Any Tips to Remove C-Pillar Trim

[sittinlow]

I recently picked up a 2013 Model S w/21" wheels and find the road noise to be a bit loud at times. From one of the Rich Rebuilds videos (

) as well as some threads on sound deadening it looks like there's an area along the back doors that could be addressed to help a bit with this. I was wondering if anyone had any tips on removing the c-pillar trim pieces to get to this area. From what I can tell it's a fairly large piece that the side portions/pads of the rear seat attaches to. Getting the bottom portion of the back seat out looks simple but I'm not sure what other steps there are to remove the trim without breaking anything. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[rooter]

It's been so long I don't really remember, but most parts just snap off. (clips)

Rich is not on the right track there. Most of the road noise comes from the wheel wells and through the gap around the door handles. (Assuming your doors seal properly) Put deadening material behind the outside felt in the wells, and to seal the door handles and it will help alot.

 

[sittinlow]

Thanks Rooter. I'll likely give the doors a shot as the panels come of pretty easily. For the most part the car is fairly quiet but it really depends on the road surface.

 

[camthehombre]

It's been so long I don't really remember, but most parts just snap off. (clips)

Rich is not on the right track there. Most of the road noise comes from the wheel wells and through the gap around the door handles. (Assuming your doors seal properly) Put deadening material behind the outside felt in the wells, and to seal the door handles and it will help alot.

I just wrote a post about this but you're 100% correct. Rich mentions newer model S having plastic foam. My car (2014) had a thin piece of plastic/rubber covering where he shows to be empty. I removed my door panels and the gasket/seal around the big hole in the door weren't covered. One was about 3" to low and had a huge gap, and the other wasn't even attached. I just put some vehicle insulation in the rear doors and it helped with both sound and in my case an air leak from the door handles. Nothing was stopping the cold air. So, thanks for the info!