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DIY: A Pillar Removal

broadbean

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Sydney
I searched the forums and was not able to find an answer for the question: How do I remove my a-pillars? So, being a repair man for the local Volkswagen Chattanooga plant making the award winning Passat, I decided to tackle this job on my own.

I joined golfmk7.com specifically to thank you for this post!

It definitely explained why the A pillar trim wouldn't come off all the way, and thankfully I found this post before yanking the whole thing out!

I read another article which suggested I placed the dash cam cable behind the airbag, but I'm sure it would cross in front unless either I took the trim off completely, or snake the cable along the dash and run it up near the windscreen.

See my link. I ran my dashcam wire down the passenger side, but the drivers side would be no different. I did NOT remove any trim.

This gave me some confidence I didn't have to remove the whole shebang, but it was a little easier with the A pillar trim mostly out.

Still the hardest part was to squeeze through that 1/4 panel (I mean, what could you use that for, and a pain to clean!), but thankfully got there with some pry tools and a bit of muscle. A relatively thick cable also hindered and helped at the same time.

But by far the hardest was to loop around the bottom corner where the A pillar trim met the windscreen...

I was much happier once that was done and the cable no longer crossed in front of the airbag.

Recently used this excellent guide when I was hunting for a rattle, went ahead and bought new clips rather than trying bend the old ones back into shape.

Thanks so much for the info. When I was putting the trim back in, I'm sure it should've clipped over a thin edge so the trim near along the windscreen would go over the metal. I took me many, many tries to lift the trim against the windscreen and banging on the trim to clip it in.

The last attempt I was happiest the edge of the trim finally went mostly over the metal lip. It was also when I heard a piece of metal drop... :rolleyes:

Took the car out for a drive, nothing rattled, so I guess that loose clip will just have to sit there till the car finally gets scrapped! Still, you never know if I'd end up needing replacement clips!
 

monochrome

New member
Location
Upstate NY
Trying to route my dash cam cable thru the headliner and A pillar trim to the glovebox.

This A pillar trim clip is sooooooo darn hard to remove....

I tried using a long to plier but it didnt help.. beither did a screwdriver..

Anyone can advice me on this piece of German over-engineering...?


You can wedge a flat head screwdriver behind/below the metal clip and slide/push the clip out of the open end of the plastic piece on the A-pillar trim (visible in your picture). The clip will remain attached to the A-pillar itself until you have the whole trim piece off, and then you can gingerly remove the clips with needle-nose pliers from the A-pillar, reshape them, and re-insert them into the a-pillar trim.
 

mattkime

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
madison, wi
My a pillar is fine after my exploration - but i think there are too many gaps in the explanation for this to be worth taking out for most people.

I found it extremely helpful to slide the clips out of their plastic mount than to unclip them. that said, i was unable to do that with the 3rd clip and i'm pretty sure it was a security clip as well.

I kinda wish the photos in the original thread were still available.

My advice for dash cam installation - just partially open the a pillar and route the cable as best you can. yes, its possible to remove it but its simply more trouble than its worth

---

actually, this is pretty good. i think i was closer than i realized. - https://www.autoinstruct.com.au/manufacturer/volkswagen/mk7-golf/mk7-golf-a-pillar-trim-removal/

Still, I hesitate to pull out a razor blade to free the pillar from the dash.
 
Last edited:

Deathroll

New member
Location
TR
Car(s)
MK7 FL
Hi everyone. This will be my first post. I came across this topic searching around web about my problem with A pillar trim. First off, thanks for the tutorial.

After we bought the vehicle, realized there is a stain on the passenger side A pillar trim. That didn’t come off with cleaning. Then VW service replaced this trim free of charge. Unfortunately this trim has been flimsy. Pushing it at the lower end, below the tweeter makes it wobble towards windshield. They removed and reinstalled the trim upon my complaint, yet they couldn’t fix it anyhow. They claim it is normal.

Someone had removed this pillar trim before could tell me if there is wiggling on theirs? And what could be gone wrong?

Here is a short video: https://streamable.com/7369e
 

Deathroll

New member
Location
TR
Car(s)
MK7 FL
I found these two foams under pillar trim and triangle window trim. Confused about where they came from? Factory or workshop while the service is trying to fix it firmly. What are your toughts?

 

SM075180

Ready to race!
I’ve taken my a-pillars out. From the look of it I’d guess the 3rd, lowest trim clip just hasn’t seated in place and/or was possibly damaged during removal from a unknowing service tech?

Two of the clips are security clips with “barbs” one is easily removed. It’s “common” practice from what I’ve read up on in the past to smash the barbed clips beyond re-usability while removing them.

Perhaps they’ve reinstalled the security clips where the plain ones should be? Preventing things from seating properly?

I think I’ve posted a thread with some more details if you’re curious to know more. I’d have to go hunt it down on a real computer though.

Hope this helps- and sorry if I’m repeating anything someone else has said already- I didn’t read all the threads before choosing to chime in.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 

Deathroll

New member
Location
TR
Car(s)
MK7 FL
I’ve taken my a-pillars out. From the look of it I’d guess the 3rd, lowest trim clip just hasn’t seated in place and/or was possibly damaged during removal from a unknowing service tech?

Two of the clips are security clips with “barbs” one is easily removed. It’s “common” practice from what I’ve read up on in the past to smash the barbed clips beyond re-usability while removing them.

Perhaps they’ve reinstalled the security clips where the plain ones should be? Preventing things from seating properly?

I think I’ve posted a thread with some more details if you’re curious to know more. I’d have to go hunt it down on a real computer though.

Hope this helps- and sorry if I’m repeating anything someone else has said already- I didn’t read all the threads before choosing to chime in.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Hey, thanks for helping me out. I, personally reinstalled the pillar. Yes, the technician had used single stage clips on all three notches. Replaced all the clips with proper ones, still having same issue. :mad:
 

elcid86

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
VA/DC, USA
Man that thing was tougher than i thought it would be (and should be). I finally yanked it hard enough to pull the clips out. Got the dash cam installed...

 
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