DerTourMeister

Will need to remove/replace the left-side rear fiberglass or plastic (?) satin-black exterior trim piece that at the bottom butts up against the end of the rear spoiler. (Does anyone happen to have such a NOS piece for sale?) When I raise the hatch and look at how this trim piece is attached to the hatch, it looks like a specialized fastener is used for the attachment. Do I need a specialized tool to remove these fasteners? Can these fasteners be reused on the replacement trim piece that I will install? Any advice/suggestions/warnings/gotchas as I embark on this replacement adventure? TIA

mytrplseven

Spray the little slotted nuts on the inside of the trim piece with nut buster. Then, using a small screw driver, see if they'll move. If they don't, get a wide head screw driver and grind out a notch in the middle of the blade end to match the two slots. Works like a charm.

DerTourMeister

Great info! Thanks much. One other thought/question... Can I remove just this trim piece? Someone had suggested to me that I might need to remove the rear spoiler/wing in order to unfasten the very bottom of the trim piece.

kwikt

The trim comes off without removing the rear wing, but you must remove the center piece under the wing to access the nut at the end of the trim piece.

DerTourMeister

10-4. Thanks for the info. Hopefully removing the center piece won't present its own set of issues. Will take a look the next time I'm at the garage.

bumflick

So, i just went through this. Figured I'd update this thread.

i did have to remove the center trim part, the bit under the wing. To remove, peel back the rubber trim at the base to expose four allen head bolts. Use a long allen key to break them lose, then slide the center trim straight back. There are four tabs that stick out from the hatch trim where the bolts are supppsed to go, and four brackets attached to the trim that slide over the tabs. In my case, one of the tabs was rusty and was no longer glued to the trim.

bumflick

The tabs where the trim bolts up

bumflick

Underside of center trim

bumflick

With the center trim removed, the bolts that hold the base of the side trim are exposed. There is a nut on the back side. These were rusty as heck on my car. Pretty much had to destroy them to remove.

bumflick

Nuts and bolts for base of side trim pieces. One had to be drilled out and broke.