I have two Panasonic MiniDV cameras PV-DV53D and PV-DV402 (identical
mechanisms) and wish to gain access to the heads for cleaning. How is
it opened up for such service?

I can easily remove the cover opposite the tape compartment, but this
gets me nowhere. The cover/bezel on the tape compartment side doesn't
budge when I remove its screws.

It almost appears that the plastic tape compartment door can be
unfastened from its metal frame by bending two plastic ears out of the
way of pins in the frame, however I'm really reluctant to do this for
fear of cracking them. If this were possible though, it looks as
thoughh the plastic door would then lay down in such a way as to
provide full access.

I found that this problem was posted here over a year ago, but no one
replied.

These are tough for even a well practiced shop tech to take apart and
access the heads and furthermore if you are not well skilled in
cleaning delicate VCR heads you would be best to let a shop do this
work for you. Improper disassembly and improper cleaning even if you
think you are being careful can do much damage.
If you still want to do this, study the case and make careful
observations so you can proceed with careful disassembly and accessing
the heads... and maybe go to the website for this newsgroup at
http://www.repairfaq.org/
there, with some searching, you will find proper and safe head cleaning
proceedures.
electricitym
..