Please note the the 2004 CRV was built in Japan and Great Britain. If your VIN begins with 'S', it is not the same part as in this video. "S" types, OEM and after market are closer to white/yellowish. The connector come from the side, not the bottom. I ordered the wrong part at first. This video will get your the part out of the car. The bench work you will be able to figure out. Check your VIN before ordering the part.

Just completed this today on an '03 Element DRIVER"S DOOR that is very similar. Door panel comes off without too much trouble. Tips: 1. Take your time removing the inside plastic triangle trim piece above door panel - the one above the outside handle. It has to be pulled apart (straight out toward you) from the BOTTOM LEFT, then slide up and out, otherwise you'll likely break the plastic. Slip a thin screwdriver covered with a microfiber cloth to not scratch the paint, or plastic tool behind bottom left corner and gently pry straight OUT. You'll feel the clip pop out, then you can just lift up and out it comes. Put it back in reverse order. 2. If any of the plastic white clips that hold the panel are still in the door frame, gently pop them out (I used some wire cutters to gently grab them and wiggle them out) and put them back on the panel before re-install. 3. I did pull down on the window track to get it out of the way. It has to pull down about 1 inch. You can slide the metal track up and back in place (it fits inside the upper section) to line up the hole and screw the 10MM bolt back in AFTER you've got the actuator reinstalled. 4. Be sure to get the 4 rods in position before reattaching the actuator assembly with the three screws into the frame.The long HORIZONTAL interior door handle rod (you've reattached it to the actuator) and out the big upper hole in the frame (with interior door handle end of rod facing DOWN), the rod to the manual lock (out the hole on the inside metal door frame), and the two inside shorter rods connecting to the exterior keyed door lock and exterior door handle - you'll connect these two AFTER you reattach the actuator assembly to the door frame. 5.The white VERTICAL plastic cover piece behind the inside door lock rod (that you likely removed) can be placed next. You can't see it SO...when you have the actuator assembly out of the door, grab that plastic piece and SEE how it's installed (clips DOWN) to the top and slides up against the middle plastic part of the actuator). You can SEE how it goes back and do it a few times to get the feel of it. Then when you re-install it you can picture it in your mind and it's much easier to reattach. *Make sure you have the upper plastic tab with the hole in it sticking OUT the square hole in the metal frame before you snap it in place, or you'll have to do it again. That tab needs to be OUTSIDE the metal frame and then finally attached with the plastic push pin. 6. Remember: the DRIVER'S door won't manually lock when the door is open (unless you're holding the exterior door handle open), so close the door before testing it. You can test the door handle first to make sure it's moving properly. Take your time. Be patient. Your SO owes you dinner when done. You can do this! Rick

THANKS!!! Used your video to replace my '03 CRV actuator. Start to finish 1.hour 10 minutes. Plus, I lost the intimidation factor.

If not for this excellent video, I was about to give up trying to replace my driver's door actuator on my 2003 Honda Accord LX 4 door because I couldn't disconnect the 2 lock linkage rods, until you showed me how easily it can be done by inserting the tip of a flat screwdriver between the rod and the plastic bushing and simply twisting the screwdriver counter-clockwise. Thanks again for this clear and concise instructional video!

Hands down the best DIY car repair video I have seen. Exception explanation and getting your camera into the hard to see places. No wasted time on commentary or irrelevant video, just succinct and detailed. I wished you would have shown putting everything back together. I reversed the video as you said but some of the arms came off the hatch holding the actuator and it was difficult to know where they go. A lot of trial and error putting everything back together but your video made a difficult job easy. Thanks for adding this!!

I wish he showed putting it all back. I know I can be able to backtrack my steps, but I think it would have been very helpful to put it back all apart.

Make sure your rod that connects to the inside handle is facing down when you put it back it you have it take everything apart, had to do my job twice but this video was super informative, thanks for sharing!

Did this tonight on my '02 CR-V. This video helped a ton, thanks so much!

Easy to follow instructions. Many thanks for taking the time to put this very helpful video together. My advice to others: be careful when you remove the metal covering to install the new actuator. Make sure that you put everything back correctly, especially the interior door latch rod if it should come out. Also, be careful when you remove the three philips head screws holding the lock mechanism in place. The metal is soft and easy to deform.

The absolute best guide video of its type I have ever seen. A resource available on the public record in perpetuity.

Excellent instructions! Just changed the actuator in my wife's CR-V. No issues. Thanks!

Thanks! Just finished both the driver and passenger side lock actuators on my 06 CRV with the help of this video.

Nice instructional video. Haven't ever had to replace a door lock actuator on a CRV but if I do I'll now know how!

