Copied from a dead thread: Can anyone help please?

 

Need some help here please with the side pillar trim removal.

I have a copy of the 'General body repairs.pdf' and can see how it fastens.

I have now got a natty little set of plastic doofas for trim removal.

 

What I cannot do is release the  *** trim clips!!  I am reluctant to put too much force on it - is there a 'trick'?  Where do I poke and pull? Do I work from the door seal side?

I pulled out the top of the trim then pushed up the complete trim and it slides out, remove the plug from the speaker as well. Take care not to lose any clips

 

1 hour ago, mjp99 said:

I have now got a natty little set of plastic doofas for trim removal.

If the set is a cheap Chinese replica, you will fail removing anything in the car. Those plastics only LOOK like the original tools, the quality is rubbish. That's the Chinese philosophy. Sell $hitty stuff cheap in big quantities.

Don - that is helpful, thanks. I have tried easing out the top, but have not convinced myself that I could push the trim upward.  From what you are saying, the clips have some lateral ('up and down' in this case) movement. I assume if successful (!) the replacement is 'in and down', then.

 

Re ' it slides out', are we talking rearwards or across the screen?

Inside or outside trim?

Inside.

7 hours ago, mjp99 said:

Don - that is helpful, thanks. I have tried easing out the top, but have not convinced myself that I could push the trim upward.  From what you are saying, the clips have some lateral ('up and down' in this case) movement. I assume if successful (!) the replacement is 'in and down', then.

 

Re ' it slides out', are we talking rearwards or across the screen?

 

It slides up towards the roof and then pulls out towards you, if you look at page 96 ('General body repairs.pdf') showing the A pillar, you can see the notches that the clips fit into go wider to allow the clips to pull out.

Hope this helps

Edited 14 August, 20205 yr by don_kiddik
Grammar

Indeed it does, Don, thanks a lot. Difficult to see that in detail in the pdf - the addition of a 'slide this way' arrow would surely not be too much to ask...............

 

I'll be trying it soon.

Well - I am more limp-wristed than I thought - I cannot persuade the trim to move upwards at all! Do I need to remove the dash end panel to get at the bottom of the trim to push it upwards?

 

It is a newish motor and I suspect all the seals are still tight as there seems to be a large 'stiction' from the door seal trim on the edge of the Trim panel.

1 hour ago, mjp99 said:

Well - I am more limp-wristed than I thought - I cannot persuade the trim to move upwards at all! Do I need to remove the dash end panel to get at the bottom of the trim to push it upwards?

 

It is a newish motor and I suspect all the seals are still tight as there seems to be a large 'stiction' from the door seal trim on the edge of the Trim panel.

 

It is very stiff, the more you can pull out at the top to get a good grip the better, watch your fingers! I never had to pry it up from the bottom, though that may help.

You're a better man than I am, Gunga Don 🙂 Fingers torn to the bone............I can 'wiggle' the damn thing but not move it upwards! Even with the dash end panel out, no go.

 

I cannot believe the average Skoda garage chap does this the same way! SOMEONE must have the 'trade secret'? Dare I use soft-nose pliers on it?

To add I can hear clips 'clicking', but that is all.

Well, still here, and in view of the deafening silence here I can only assume that no-one actually knows how to remove the A-pillar trim! IF anyone has actually done it, I would LOVE to hear from you! Please share the secret.

 

To recap:

I know there are 3 clips.

I do not know how to 'spring' them. Do I heave at them from the windscreen side of the pillar, lever from the door side or what? Fingers behind the top of the trim and pull hard across the windscreen - nothing is moving. It would be helpful if I could avoid breaking the clips too.

I have been struggling with this for weeks now and have the exact same problems. I have been documenting my journey with some pictures; find my album here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/oVNGeCUtPU8d8K9n6

 

In short: I have had no success removing the A pillar. I have tried everything suggested here, but my perception is that the dashboard itself needs to be removed in order to create the space needed to remove it. I'm about the furthest you can be from a car mechanic, so no doubt I'm wrong. Nevertheless, I've tried:

• pulling it along the pillar upwards and away from the dashboard
• pulling it away from the windscreen towards the driver seat
• using wedges to locate the clips and push away from the pillar

None of this worked for me, and in fact I found that the pillar didn't budge at all.

 

Ultimately I ran a string down the A pillar (which was a pain in itself until by luck it came out the other end), tied both USB leads for my front & rear dashcams and wiggled them back up. I would put this as an 9.5 on a 10-point frustration scale.

One thought would be to ask at your local windscreen replacement company. They remove A pillar trims all the time. 

 

tom

Thanks, both - it really is frustrating.  Sanqhar - good idea! Stimpy - how did you get to the bottom of the pillar to 'fish' out the string - and I assume you ran the wires on the windscreen side of the pillar to avoid the airbag??

The manual suggests that the A pillar can be removed without any prerequisite steps (see page 96 of "Karoq 2018 - General body repairs, interior - Edition 12.2017"). I'd like to see a mechanic do this, but I digress.

 

I just finished installing everything, and getting two piggyback fuses on the rear window wiper fuse was challenging, too. My Garmin cable was only narrowly long enough to reach the rear cam.

 

I think fiddling the string along the pillar that you can manage to pry away is maybe your best bet. The biggest concern is getting the cable, as you say, onto the windscreen side. What I did, is I used a wedge tool that has a groove, so I could catch the cable and push it behind the airbag. I don't know 100% for sure it's properly behind the airbag, but it was the best I could do. It was that, or basically running the trim along the plastic.

I was helped by the instructions from this post:

In the end, the only way I could find to install two piggyback fuse connectors was by installing them on top of each other, one on top of the other. The first one was flipped one way, the other one flipped back; I know that's not the intention, but in the end this was the best fit. I installed it on the rear window wiper fuse (#47) and both cameras plus the rear window wiper still work.

Be sure to also read the experiences by other users in that thread, for instance:

 

Yes, I had seen that thread and I quite agree with post 1 there!!

 

It looks, however, from the description, as if the clips are on the door side of the trim in that car whereas the service manual pic for the Karoq suggests they on the windscreen side which renders the 15 finger trick unusable? :-)

Had you seen the post on page 3? https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/442122-how-to-hardwire-a-dashcam-in-mk3-octy-in-50-easy-steps/?do=findComment&comment=5375585 The location of the clip position appears to be between the airbag and cable group.

 

(Incidentally, by how much force I was applying on the trim, I'm fairly sure I would be scouring the internet for a replacement piece now.)

 

My last input here - car into dealer today and I trapped friendly helpful mechanic for the 'secret'

The answer is Don't! He said it is a nightmare to remove in the Karoq - they ease the pillar away from the door seal and use long-handled pliers to 'tease out' the clips BUT they nearly always break them! In his opinion the pillars were '****  put on to stay on'!

 

Not for me. I will try and 'lose' the wire down the join between the dash and the A pillar. I think a thin wire will go.  Wish me luck! Thanks all.

34 minutes ago, mjp99 said:

 

Not for me. I will try and 'lose' the wire down the join between the dash and the A pillar. I think a thin wire will go.  Wish me luck! Thanks all.

 

It worked for me..........

They seem to really want you to buy the USB-C socket on the internal mirror! 

I was told about this when I picked up my Karoq from servicing - seems to be fitted on the 2021 range but not, according to the service manager who has investigated, available as a 'mod'. A market there!