Replacing broken roof attachment point cover

[scaesare]

The covers on one of my roof attachment points got broken off during getting washed. I think one of the hand towels may have snagged it. Not having a lot of success getting the company to take responsibility for it.

In any case, has anybody replaced one of these themselves and/or had a service center do it? Any thoughts on difficulty or cost? I'm afraid it looks like the head liner might have to come down

 

[Dr. Smoke]

It unsnaps at the hinges. Use a small screwdriver to pry the old hinge-pins out, toward you.

 

[scaesare]

Ah, excellent!

Thanks, I'll see about ordering a replacement.

(Mods, any chance of correcting my title typo of "point"? Thanks...)

 

[Max*]

Ah, excellent!

Thanks, I'll see about ordering a replacement.

(Mods, any chance of correcting my title typo of "point"? Thanks...)

While you're at it, you might want to fix asttachment

 

[BrokerDon]

One of our roof attachment point covers kept popping up by itself randomly at 6,000 miles. Tesla replaced it under warranty no questions asked.

 

[Doug_G]

Fixed the title, but not the cover...

 

[scaesare]

(Note to self: don't resume posts several times in-process while in a hurry)

 

[scaesare]

1 out of 2 ain't bad... thanks!

 

[scaesare]

So I'm gonna pick up a set of these today.. they come in pairs, which apparently is a good thing, because the parts dude told me they even their techs often break the first one trying to get it installed.
Fortunately they are only $7 for a pair.

I appreciate Dr. Smoke's input above... if anybody has any other tips & tricks (or even better yet pics of video!), feel free to pas em on...

Thanks.

 

[DFibRL8R]

So I'm gonna pick up a set of these today.. they come in pairs, which apparently is a good thing, because the parts dude told me they even their techs often break the first one trying to get it installed.
Fortunately they are only $7 for a pair.

I appreciate Dr. Smoke's input above... if anybody has any other tips & tricks (or even better yet pics of video!), feel free to pas em on...

Thanks.

I need to swap one of mine too. If you manage to figure it out post your experience. Or, if you're up to it, pm me and we could try to tackle it together.

 

[scaesare]

Ok, cool... not sure when I'll actually find time to tackle it, but I'll share the trials and tribulations..

 

[scaesare]

SUCCESS!

I decided to tackle this when I had a little down time today. As is it turns out, the service department had only 1 unit in stock, and since their SKU's sell them in pairs, they just gave me one.

Pro: didn't have to pay for it.
Con: I only had one shot at this, and they suggested they often break 'em themselves trying to install them...

So here's how it went. First I fished the broken remaning pieces of the old cover out. I tried simply pulling the right-side "arm" straight out, but it broke the pegs off. Getting the lone broken "peg" out of the rightmost clip was a bit of a challenge, as there's noting to grab hold of at that point, and while prying the clip down, it's hard to get anything else in there to grasp the remaining peg shard.

I finally was able to slide the peg out sideways with a second small screwdriver. You can see the aftermath here:

I next protected the top of the door frame (which was a fulcrum point for my small screwdrivers):

I then went more carefully on the left side, prying down slightly on the left side of the retaining clip while grasping the protruding arm and pulling straight out gently. Once I felt the left side free up, I then did the same for the right side. I got that arm out with the pegs intact. NOTE: The clips appear to be plastic, so I'd tread lightly, as I suspect if you break them, the replacement may be "involved".

I don't have the pics of me actually pulling with the pliers(not enough hands), but this shot illustrates where I was prying slightly:

Once that was done, the new clip goes in. The secret seems to be to push on the "pegs" themselves, and not on the arm they attach to. This bending forces on the relatively thin attachment points. You can position the cover with the pegs lined up in front of the clips and gently push directly inward to seat them:

Repeat for the other side. They actually went in rather smoothly for me:

The hinging movement on it was a bit looser then the others.. so I suspect I had sprung the clips slightly. I pried them back "up" a bit, and it was pretty close to original:

All in all, about a 20 minute job going carefully.

Hope this helps somebody else... any questions, let me know.

 

[DFibRL8R]

Thanks for the detailed report! I was planning to pick up a replacement when I drop the car off for service in 2 days but sounds like they may not have them in stock right now. Regardless, when I do take a shot at replacing your summary will definitely help.

 

[scaesare]

Thanks for the detailed report! I was planning to pick up a replacement when I drop the car off for service in 2 days but sounds like they may not have them in stock right now. Regardless, when I do take a shot at replacing your summary will definitely help.

Sure thing.. give me a shout if you have any questions.

The parts folks said they were ordering more, so perhaps they have them in by the time you drop your car off...

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

Mine always pop up after a car wash. I will never use these... any suggestions on just gluing them down?

 

[scaesare]

Mine always pop up after a car wash. I will never use these... any suggestions on just gluing them down?

I'd try something like industrial Velcro or removable 3M Anchor strips before I glued them down...

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

not sure there is enough room. some simple super glue should hold. I'll never open it, and super glue is actually pretty brittle... i use it a lot to hold washers to a nut when assembling jet ski parts. the glue holds it to get it in place, then soon as you tighten it breaks free.

 

[Dborn]

I would suggest Bostic " Blu Tac" if available in the USA. A non drying putty like sticky substance that can be reused over and over and causes no permanent damage.