Has anyone removed the molding on the inside of the rear hatch? I have a very small dent on the left side of the rear window and a dent repairman said he can fix it but will likely need to remove the molding and drill a small hole in the inside double-wall to make the repair.

My concern is if anything will break while removing the molding and making sure the repairman removes and reinstalls the molding properly. Some people go into things without being familiar with how the parts are intended to be disassembled.

Thanks

 

its pretty easy. just take your time!

on the outer edges there are just thoes plastic clips, if you break on you can easily replace it.

but then on the inner by the window part, there are permenant clips? i think 3 or 4 of them? if you break one of thoes... i donnt think they are replaceable.

good luck!

 

If you break it let me know and I will give any of the hatch parts to you for 5$ + shipping.

I will even give you a hatch for 5$! lmao

 

Can someone who has done this tell me exactly what you need to do? Do you simply pry the molding off anywhere or is there a step by step approach? I know from reading the service manual the parts come off in a certain order but it does not say anything about the mechanics of removing the each part.

Thanks

 

Get a plastic spatula from your kitchen and insert any place you can...I did it near the lower edge corner...then pry. It will begin to pop off, very easily.

While you are in there take off the rear wiper....that's why I was ermoving mine.

Don't know what you mean by each part...it's one piece, near as I recall.

By the way, I've had a dent removed from the door and my guy did it an 10 minutes without removing the driver door panel.

 

My dent is on the left side of the rear window. I looked at the manual and it refers to the inside molding as "door finisher" and shows it is made up of four parts (upper, lower, right and left). I'll give it a try. I think if I can get something up into the space I can gently push the dent out myself. A dent repairman wants to charge me $150 to do this.

 

Thanks so much i really needed this thread so i could pull off my rear windshield wiper...!