Door trim removal..?

A plastic pry tool is your friend.

(21-05-2014 04:13am)mstraka Wrote:  I believe the door clips are a design that will need to be replaced when they are released. They appear to be of the same design that holds the tailgate trim panel to the tailgate. I found that in removing my tailgate trim only about half of the clips could be reused.

When you say tailgate trim, do you mean the inner large panel to access the innards of the tailgate? I have successfully removed this 3 times an never broke a clip when fitting my tailgate auto close module, using a plastic pry tool and some careful pulling with my hand, the clips are designed to release on little round heads and be re clipped.

I watched an official Mercedes training video showing how to dismantle the interior of, in this cars, a Mercedes SL. It was striking how much they used plastic pry tools to ease out the parts without breaking or distorting the plastic latches.

In my ignorant days (which some might say are continuing), I would use a screwdriver to lever off a door panel which would invariably lead to broken studs and marred paintwork. Now, using a wide pry tool with a v-shaped notch allows you to apply gentle pressure around the stud with the back pressure evenly distributed to protect the surface.

Sounds like a pry tool should be part of today's DIY toolbox along with the torx drives, spanners and 14lb hammer.............

Thanks for the heads up - the dent chap is coming around this Friday, so I'll start dismantling the door trim tomorrow evening
Will let you know how I get on