Rear tailgate cover removal

Bumblebee

Bumblebee

Member
Is it just a question of prizing off its clips or is the rear tailgate cover a mare to remove.
All tips and advice gratefully received
Thank you
Wayne
 
You are trying to remove the internal boot trim on the tailgate? Yes it is really well spring clipped on. Start near one bottom corner then work along the bottom to the other corner. Carefully use your hands (in gloves) to pull it away. Once you have a bit of a gap wedge it with something to keep the gap as you work your way around. I used the wheel location plastic tool from the car tool kit. Be careful with the trim as it can be damaged on its edges quite easily. As the trim comes off you will have to unhook the hatch emergency release cable from the boot latch. Before you refit the trim make sure the emergency release cable is correctly routed in its clips and not trapped by them. Also remember to refit the cable to the boot latch while you still have access. Just a case of lining up the spring clips with the locations on the tailgate and banging them home.
 
That's really helpful. It was so tight I thought I might be missing a trick etc.
My emergency release cord has snapped. Hence the need to remove it and fit the replacement. ?
 
Just remember to route the release cable correctly through its mounting clips and that it is free to move. Here is a picture showing the cable...

boot trim interior.jpg

You can also see the location of most of the clips that secure the trim to the tailgate.
 
Jellybean said:
Link doesn't work for me?

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk
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I am at a loss, certainly okay for me, I assume others see it okay? I think it is an IT platform issue for Ben/ Admin.

A more manual approach to pick it up is navigate to the Projects forum and it is post 19 in my old project thread 'Am I Mad?'.

Andy
 
audifan said:
You are trying to remove the internal boot trim on the tailgate? Yes it is really well spring clipped on. Start near one bottom corner then work along the bottom to the other corner. Carefully use your hands (in gloves) to pull it away. Once you have a bit of a gap wedge it with something to keep the gap as you work your way around. I used the wheel location plastic tool from the car tool kit. Be careful with the trim as it can be damaged on its edges quite easily. As the trim comes off you will have to unhook the hatch emergency release cable from the boot latch. Before you refit the trim make sure the emergency release cable is correctly routed in its clips and not trapped by them. Also remember to refit the cable to the boot latch while you still have access. Just a case of lining up the spring clips with the locations on the tailgate and banging them home.
Click to expand...
You make replacing the trim sound easy. Do you have 5 arms or found a way of turning gravity off?

Seriously what's the knack?
 
I have done this on two cars now. Putting it back is a case of firstly ensuring that all the clips are correctly positioned in their slide-in mounts on the trim panel and are both straight and symmetrical (ie if one has somehow become bent it may need to be replaced or adjusted a bit). I also applied a small amount of silicone grease to the spring faces of each clip that form the wedge that goes through the mounting slot on the tailgate. Then it was a case of holding it in place - on the second occasion occasion I did this sitting in the boot (seats folded all the way forwards) with a piece of cardboard box stopping the bootlid latching, but otherwise gravity holding it in place, then used the heel of my hand to get the upper ones banged home, then the middle ones (having already located the emergency release cord). Then lifted the tail lid half up and tried to get the lowest ones in while crouching underneath. This resulted in the trim panel nearly being home - once opened and closed a couple of times one of the bottom corners was still not engaged - visible as the trim edges to the side were catching on the tailgate aperture just as it was opening - having checked the clip was still centred, holding it in place and giving it a whack with a rubber tent mallet finally got that one to click home.

This was the second attempt and much smoother. The first time I did it was a windy day, with the tailgate fully open without assistance, and yes, I realised very quickly that this was neither efficient nor easy with only one pair of arms and an increasingly achey neck and shoulders!
 
Andrew said:
No, just the usual two arms, read my link I put in post number 6 above.

Andy
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I should add that I have just read @Andrew 's link in post 6 above, never having seen it before (which is amazing how many threads I've mined here for basic jobs) and it is a much better explanation of what I was trying to write above. Well worth reading (and interesting how there has been a form of convergent evolution in the way we approached the task!).
 
For any future 5-arm, zero-gravity, aching neck A2 owners faced with this issue. I had to replace the tailgate lock mechanism (1.6 FSI, 2003) and when replacing the trim initially went through the (all too obvious) 5-arm etc. method, but then hit on the idea of replacement from inside the car with the tailgate shut. The grooves on the lock mechanism, plus the body's tailgate surround, worked as a very effective guide and the trim slotted straight in - 1 minute tops. This method has the advantage of allowing easy (first step) reconnection of the manual release cord, from which the trim is apt to dangle under the 5 arm method - briefly, that is, until non-zero gravity does its bit. The closed tailgate allows for easy application of sufficient force to complete the replacement, no banging necessary.
 
Ajeeja said:
For any future 5-arm, zero-gravity, aching neck A2 owners faced with this issue. I had to replace the tailgate lock mechanism (1.6 FSI, 2003) and when replacing the trim initially went through the (all too obvious) 5-arm etc. method, but then hit on the idea of replacement from inside the car with the tailgate shut. The grooves on the lock mechanism, plus the body's tailgate surround, worked as a very effective guide and the trim slotted straight in - 1 minute tops. This method has the advantage of allowing easy (first step) reconnection of the manual release cord, from which the trim is apt to dangle under the 5 arm method - briefly, that is, until non-zero gravity does its bit. The closed tailgate allows for easy application of sufficient force to complete the replacement, no banging necessary.
Click to expand...
Thinking outside the box, I like it 😊
 
Ajeeja said:
For any future 5-arm, zero-gravity, aching neck A2 owners faced with this issue. I had to replace the tailgate lock mechanism (1.6 FSI, 2003) and when replacing the trim initially went through the (all too obvious) 5-arm etc. method, but then hit on the idea of replacement from inside the car with the tailgate shut. The grooves on the lock mechanism, plus the body's tailgate surround, worked as a very effective guide and the trim slotted straight in - 1 minute tops. This method has the advantage of allowing easy (first step) reconnection of the manual release cord, from which the trim is apt to dangle under the 5 arm method - briefly, that is, until non-zero gravity does its bit. The closed tailgate allows for easy application of sufficient force to complete the replacement, no banging necessary.
Click to expand...
Good practice to read the thread from the beginning.

Andy
 
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