545felix

have you considered aluminum trim? It looks really good on a black interior. Only reason I didn't go that route is that my car is silver with black, and I wanted to have at least some color in it, somewhere. The madeira trim from the M5 fit the bill perfectly.

-felix

snkpkp

I still do not think I will go ahead with the door trim removal, just sounds like an engine bay inside that panel.....

subarashi

Yeah..I agree. I have some reservations about it..esp with the loctite stuff. You get a rattle and its game over trying to figure out which door its from... Even worse, you get an error code and the dealer tells you its game over with $$$$$

I am not going to buy a new trim kit. In my opinion, spending that kind of moolah on pieces of plastic is completely ludicrous. Besides, I have what I need right in the car....the plan is to remove and repaint. The alu trim would look great but no way am I shellin out 1k for that... Just no way jose...

Dalton550

I sm 75% done with a interior trim replacement on my 2008 535. I had the car ordered with the bamboo anthracite trim but I just got the brushed alumnimum trim retrofit kit from Garry @ Newport BMW. With his discount, it ran me around $750. It was worth every penny b/c it looks awesome!!! Especially paired with my black interior and Anthracite headliner.

I used the instructions from the latest BMW TIS disc. It was huge help. I just did not want to pay my dealer to do it, since they would have charged me big time $$$ @ $110 per hour.

Anyway, it was all pretty easy except I am stuck on the door trim piece. I must admit, I was a bit hesitant about pulling the door panel off at first but once you do it, a big light goes off in your head and it is super easy. The secret is to make sure you have a good plastic wedge so you do not destroy your paint or anything else.

The only thing I am hung up on are the freakin' silver securing clips that hold the door trim in. There are 5 of them and they are a @#$%! to get off. I have only done one door and I have managed to break 3 of the 5 clips. I need to order some more from my dealer. They are only $.80 each, but they are brutal! I sliced up my finger trying to get one off with a flathead.

Does any body know a good way to put these back on? They are just as hard to put back on as they are to pull off. The factory must have some sort of rivit type tool to punch those things on. I am using a pliers to push them on and they barley move. You need to get the nice and snug othersie the trim may be loose. The ones I have managed to get back on are on, but not as tight as I would like. I may ask my dealer if they have some sort of tool at their shop.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly apprecited on how to put these back on. Thanks!

subarashi

Hey Dalton 550:

Sorry to hear about your woes but glad to see that you have jumped right into doing the doors. Make sure you post before n after pics for all of us to see. The alum trim sounds great..that would be the way to go except that I can't imagine paying that much yet! Did you have difficulty with the center dash and the center console at all??? Did it look bad with just the center/console done and the doors remaining the old way?

Dalton550

The center dash was not that big of deal, in fact it was pretty easy. If you have a plastic wedge, it pops right out if you know where to apply the pressure. Removing the old vents from the trim was a little challanging, but once you figure out how BMW clipped them on, they pop right off. Plus the instructions from the TIS disc were a HUGE help. I would have not even known where to start without them.

It did not look bad since my OEM trim was alomost black, but it would have been ugly if I would have went with a lighter wood and still had the door trim to do.

I figured out how to get the doors done and am going to tackle that this weekend. I had to order new clips since cutting the old ones off seemed like the easiest and least frustrating way to go.

My dealer told me to use a socket to push the new clip in place since it will apply even pressure all around the diameter of the clip, thus openeing up the TEETH to slide right on the post of the trim. I can't beleive I did not think of that!

Anyway, I am a much happier person today than I was yesterday knowing that I now can get the job finished w/o having to pay my dealer.

I did not take before photos but I will post some after photos once I am done. I really wish BMW would have offered a aluminum or silver type trim fromt he factory, it truly makes the car look more aggressive and M5'ish.

Thanks

-Brian

BigAardvaark

Could you possibly describe where to push the wedge please? I'm having trouble with the trim around the DTC/Heated seats area on a non CCC car..... I can get all the rest off fine.

Cheers,

Ian.

Dalton550

You need to remove the panel that covers the knobs for the climate controls. You also need to remove the whole trim strip that surrounds the vents and the door lock button. Once you do that you will see a space on the right and left hand side of the console where the clips that hold this trim piece are located. If you can get your wedge in that space, you can work out the piece of trim. I ended up using a flat head screwdrived with some tape on the end so I would not scratch anything up. The piece is trim is secured pretty snug, so do not be afriad to force it a little, it will eventually give and come out.

I worked at it for several minutes think it would never come and then it just popped out. Good luck!

vesil

The long flat head screwdrived from top is the best way to get center trim off. The picture illustrates clips better than words....

Picture was taken during navigation retrofit project. Otherwise there is no need to remove M-ASK/CCC.

545felix

agreed, but you're better off with a putty knife instead of a big screwdriver. Thinner, wider blade, less risk of damage to trim, and more leverage (since it's wider.)

BTW- there are also two clips along the bottom, underneath the PDC/DTC button bar. Usually no need to pry on those though, once you get the side ones out they usually just pop right out.

-felix