Big help on my 03 CRV! Thanks for the attention to detail, that was the biggest help!

I accomplished this repair. Thank you for taking the time and effort to make this video. Well done!

Super complete video. I followed it slowly, step-by-step and replaced the actuator in my CR-V 2004! Thank you! :-)

Thanks! Changed the actuator and lock cylinder in my 2003 CRV thanks to this video!

I checked out several videos. this one by far the best. One reason, its for a Honda built door actuator. If your VIN number starts out with a "J" (for my car see bottom of driver side door well), then this is the video to see. Reinstalling was easy, but I had several problems: 1) Door actuator exploded when I pulled out the old one. Wish to heck I took a picture of this piece before pulling apart. 2) I installed the "window" slide one hole up. I found this out when I tried punch the handle back in. Ends up the metal piece of the window slide slid down. Anyway, thank you for the great video. It saved my!

Great diy tutorial, fixed my CRV door following your guide.

Excellent advice here. thx for the video. I just replaced my 2003 CRV door actuator and found this very helpful. I'm pretty handy but have not done something like this before. Good advice. This looks like the "J" version from Japan. If you have the "S" version check out ajchien's too. I found both helpful. It took us 3 hours (my 16 year old son and I) mainly because we had trouble with getting the black actuator box well aligned the first time. also I was super cautious and he was learning too. We had fun though and it did work completely.

Great video. It saved me at least $250. Going VERRRY SLOW, I finished it in 2 hours. The procedure illustrated in my opinion is the only way to go. Completely remove the latch, replace the actuator, then reinstall the latch. What the video didn't show is removal of the "sail" above the door panel and opposite the side view mirror. Removing this made the door panel removal much easier. The only suggestion I have would be to add more detail about dis assembly of the door latch assembly to replace the actuator. Reassembly of the door latch assembly was the slow part for me since the door latch cam fell off when I pulled the plate off to remove the actuator. So.....my suggestion is to take bunch of pix before disassembly of the door latch assembly so you make sure you put it back together correctly. Also......make sure this video is for your model vehicle. Most parts houses will tell you if the actuator illustrated is for your model vehicle. Its my understanding that the actuator in this video is for Japanese and North American made CRV's. CRV's made in other parts of the world may have a different actuator requiring a slightly different procedure. Also, I used a cordless impact wrench to remove the phillips screws holding the latch to the inside of the door. Trying to do it with regular screw drivers proved to be a bit of a challenge. Once again......Thanks for posting. Its a GREAT video which will save DIY'ers a lot of money.

Thank you so much for this video! It gave me the courage and knowledge to fix my door lock on my 13 year old 235000 mile CRV!

Super vid my friend. Looks like my '03 Element part exactly. Think I'm ready to install.....

Nice work. Reinstalling that window guide channel can be a severe pain in the neck. Recommend get a lighted mirror so you can see how it lines up before you try (and try and try) to line it back up again. Stay gold.

Outstanding! Thank you for posting this.

You saved my life with this video, thanks a TON for up this!

Very helpful video, much better than other videos of the same topic on youtube.

Great video, saved me a lot of money. Thank you for uploading.

Very helpful. This is for the Japanese model.

Thanks for the tutorial, well done!

awesome video,, , I follow the video step by step had no problem replacing the actuator save me a lot money ,,, thanks for uploading ,,, cheers

Thanks for the video. Just did this nasty job. But I wish you would not have fast forwarded it at 8 mins. That was the most important part of the video I needed. Lol. I got it all back in the right shape. :-)

this might be obvious to everyone else out there. once i had it all installed again, i couldn't get the door to lock, even with the door latched with a screw driver, i found you had to depress the door sensor on the inside of door. (it is linked to the door locking mechanism as a back up) also you can get actuator out and the lock mechanism without removing the window slide completely, just bring it down and around in the slide and then be careful when poking it back up. Saved me lots of time and worry about the window. This was on a honda crv 2002. in australia

I had no trouble following the video to disassemble everything -- and that was just great. I found it a little confusing to just figure out how to do it all in reverse order. (It was OK, just took some re-do's to remember which rods need to stay inside the door and which one is left out.) All in all, this is a great instructional video. Unfortunately, I had an issue come up that made it impossible to finish. Though I tried to just pry up the plate, it popped off entirely -- and when that happened, the (latch?) rod popped off. I took my best guess at how it should go back on. Then, when turning the assembly to fit it into the door, the lock rod just fell off; once again, I had to guess. At least one of the decisions I made was wrong, because the lock does not move at all when I click the button (though it makes a good noise, so I think the actuator is working). If someone has one or has an illustration of how the whole mess should go together, that would be REALLY appreciated. Thank you!

Good video with clear instructions - thanks !!

