JaXeN

Has anyone here removed their A-Pillar trim before? (Driver or passenger)

I would like to remove mine - Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Telate

I would really recommend not taking them off unless you have no other choice - They are not easy to take off and you need to buy new clips once you remove it. The B-pillar would be a better one to take off than this one.

spijun

Maybe this will help

DennisMitchell

FWIW, I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU DISCONNECT THE BATTERY BEFORE ATTEMPTING THIS... AIRBAGS!

GregH

I removed my A pillar trim quite easily. In my case I wanted to route a power supply to a dash mounted GPS placed in the corner so that no cables would be visible and this was made easier by removing this trim piece.

It comes off relatively easily and if you are careful, you will not break any clips. Follow Spijun's guide above here. Also no need to disarm airbags or disconnect battery. The trim piece does cover the airbag (which is visible after the trim is removed) but is in no way connected to it. Just don't do something silly like jam a screwdriver in a gap to pry it off.

First pull it away from the rubber trim around the door as this holds the trim in place on one side and the gently but with some effort, pull it away using all your fingers to spread the load. It will just pop out, one clip at a time. I found putting it back a little more tricky. I found that by fitting the base in first and working upwards was easier than a simple reversal of the removal procedure.

The clips with hooks holding this trim piece replaced those without hooks in around 2010. 2009 models were recalled to the dealership (where I live at least) to have these clips replaced at no charge . The clips obviously are a safety item given that the curtain airbag resides behind the panel, so you must be careful and if you do break a clip, definitely get it replaced!

Telate

The entire reason for replacing the clips once you take it off is they no longer guarantee that it will hold the trim when the airbag goes off (i.e you could get the A-pillar in the face when the airbag goes off).

There is no possible way you can set the airbag off taking this panel off - the pressure cylinder for it is at the back a little bit behind the rear passenger seat. The worst you would do is scratch or put a small hole in the airbag which could slightly affect its operation.

JaXeN

Thanks everyone for all of the information and advice... Especially Spijun and GregH - Excellent directions.

I need to remove the a pillar trim to route the power cable for my dash cam.

Telate

If its just power for the dash cam, why not pull power from the overhead console instead? It would be a LOT less work and easier to do.

rdA4WtQ5

I find that wires tuck nicely between the A pillar and the windshield. I ran my V1 wires there and are invisible. I would never mess with airbags unless I had to.

JaXeN

My dashcam has a separate UPS and parking mode controller that is larger than the cam itself. (About the size of a pack of cigarettes)

The unit also needs connection to two power feeds - One power connects to an 'always on' source, the other to an 'ignition only' source.

In my A6, I connected to the driver's side fuse panel and was able to tuck the wire along the a-pillar trim, and down through the dashboard into the panel.
In the SQ5, the dashboard and a-piller are so tight, that it doesn't seem possible to route the cable through there without popping out the a-pillar trim.

You might be on to something though.... If there's enough room for a pack of cigarettes and some wiring in the sunroof control console, it may be doable.
-I'll look into that, thanks.