Escutcheon Mod

H

HumbertoCALI

Premium Member
Premium
Car
2003 FX45 AWD
I had an incident a while back with my FX. I got to my FX and noticed that the Escutcheon was missing from the driver side door. It seems that they were trying to open the FX with a flat head screw driver.

I have seen this mod done before and with the suggestions of my peers I decided to do a write up for this simple and in-expensive mod that looks great and defers any know be criminals out there that want to break in your FX through the driver side key hole.

Here is a picture of a Stock FX Door Handle with the stock Escutcheon that has the opening for access to the driver side door lock.
45DoorHandle.jpg

I went online and got the passenger right side Escutcheon fromwww.infinitipartsusa.comfor a reasonable price.
Escutcheon # 82646 CA000

This Escutcheon will fit perfectly to cover the lock.

This is what you will need to make this mod happen:
A Torx Screwdriver
A Flat Head screw driver
And a little patience to get this done.

You will need to remove the rubber top to loosen the screw that holds down the Escutcheon.
100_2729.jpg

Then use your flat head screw driver or in my case a utility knife and pop the rubber top off.
100_2730.jpg

and there you go....
100_2731.jpg

Now, I made the assumption that in order to remove the current Escutcheon you had to remove the bolt entirely. You wont need to remove it. You will only need to loosen it until the Escutcheon becomes loose. While you are loosening the bolt you will see and feel the Escutcheon become loose and then you can take a flat head screw driver, use a napkin to cover the screwdriver head to avoid scratching your paint, and proceed to place the screwdriver flat and pry up the Escutcheon.

Once you have take the Escutcheon off you can proceed to place the New Escutcheon. Place the left side down first and then pop in the right side. Then will come a bit of a hard part. Grab your Allen tool and start to find the groove and tighten the Escutcheon down and your done...

This is how it should look if done correctly..
100_2728.jpg

The only draw back is that you will always have to have your Remote or Intelligent Key maintained with a fresh battery. I recommend you change out the battery once a year to ensure you will not have a problem.

Mod On....:smile:
 

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can you post the part link again, doesn't seem correct right now. thanks

this is actually a nice little mod to do. Great write up Bert. Also I noticed that when the remote battery is low, the dash has a "key" indicator, warning of a low battery. So that will help us remember to change the CR2025.

:top::top::top:
 
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09

Does anyone know if this would be the same escutcheon for the 09? I cheked the links and it only goes to 08.
Thanx
 
I don't think so. The new handles are a little more rounded on the outside. The escutcheon on the previous model has a relatively flat face. Have a look at Humberto's photo versus what you have on your FX.
 
Torx size for 09's

IlovemyFX said:
I don't think so. The new handles are a little more rounded on the outside. The escutcheon on the previous model has a relatively flat face. Have a look at Humberto's photo versus what you have on your FX.
Click to expand...

Youre right I just talked to infinity parts and it is different and a little more @ $24.95. Also as a note Tool size is T30 from what he said.

RACER-X
 
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09 escutcheon

The 09 instead of being a cover, its the whole locking mechanism. Its one solid unit not a cover.
 
Just got my car broken into just as i knew they could but never did the mood. Now i got an exposed car door key entry for the night and have to take it in the morning for repair. I'm hoping that it wont be too expensive or something i can do myself. I do want to look into removing the whole key entry device and see if the door will still work without the key entry and doing the mood, but if that doesn't work i will def look into doing this mood and hoping no one breaks in again.
 
I've been wanting to do this, but I'm not too sure if it's possible on the 2nd gen FX's. Someone told me on the 2nd gen that the actual whole lock actuator is attached to the back of the escutcheon, making it impossible to change.:tdown:
 
Love this mod and remember this from g35driver as well. what happens if your car battery dies completley one day?

Sent from my EVO
 
After this thread revival reminder last week, I finally did this yesterday.
I knew the plated cover was fragile, so I was careful. On removing the keyed one, one of the tabs broke. The flat cover would not fit perfectly over the raised bezel of the key hole. I wasn't happy with the fit so I carefully removed the flat cover . . . and broke a tab off that one. I didn't think I would have to, (and didn't want to in case of a drained battery), but I also replaced the keyed lock with the blank plug. In the process, I discovered that my lock was disconnected from the rod, and that is why my key never worked. So, with the blank plug securely in place, the flat cover fits perfectly against the door's rubber seal. The problem then was that the cover was too loose due to the broken tab. I decided to remove the blank cover and plug and go back to keyed version until I get a new cover. I couldn't get the blank plug out and may have to remove the door panel to get better access to the back. It was dark and I was done for the day.
It's now blank on top of blank. It's more loose than I desire and will likely be like that for a while.
 
Was wondering when you were going to get this done=)

Man, sounds like some headaches. I don't remember having these issues, -- any pictures?

porkandbeans said:
After this thread revival reminder last week, I finally did this yesterday.
I knew the plated cover was fragile, so I was careful. On removing the keyed one, one of the tabs broke. The flat cover would not fit perfectly over the raised bezel of the key hole. I wasn't happy with the fit so I carefully removed the flat cover . . . and broke a tab off that one. I didn't think I would have to, (and didn't want to in case of a drained battery), but I also replaced the keyed lock with the blank plug. In the process, I discovered that my lock was disconnected from the rod, and that is why my key never worked. So, with the blank plug securely in place, the flat cover fits perfectly against the door's rubber seal. The problem then was that the cover was too loose due to the broken tab. I decided to remove the blank cover and plug and go back to keyed version until I get a new cover. I couldn't get the blank plug out and may have to remove the door panel to get better access to the back. It was dark and I was done for the day.
It's now blank on top of blank. It's more loose than I desire and will likely be like that for a while.
Click to expand...
 
Chedman13 said:
Was wondering when you were going to get this done=)

Man, sounds like some headaches. I don't remember having these issues, -- any pictures?
Click to expand...

Haha, my toy chest hardly gets cracked open.
Did you use the blank plug, or just the blank cover over the lock?
It's just a little loose. I'll probably leave it alone for a while.
 
I just used the blank plastic chrome piece over the actual lock. It fit perfectly for me.

That metal piece, I never used/installed.

porkandbeans said:
Haha, my toy chest hardly gets cracked open.
Did you use the blank plug, or just the blank cover over the lock?
It's just a little loose. I'll probably leave it alone for a while.
Click to expand...
 
I wonder if mine had less clearance for some reason. Maybe I was too picky with the small gap left from pressing against the key bezel.
 
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