Hi- been struggling for three days to remove the lower facia panel in order to access the clutch pedal - I think the bracket for the master cylinder push rod has broken. The Haynes manual is either vague, ambiguous or just plain wrong, or maybe all three. DON'T BELIEVE IT!!!!!

Took half the bloody car apart before I found the hidden screw behind the light switch.

Big breath - rant over for now.

So - now the facia panel is hanging in midair, suspended by the wiring to the obd socket, the cars last defence before I commence an assault on its clutch pedal. It is of course, well dug in, next to the transmission tunnel inside a small oddments tray-as far from my eyes and hands as it can get, and despite a working life as a wireman, wiring, assembling and plugging together multi pin plugs similar to this, I can discern no way of removing it from the panel - no little fingers to squeeze together, no tabs to lift up - nothing. Can someone tell me the secret, or does it need one of Volkswagens multitudinous special tools?

The shelf has got a couple of clips that pop open and where the obd socket is then folds backwards on itself and you can flip the whole lot upside down and you can then squeeze the lugs on the back of the socket and it pops out forward really easily. Thats the best way I can describe it I'm afraid.....once you work it out you'll kick yourself!!!

Just read my answer and its not really clear......if you imagine how the shelf sits with the socket facing you....once the shelf is hanging free the smaller bit with the socket then folds back so the whole shelf is flat and then you can flip it upside down and the back of the socket is accessible.. push in the lugs and pull it out from the wiring side (towards you but backwards from how it sits normally??) Hope this helps... wish I had taken photos when I changed my heater matrix as this was one of the easier bits!!!

Hi Peter, thank you for your help, I've actually managed to get it out now. I could'nt release the two plastic clips that allow the lower section to fold down, they were jammed somehow, so I looked very closely at it from the front with the aid of a torch, and spotted three plastic clips/tabs between the socket itself and the housing, one at the top in the middle and one each side at the bottom. Using a small but long electricians screwdriver inserted between the tab and the housing they could be released with a slight twist, starting at the bottom left while at the same time pushing on the face of the socket. As this clip released, it allowed the socket to twist on a vertical axis and hence kept the clip free, then a repeat on the top middle clip gave even more twist, and then the bottom right was done and it fell out. The whole panel then came out as one piece. I suppose that a thin strip of two mm sheet steel would substitute for a screwdriver if a suitable one wasn't available.

If I have to do this job again it will be the first thing I do, closely followed by that verdammt hidden screw behind the headlamp switch......

Hi all, finally managed to removed the clutch pedal in my efforts to find out why it went down to the floor and stayed there, only to find that there is nothing wrong with it. The welded bracket and clip that hold the clutch master cylinder pushrod to the pedal are in mint condition. When this incident occurred, a clearly audible single knock was heard when changing gear and the clutch pedal stayed down. The clutch does not slip in any gear, but it is dragging when I use the full remaining 2 inches of travel to change gear and no gear can be selected with the car at rest and the engine running. There are no nasty noises when the pedal is down or up. I was hoping for a mechanical failure as an explanation, but the pedal is ok, the lack of graunching says to me the thrust bearing is ok and I can't believe the actuation lever on the 02K transmission would break. The fluid reservoir is full, and hence (presumably) no leaks. So.....what is the next likely suspect? Anybody got any suggestions?

Me again, have finally decided to change the master and slave cylinders to try and cure the staying down of the clutch pedal problem, as there is no sign of fluid leaks anywhere. Had to take off the air cleaner assembly to have sight of the slave, I think that access will have to be from beneath unless I take off the battery and tray assembly as well--any comments? The master cylinder on the other hand... If I struggle very hard with 1 finger extended I can just touch the pipe unions that have to be disconnected. Surely I don't have to take off the air intake assembly to give me sufficient room for a hand and a screwdriver? Posts I have read on this forum haven't mentioned this problem, but I think that the majority of those cars seemed to be Diesels - are they different in this area? My car has a 1.6 petrol BFQ engine. Can anyone out there share their experience with me?