,000 however 7 years just recently passed. I used $400 of the $1200 I spent. I got piece of mind out of the deal so i wasn’t too bent out of shape. That was until my window broke 10 days after the warranty ran out. So I call Honda and they want $300 – $400 for it. I say NO MAS senor.
I bought the damn part for 91.38 from the dealer and I am doing it myself. Like always, I am fully documenting this for others who have similar problems. The only way for average everyday people to get rich, is to get smart. Stop wasting on our money on services and start educating ourselves to be more self sufficient. Of course I will still pay for certain services, but by cutting this in half, I will benefit.
If I can show some guy or gal who’s struggling to make ends meet how to save $200, then I am doing something productive with my life. I will be uploading pictures shortly.
Here is what happened to my Honda Element. I was rolling up the powered driver side window, then it made this noise… “chug, chug, SNAP.” The window slid right in the door. I went right to the internet to find that window regulators break frequently. Believe it or not, I found that this had happened to my passenger widow years back. I simply forgot about it.
When I think back to what got me so interested in Apple computers, it was three things. First it was how user friendly they were (and still are). My friends were spending their summer days downloading drivers and staring at Dos screens, while I was actually accomplishing something. Maybe I didn’t have the all of the software options, but what I had worked, and well for that matter.
Second was the customer service/community that Apple had for their products. Being an Apple user was as good as gold because if you ever had a problem, it felt like there would be a support system there to help you out. It was almost like belonging to a secret alliance of some sort. Does this sound familiar? “Hey bro, do you use Apple? Oh you do.” And before you knew it you could strike up a conversation or even get tech support. On top of that, it felt like most users were moderately intelligent, or at least possessed a certain kindness and patience with other users.
Thirdly was how exclusive Apple was. Apple would not sell its code out to half assed companies such as ACER, HP, and everyone under the sky. Even in rough economic times, they held their foot in the ground and made very few moves to “Sell out.” The exclusivity also crossed into software ranging from OS software to specialized music and film programs. The exclusivity meant something to the user and we rallied around that.
So what is my gripe with Apple? What is slowly killing Apple? I will start with the Apple store, which in my mind is accidentally ruining the company. The Apple Store was “The Shit” for the first 4-5 years. I would just go in there and buy a new Mac and get a round of applause when I walked out the door as others did. So then Mac switched from Motorola on over to the Intel chip and the ipod exploded along with the addition of the whole PC/Bootcamp thing, which was genius. However, the geniuses over at Apple never accounted for what would happen if they had a ton of PC users actually come over to Apple. Well, they did and it really took flight with the release of the iphone. This led to a mass production of the Apple stores with a mass hiring of employees to meet the demands. When the iphone exploded it took the focus off the CPU, and put it on the phone. Then you started to get this not so nice feeling when you walked into the Apple Stores. It resembles the feeling I get when I walk into Best Buy or Sprint. Smiling faces of the Apple sales people suddenly becoming exceptionally unknowledgeable, except for matters in dealing with the iphone. I actually was asked to leave an Apple Store multiple times because I didn’t have an appointment to get in. This is the result when companies try to extend themselves to far to fast. They simply don’t account for customer service like they used to. The Apple store has turned into an oversized cell phone store ala The Sprint Store. Without wasting my breath, here are a few other things that are leading to Apple downward spiral.
Apple Care – An extra year of coverage? SOLID GOLD! Sounds like the insurance package that sucks at every other store.
Support for Pro Software – Gone to the wayside. What I would give to have Emagic still own Logic. You ask half the staff at the Apple store a question about Logic and they will tell you Borders is on the other side of the mall and it has a big selection of Logic books.
Would I ever use a PC? If Apple didn’t exist I would be trying to hook up my Commodore 64 instead. PC makes me hate using computers as Apple might for others. I’m not above PC’s, however they are a last resort in my mind.
Do I hate Mac? Not at all, I just see them flushing loyal customers down the toilet over financial gain. Something they didn’t do in the past. You know it’s funny I hear a lot of users say “I have owned about 8 Macs since I was 10 years old, and the sales people at the Apple Store could care less.” It almost reminds me of the loyalty my parents generation had with American made cars like GM and Ford. Owning Macs since you were 10 used to be a badge of honor you wore around. Hell, companies spend millions of dollars trying to create that very thing. Yet Apple has it, and they are throwing to the wayside. Simply pissing longtime customers away. How long will the PC iphone users stick around when Company X makes something bigger and badder?
I actually think there is a window opening up for a new computing platform. One that takes back the place Apple used to hold. A company that offers community like Wordpress and customer service like a Trader Joes. Something that caters to the arts, not cell phone users.
By the way I do own an Iphone, Mac Pro, and about 6 other Macs. But as Apple is choosing money over customer service I might be willing to switch to a new platform if ever one did exist that catered to the arts.
