Replacing Headliner on 04. Anyone know how to remove A & C Pillar trim panels? Do they unsnap or what? There is also supposed to be a retaining strap but cannot find it. Pleeezzz help.

 

DVD711, you will need to first remove the inner rubber door gasket on the front door to remove the A pillar cover. Next, if you look on the A-pillar trim, you will find 3 holes in the trim (flat openings). You will need to stick a narrow putty knife or a screw driver into each of the openings to undo the lock and then move the trim piece a little bit to prevent it from relocking. The upper hole is where the retaining strap is located and by undoing the lock, you undo the strap from what I can tell.

As for the C-Pillar trim, you will first need to remove the upper half of the rear seat. This will expose a bolt/screw down in the bottom of the trim piece. Remove the screw/bolt. Next, lift upwards on the C-pillar trim piece. This should detach the retaining strap. The JTIS isn't 100% clear on this. So, take it a bit easy till you are 100% sure.

 

Thanks for the info Chris. I will try as suggested. Thanks again for the info...David

 

So did you remove the A pillars and how did it go? I have some ripples along the A pillars in the fabric and I am thinking about trying to repair it myself. It looks like the cloth has come loose from the underlying material and it sort of ripples running up and down the length of the pillars at the front edge near the windshield, but the rear edge toward the front seat has not yet started to show so much. It still looks pretty smooth, but I am afraid this will start to get worse and be more obvious as it works it way throughout the pillar fabric. Anyone else ever have this happen and, if so, was it a self fix? I was hoping to remove the pillars and just re-glue the fabric.

Any more details on removal and reinstallation appreciated! Thanks.

 

Went well. A pillars came out fairly easy. Remove door gasket at the top near the pillar. Then from the top of pillar grasp both sides and pull toward you. Held in by a plastic snap with a strap connected to it. Once you get it loose you have to reach around and remove the strap. Then just slide the pillar up towards the headliner. Fabric is glued to the plastic pillars which made the remaining foam and glue difficult to remove. I used a wire wheel on a variable speed drill. In your case I would try to re-glue first.
I used 3m super 80 spray adhesive. 15 bucks a can but works great avail at any Home Depot. 2 things to consider. It is the fabric that separates from the foam which is why re-gluing usually doesn't work. Secondly, if you decide to recover them, fabric matching is difficult. Remove one of the pillars and take with you to match. I used the same color (gray) for the headliner and the pillars didn't match.

 

Thanks for the reply but can I get a little more detail? For instance, how do you remove the gasket? Do I just grab it and pull? Is it in a channel and will it reinstall snuggly or is it one of those things that once removed it is never as tight as it was? When you say grasp both sides of pillar and pull do you mean the front side and the back side or the top and the bottom of the pillar? When you say toward you I guess it depends on where you are located. Is that toward the open door area if you are standing next to the car or toward the dash inside if you are sitting in the seat when you do this? The info about the trim locks, is that just a plastic tab that you have to disengage from a slot? Was it difficult to do without breaking the tab/lock?

I can't use spray adhesive since I am not planning on removing the liner that is there. I would leave it as it is for now if that were my only option. So you are saying that there is a layer of foam under the fabric? Must be pretty thin layer. I guess I will have to try to insert some glue with a toothpick or something.

Thanks

 

You're welcome. On the door gasket grab and pull toward you. Just up near the pillar you don't need to remove completely. From a seated position on the drivers side and facing the pillar, near the top of the pillar, grasp the right and left side and gently pull toward you. Once the clip is loose reach behind and remove strap or disengage from the slot. Then pull the pillar up toward the headliner. If it's minimal I wouldn't bother. Regular glue won't work. Good luck.

 

Anyone have a clue where you can purchase a fabric that would match. Drivers side has some burns from careless previous owner. Seems not to much info available on the web. I'm not even sure what you would call the color...light tan maybe...reglued passanger side with 3m super 80 spray adhesive. That lasted about 2 years..now ripply again...has anyone tried to refinish them without the cloth material..I'm not sure that would look right...thought I would ask.

 

thanks for posting how to remove the pillar trim. just did it, went by walmart and bought a can of loctite spray, will spray tomorrow outside. Just wanted to add that it's easier to remove the trim once you pull on the gasket a bit, get a better grip that way. Also need to be careful not to break the clip that holds the strap. May need a screwdriver for the clips.