Black or Anthrachite carpet?

[Squidula]

Ok so finally had a day without constant rain, so I thought I would swap my carpet.

Tools needed are:

torx bit (I forget what size)

Screwdrivers, flat and cross head

13mm socket

Ratchet

19mm spanner

knife

Optional Tools:

Trim remover (think of it as a fork)

Disclaimer:

For piece of mind I suggest you disconnect the negative lead from the car battery since there are some electrical connectors involved when removing the interior. Any information given below is to be used as a guide, and done at the owners risk. I also recommend you wear disposable gloves and change them frequently, or wash your hands frequently throughout to avoid putting greasy stains on the seats.

Steps Involved:

First you need to remove the covers that are over the seat rails on the floor pan. Slide the seat forwards. Prise off the little plastic cover, and remove the torx screw. Theres one screw to each rail, and four rails in total (two for each front seat):

Then slide the seat all the way back, and remove the two 13mm nuts that secure the seat to the floorpan. Once removed you should be able to push the seat backwards and be able to tilt the seat backwards. Disconnect any electrical cables attached to the seat. My drivers seat had a belt warning sensor, that was it. Then remove the seat from the car. Theyre quite heavy, so either get help, or be careful when removing to avoid damage/scratches on any trim or bodywork:

With both front seats removed, you will be left with this. Here is one of the reasons why I changed the carpet:

Now you need to remove the rear bench. This has got to be the easiest job ever. Pull the bench forwards, and tilt it up (as if you were folding the rear seats down). Then unhook the seat bases, and withdrawal from the car:

Next you want to remove the B Pillar trim panels. These just pop off:

Next remove the sill trim panels. These again just pull off. I also pulled back the door seals too which are just pushed over a metal lip along the edge. Be careful when removing the sill trim panel, when you pull it off some of the metal clips may be left attached to the metal sill, and not the trim piece like they should be. These might need to be prised out with a screwdriver if theyve clipped into the holes on their own. One of the clips is shown below with the hole underneath it:

I also removed the plastic button by the base of the C Pillar, to help aid removal of the carpet:

This is just screwed in, and its easy to undo with your thumb. Its not necessary to remove the trim it screws into, since only the corner of the carpet is slipped under it:

Onto the centre console. Remove the rear cup holder, this just pulls out, and the rear coin slot thing, again this just pulls out. This exposes a couple of torx screws, remove these:

The rear section of the centre console should lift up now, unplug the cigarette lighter cable then withdrawal the trim piece:

Pull the gear gaiter away from the centre console, and then the plastic trim surrounding the gear stick:

Remove the torx screws that hold the second part of the centre console in, just infront of the handbrake:

Remove the ashtray, then remove the four torx screws that are under the ashtray:

Withdrawal the ashtray trim, and disconnect the wiring to the little led:

Remove the trim panel that surrounds the stereo, and climate control panel, this just pops off:

Undo the long screw that is on the carpeted bit of the centre console, and remove the drivers foot rest:

Now its time to withdrawal the centre console. This is the hardest part of the whole job. Pull the centre console towards the back of the car, and it will unclip itself from the lower part of the dash as shown below. Then you need to carefully lift the centre console over the gearstick, and infront of the handbrake lever. I had to put the handbrake on quite hard to get enough clearance, and select a gear to get the panel clear:

There are also a couple of other bits you need to remove. For some reason my phone has deleted the pictures of the trim pieces at the base of the A Pillars. These have a little oval cover on them, pop this off, then remove the two screws on each side. The Passenger side can be taken out, the drivers side has the bonnet release attached to it, but removing the screws gives you enough room to get the carpet underneath. There is also a plastic nut that sits under the throttle pedal, this just unbolts with a 19mm spanner:

To remove the carpet from under the lower part of the dash you can either remove more parts of the interior, or cut the carpet to allow you to remove it. I cut the carpet when removing, and also on the black carpet when refitting to save time. With all the trim fitted you cant notice it and it makes the job a lot quicker and easier.

Another thing I found was that my donor carpet didnt have the right floormat fasteners, the skoda ones just unscrew and I replaced the VW popper ones to allow me to keep my vRS mats fastened to the floor.

As with all DIY guides, the refitting is the reverse of the removal. When the new carpet is in the car, I would suggest you give it a good vacuum (unless its brand new, then probably not needed), because you wont get better access than when there are no seats.

Then you should be left with this:

Make sure the carpet is seated properly, especially around the pedals, on my first drive after fitting the carpet, I noticed my throttle pedal was sticking slightly from the carpet rubbing against it.

Ill have a hunt for the other photos if theyre still there, and edit accordingly.

Edited 22 June, 2011 by Squidula

[Flybikeslee]

great write up! should be made sticky this post!

[tomah]

Excellent write up, Squidula.

Can anyone confirm the torx bit size? I've never done anything like this before, but going to attempt this weekend I think.

[Guest BigJase88]

Personally i prefer the cream

[tomah]

Personally i prefer the cream

If you can keep it looking like new, perhaps. But that's easier said than done.

[Guest BigJase88]

There

Bad pic but its simple. Once a fortnight microfibre cloth and a can of carpet cleaner foam, takes a day to dry in the sunshine, same with the seats, just keep ontop of it

[tomah]

If I had owned mine from the start, I think I could have kept it clean, but it has stains on it I can't shift.

Furthermore, I got a leak and it got very damp, so now it smells. I figured just changing the carpet to one from a Bora would be a simple long-term solution.

Anyway.... can anyone tell me the torx size needed for taking the interior apart to do this?

Edited 2 August, 2012 by tomah

[demonufo]

Once a fortnight microfibre cloth and a can of carpet cleaner foam, takes a day to dry in the sunshine, same with the seats, just keep ontop of it

I admire your patience, but unfortunately, for me, mine is just 'a car' and is never going to get that sort of treatment. Kids, wife, music etc takes up far more time than I have already. I suspect there are many others that don't have the time for such 'pampering'. I don't think I've even washed my car more than 3 times in the last year and a half.

And Tomah, I can't recall offhand, but I think there were 2 different sizes of Torx drivers required for the interior removal...

[Guest BigJase88]

It literally takes half an hour tops... If you dont have a spare half an hour every fortnight then i

A) feel very sorry for you

B ) believe you may be a couch potato

Edited 2 August, 2012 by BigJase88

[demonufo]

The only spare half an hour I could find would be in the dark hours anyway. Plus, with black carpets and S3 seats, no need...

[tomah]

It's a T20, well, for the screws in the runners of the seats it is. I haven't done it yet as I just picked up the replacement this evening.

As for time to clean, seriously what's the big deal that some of us would rather have a dark carpet? Maybe you step from concrete into your car? Where I live, it can be a mucky mess at times and the dirt is far too obvious on a light carpet. A dark carpet means the hard work I put in to clean the car in first place, lasts longer.

[Guest BigJase88]

Theres no 'big' deal im entitled to an opinion surely?

The cream isnt so bad, it hides hairs which black carpets dont so in my experience takes half the time to hoover

Edited 2 August, 2012 by BigJase88

[demonufo]

As a pet owner, that can be a BIG plus, too.

[tomah]

I'm in the middle of this right now, and there seems to be a plastic screw in the footrest that I can't get removed.

Any help/advice appreciated.

[DBP]

anthracite for the win! Best interior option I have picked so far.

[tomah]

Just completed this, and although my fingers are now raw, the interior is far better looking.

The guide in this thread is fantastic. I couldn't have done it otherwise.