thezentree
Senior Member
Everyone knows about the leaking 3rd gen sunroof, and the usual suspect is clogged drain lines. The quick fix is to open the sunroof and use some weedeater string or compressed air to clear the drain lines so water doesn't pool and then leak on your head when it rains.
But what if your sunroof is also inoperable?
Well, unless you like being rained on inside your car, you get to drop the headliner! Yay!
ETA - maybe not. See post 4.
In seriousness, it's not hard at all to do, but it is time consuming. Count on 4 hours minimum just to clear the drain lines. I also removed the sunroof assembly and sealed it to the roof with clear silicone. You will really want a second set of hands to remove and reinstall the sunroof - that ***** is heavy and awkward.
/novel
Tools:
Body trim removal kit. BUY THESE. They're like $15 at Advance Auto and they will save you so many pieces of broken trim. Worth their weight in gold.
Philips head screwdriver
Impact driver w/ philips head bit and 10mm deep socket
Trim tools (didn't use the other ones in the pack)
Silicone
3/32" flat head screwdriver
Step 1: Remove light fixture in ceiling just inside rear hatch. I took a bunch of pictures like this that show which fastener goes where. Do this every time you remove a screw, because just about all of them are different.
The wire harness unplugs easily with that little white tab on the left side of the image.
Step 2: Use the trim tool to pry that top, rear, center trim piece down.
Step 3: Remove rear interior quarter panel ...trim ...pieces? Whatever, they're huge and difficult to work around.
Start by removing the rear floor sill plate. It's secured by 4 or 5 of these screws, and also has clips molded into the bottom. Use the trim tool again to get the sill plate off.
Next, remove the screw at the top of the hatch opening. I think I forgot to put these back in...
And then the mounts for the cargo cover
Then the rear door sill plates
Then pry these door frame covers off. The D ring for the rear seat backrest are mounted to the body, so the door frame covers need to slide over the ring.
On the passenger side, this little piece needs to come out
Then use your trim tool to pop all the christmas tree clips out. There are a bunch of them, but be patient, and eventually you will end up with this:
Note that the seatbelts don't need to be removed to do any of this.
By this point I was hot and had a headache, so I didn't get as many pictures as I meant to, but the process is the same.
Step 4: Remove the crown molding. The oh-shit handles above the rear doors need to come off. Use that small flathead screwdriver to pop the screw covers off either side of the handle, then the philips head to remove the handles. They will stick a little to the headliner fabric, but shouldn't rip it when you remove them.
Then use the trim tools to keep popping the molding off. The B-pillar molding will need to be loosened at the top, but don't need to come out all the way.
Take the handle above the passenger seat off, as well as the two handles on the A-pillar. These two are mounted much more solidly, but the screws is easily stripped so be careful.
Pop the A-pillar trim off above the doors and about halfway down the A-pillar. It doesn't have to come all the way off, but it needs to be loose enough that you can get the headliner out later on.
Here's what I found when i removed the trim above the driver side rear door. Mold. Damn it.
Step 5: Put on a particle mask.
Step 6: Remove sun visors, sunroof controls/map lights, and rearview mirror.
These had no cover.
The visor hooks are apparently at great risk of falling, because they are screwed, clipped, and christmas tree'd into the ceiling. The screw is hard to see, but it's on the windshield side.
Use the small flathead to pop the lens out of the map light, then remove the screw holding the console to the ceiling.
...20 image limit.
But what if your sunroof is also inoperable?
Well, unless you like being rained on inside your car, you get to drop the headliner! Yay!
ETA - maybe not. See post 4.
In seriousness, it's not hard at all to do, but it is time consuming. Count on 4 hours minimum just to clear the drain lines. I also removed the sunroof assembly and sealed it to the roof with clear silicone. You will really want a second set of hands to remove and reinstall the sunroof - that ***** is heavy and awkward.
/novel
Tools:
Body trim removal kit. BUY THESE. They're like $15 at Advance Auto and they will save you so many pieces of broken trim. Worth their weight in gold.
Philips head screwdriver
Impact driver w/ philips head bit and 10mm deep socket
Trim tools (didn't use the other ones in the pack)
Silicone
3/32" flat head screwdriver
Step 1: Remove light fixture in ceiling just inside rear hatch. I took a bunch of pictures like this that show which fastener goes where. Do this every time you remove a screw, because just about all of them are different.
The wire harness unplugs easily with that little white tab on the left side of the image.
Step 2: Use the trim tool to pry that top, rear, center trim piece down.
Step 3: Remove rear interior quarter panel ...trim ...pieces? Whatever, they're huge and difficult to work around.
Start by removing the rear floor sill plate. It's secured by 4 or 5 of these screws, and also has clips molded into the bottom. Use the trim tool again to get the sill plate off.
Next, remove the screw at the top of the hatch opening. I think I forgot to put these back in...
And then the mounts for the cargo cover
Then the rear door sill plates
Then pry these door frame covers off. The D ring for the rear seat backrest are mounted to the body, so the door frame covers need to slide over the ring.
On the passenger side, this little piece needs to come out
Then use your trim tool to pop all the christmas tree clips out. There are a bunch of them, but be patient, and eventually you will end up with this:
Note that the seatbelts don't need to be removed to do any of this.
By this point I was hot and had a headache, so I didn't get as many pictures as I meant to, but the process is the same.
Step 4: Remove the crown molding. The oh-shit handles above the rear doors need to come off. Use that small flathead screwdriver to pop the screw covers off either side of the handle, then the philips head to remove the handles. They will stick a little to the headliner fabric, but shouldn't rip it when you remove them.
Then use the trim tools to keep popping the molding off. The B-pillar molding will need to be loosened at the top, but don't need to come out all the way.
Take the handle above the passenger seat off, as well as the two handles on the A-pillar. These two are mounted much more solidly, but the screws is easily stripped so be careful.
Pop the A-pillar trim off above the doors and about halfway down the A-pillar. It doesn't have to come all the way off, but it needs to be loose enough that you can get the headliner out later on.
Here's what I found when i removed the trim above the driver side rear door. Mold. Damn it.
Step 5: Put on a particle mask.
Step 6: Remove sun visors, sunroof controls/map lights, and rearview mirror.
These had no cover.
The visor hooks are apparently at great risk of falling, because they are screwed, clipped, and christmas tree'd into the ceiling. The screw is hard to see, but it's on the windshield side.
Use the small flathead to pop the lens out of the map light, then remove the screw holding the console to the ceiling.
...20 image limit.
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