I've never seen those 3 bolts come out so easy.

Great video! Thanks for putting it together!!

Thanks for video, I will be replacing mine very soon. Has anyone had issues replacing the vapor barrier or door panel? I just want to be prepared in case things aren't "sticking" back as well as they were before I detached them.

Thanks for the excellent video.

How did you open the door? Mine will not open i have the door panel out and have access to the latch bt cannot get it to release

Great video. Thanks a million.

Sir is this car comes factory fitted with central locking system? And, the actuator switch or connector on 4.09 at the latch actuator is for remote central locking or for some purposes!!?? Please help me about this. If disconnecting the wires from the connector at this 4.09, would lock or unlock functions work with remote keys??

Thanks nice video good instructions

Great video!

BackYard Tech, Hi. One more question. Better to go with the $70 OEM Honda part or a $15 knock off? I think I know the answer but wanted your opinion. Thanks!

The three screws on the side holding the actuator are so fix in. I tried with all my might and even impact but the head Phillips started to strip so I have to stop there.

I take it this is exactly the same for a 97 crv. I’ll try it. My problem is the whole system doesn’t work. I used to open all the doors with the key but now it’s stopped working. In assuming it’s the drivers door that’s causing the problem because that controls all the other doors. I’ll give it a go when we get out of lockdown and shops are open. Thanks again.

Thanks for video!

Thanks 🙏 help me fix the door now just gotta fix the remaining 3

Awesome, thanks.

Tanks man you are very good

Actually, I'm in the process of doing it right now. The hardest part is trying to get the door cover back onto the door. I'm trying to align the clips, but ones on the mid-sides are not clamping down. Damn.

Anybody ever have the problem with an 02 crv that key power remote only works on 1 door when press to unlocked or lock but only rear driver door will do it and the rest won’t unlock or lock and with the power locks inside does the same does that mean all 3 door lock actuators are bad or can it be just the driver door causing other two not receive signal ?

hi, I have this crv 2003 I bought a second hand car. I have a little problem dilemma this autolock feafure, which is I don't like it. how do I disable the autolock? and there's another problem when I start the car the car will alarm. how do I disable the alarm of the Honda crv 2003?pls help!show me a video or reply. thank you.

Thanks, this was helpful when someone punched in my driver door key tumbler. The only tricky part was getting the "Lock Rod Protector" plastic back in the right position. VW could take some lessons from Honda in how to put a door together well. That was a QUICK fix, only took about 30 minutes. Thanks again !

how do you take out the key lock

thx so much!!!

What if all doors don't lock/unlock? I thought it be a wiring problem. I checked fuse which is ok.

BackYard Tech, Thx for the great video! I have a 2002 Honda CRV. I am having trouble with my drivers side door lock. Similar to Al F.'s comments way below. Does the drivers side actuator override or control all the other 4 (5 including rear door) door locks / actuators? In other words, if the driver side goes bad, will it prevent the rest of the door locks (keyless door entry) from working? Thanks!

Just to add. This video is for Japan made CR-Vs of this generation. There is another batch made in the UK which requires a slightly different way to replace the actuator and the item has a different part number. Just FYI.

I ve seen 2 different actuators, white and black one for Crv 02-06. What's the difference?

I have a Honda Element which is basically the same. I was having trouble with the door lock. It was only letting me lock the door from the outside with a key. I swapped the actuator and am still having the same problem. Any suggestions?

Let's assume the wiring is the problem. Is that something the average Joe may be able to repair on their own? Or for safety reasons would you recommend taking it into a shop? Thanks.

Good video, sadly my CRV is built in GBR and the lock actuators are different but i am a mechanic 30 yrs so i think i can handle it,lol

Nice tutorial! Does anyone know what the problem could be if the door actuator was replaced (passenger side, black part Japan), fuses are OK but auto door lock still does not work? I also had to get 2 of the 3 flat screws drilled out on the door as they would not come out for me and they got stripped by the dewalt, screw remover did not work either so watch out for that.

i lost the plastic cover for the door lock anyone know where i can get one?

How do you get the door to open if it's won't open?

Got a 04 Crv none of the doors will lock with the key fob or the switch. You have to lock them all manually. You can hear something making nosie but they don't lock

Fuck this I’m taking it to the shop lol

Is this for the england made one or japan made one?

How much does actuator cost

So how did u know you had to replace that part

Man these front doors are so much worse or is this just older models?

Im afraid i wont be able to put it all back together

I just did this and once I got it all finished the lock pop up came out and I cannot for the life of me figure out where to connect it back without disconnecting it all again.

Seems very complicated

Typical KZfaq video only shows half the process. Junk.

Seems very complicated