A pillar trim removal

[Quibbs]

I'm trying to find out what is the easiest/safest way to remove the A pillar trim piece.

My 2013 MS has a rattle coming from the passenger side A pillar. A Tesla ranger came to our house a year ago to fix the A pillar rattle along with the pano creak. Luckily the Pano creak noise remains fixed, however the tweeter rattle (the culprit in the A pillar) is back with a vengeance.

I ordered a plastic pry tool kit and want to remove the trim cover to the A pillar to see if I have better luck fixing the rattle.

Since we live 200 miles from the closest Tesla SC I've decided to attempt to fix this problem myself.

 

[Chris TX]

It has an airbag in it. Don't do it.

 

[anking]

It has an airbag in it. Don't do it.

Majority of cars have airbags inside pillar trims. This will not stop me from taking them out if i need to access there. Question is HOW TO DO IT SAFELY without breaking anything.

Your answer is just useless....

 

[mobe]

Pry off the "airbag" plastic emblem.
There should be a screw under that.

 

[CHG-ON]

Yes. Start with the emblem and the screw. Then use a plastic spudger to pry up the top left edge. Get under there and make enough room to get a grasp. The snaps are very robust, so you may need to pull harder than you think. A quick snap-pull works best. Get prepped for the loud sound when the release. The whole interior panel system pretty much snaps apart. Very handy. Use care to not bend or tweak the piece. Some of the snaps (all replaceable) are very strong. Some are very weak and break, like in the rear hatch. It depends on where you are in the car. But they are easily replaced at a Tesla service center.

Sounds complicated. But it's much easier than you think. Have fun!

 

[anking]

Yes. Start with the emblem and the screw. Then use a plastic spudger to pry up the top left edge. Get under there and make enough room to get a grasp. The snaps are very robust, so you may need to pull harder than you think. A quick snap-pull works best. Get prepped for the loud sound when the release. The whole interior panel system pretty much snaps apart. Very handy. Use care to not bend or tweak the piece. Some of the snaps (all replaceable) are very strong. Some are very weak and break, like in the rear hatch. It depends on where you are in the car. But they are easily replaced at a Tesla service center.

Sounds complicated. But it's much easier than you think. Have fun!

Worked, Thanks a lot!

 

[Tracking]

All of this makes sense and works on my 2015 EXCEPT the bottoms of both A-pillar moldings are attached to the plastic molding which goes along the bottom of the windshield from one A-pillar molding to the other, and I doubt it is supposed to come out with them as a unit. How do I detach the A-pillar moldings here? Thanks, great advice so far...

 

[Tracking]

Ultimately, I'm trying to remove the dash pad and it is stuck by the A-pillar moldings. The dash pad is otherwise free and it's removal has gone according to instructions.

 

[shimmers]

Ultimately, I'm trying to remove the dash pad and it is stuck by the A-pillar moldings. The dash pad is otherwise free and it's removal has gone according to instructions.

Did you resolve this? I am also trying to remove tha dash pad but it’s really difficult to pry loose all the clips. I don’t want to use something to pry it from the front for the fear of damaging the aluminum trim in the front. Let me know how you were able to fully remove the a pillar and also how to easily pop loose the dash pad. Thanks.

 

[anilbhan]

I also have the same problem with the A-pillar being attached to the aluminum trim that runs at the bottom of the window across the front.
Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

 

[glide]

Did you resolve this? I am also trying to remove tha dash pad but it’s really difficult to pry loose all the clips. I don’t want to use something to pry it from the front for the fear of damaging the aluminum trim in the front. Let me know how you were able to fully remove the a pillar and also how to easily pop loose the dash pad. Thanks.

Removing the dash pad is not easy. You have to remove the glove box, the leather trim pieces surrounding it, disconnect the airbag, remove some screws, remove the D binnacle, then some more screws, after you can pop the dash with a pry tool.

There are detailed instructions in the service manual which you can download from this site.

The A pillars should be comparatively easy to get off. One screw and the rest are just clips.

 

[kWhynot]

I also have the same problem with the A-pillar being attached to the aluminum trim that runs at the bottom of the window across the front.
Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

I have a 2013, but unless they changed the design to permanently attach the A pillar to the aluminum grille (which I highly doubt), there are clips on the bottom of the pillar that need to be detached/unhooked from the grille.

My personal experience was that the driver's side was damn near impossible - I actually bent the grille a little bit getting it out (I bent it back, wasn't too hard). On the passenger side, I was getting ready for a fight and nearly brained myself with how easily that side came out.

I have a picture in another thread that shows you what you're dealing with - check out post #12 to see where those clips are hooked in

Guide: DIY Interior Refresh Project - Beige to Charcoal

 

[anilbhan]

I have a 2013, but unless they changed the design to permanently attach the A pillar to the aluminum grille (which I highly doubt), there are clips on the bottom of the pillar that need to be detached/unhooked from the grille.

My personal experience was that the driver's side was damn near impossible - I actually bent the grille a little bit getting it out (I bent it back, wasn't too hard). On the passenger side, I was getting ready for a fight and nearly brained myself with how easily that side came out.

I have a picture in another thread that shows you what you're dealing with - check out post #12 to see where those clips are hooked in

Guide: DIY Interior Refresh Project - Beige to Charcoal

Thanks. I was able to get it off today. I was trying to do the passenger side last weekend and made a mistake. After taking out the screw and releasing the metal clip near the screw, I moved the top of the pillar trim toward the driver side which bent the screen where the A-pillar clips go in. I had to pry a little harder to get the A-pillar trim out of the screen. Then I bent the screen back flat. One thing to note is the 2 clips on the bottom of the A-pillar are not the metal kind found elsewhere in the car, but rather molded into the plastic itself.and fasten into two slits in the screen (as shown in your pics)