How to remove window trim?

RuLEoF2

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Hi,


My wife just got her 2016 Coupe EX-T last week. She wanted the windows tinted so we had it done this morning. I go to pick it up and find that they damaged the exterior window trim/molding. It's that black piece that runs from the mirror to the handle, along the weather strip where the window slides into the door. I'll try to attach a photo.


Anyone know how to remove and reinstall one of these?

Honda Civic 10th gen How to remove window trim? IMAG4226_02
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RuLEoF2

RuLEoF2

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Make the shop that did the tint replace at their cost.
They are. They're buying me a new strip and refunded the cost of the tint job. They offered to put the new strip on but I don't trust them to do it without breaking something.

The part is only $28 but the dealer service department wants to charge $123 to put it on. The guy at the tint shop says that the strip replacement is probably a five-minute fix. If it's easy enough, I'll do it myself.
 

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lol, if the dealership is charging you $123 that sounds like about an hour's labour at stealership rates.

You probably just have to pull up, and it'll pull back from underneath the mirror housing. It's going to be clips, but since you're replacing it, shouldn't matter if you break a few. Grab the back of the original trim and pull up on it.

I don't understand how they messed up that piece though lol - tint is on the inside?
 
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RuLEoF2

RuLEoF2

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lol, if the dealership is charging you $123 that sounds like about an hour's labour at stealership rates.

You probably just have to pull up, and it'll pull back from underneath the mirror housing. It's going to be clips, but since you're replacing it, shouldn't matter if you break a few. Grab the back of the original trim and pull up on it.

I don't understand how they messed up that piece though lol - tint is on the inside?
Yeah, it baffled me too.

We dropped it off yesterday afternoon so my first thought was that someone must have tried to jimmy it in the parking lot but they said that it was in their bay overnight. So that made it even easier to hold them accountable. Dude said that he checked all the security video and he "didn't see anything". He insisted that there was no way that they could have done it because they do everything inside.

So, I took a closer look at the damaged molding and the edge isn't shredded or cut, it's deformed. Like someone used a flat-blade screwdriver to pry the molding away from the window and it permanently mashed it. Then it occurred to me that maybe they melted it. So, I asked the guy if the use any kind of heat-guns, both inside and outside and he looked a little thrown back. He hesitated and then stuttered a bit when he said "Ah, well... yeah. It's soft rubber so that might have done it."

BOOM!

And there it is. Mr. squeegee in the back got a little careless with the hair dryer. I'm still confused as to why they would need to pry on that anyway but whatever.

In the end, I got a free tint job and replacement part but it still pisses me off. The damn car just passed 500 miles!

Oh well. I just hope that I can replace it without breaking anything else.

Honda Civic 10th gen How to remove window trim? IMAG4225
 
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lucashend

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Yeah, it baffled me too.

We dropped it off yesterday afternoon so my first thought was that someone must have tried to jimmy it in the parking lot but they said that it was in their bay overnight. So that made it even easier to hold them accountable. Dude said that he checked all the security video and he "didn't see anything". He insisted that there was no way that they could have done it because they do everything inside.

So, I took a closer look at the damaged molding and the edge isn't shredded or cut, it's deformed. Like someone used a flat-blade screwdriver to pry the molding away from the window and it permanently mashed it. Then it occurred to me that maybe they melted it. So, I asked the guy if the use any kind of heat-guns, both inside and outside and he looked a little thrown back. He hesitated and then stuttered a bit when he said "Ah, well... yeah. It's soft rubber so that might have done it."

BOOM!

And there it is. Mr. squeegee in the back got a little careless with the hair dryer. I'm still confused as to why they would need to pry on that anyway but whatever.

In the end, I got a free tint job and replacement part but it still pisses me off. The damn car just passed 500 miles!

Oh well. I just hope that I can replace it without breaking anything else.

IMAG4225.jpg
Did you figure out how to get it off?
 
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RuLEoF2

RuLEoF2

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Got the part and installed a few minutes ago. It couldn't have been much easier. Once I had the part, I was able to determine how to remove and reinstall.

With the window down, pry the molding back to create a gap just big enough to get a dental pick behind the molding and gently lift this one little black clip. The clip is delicate so if you plan to reinstall it, be careful. You only need to move the clip about 1/8" to disengage it. I used painters masking tape to protect the black finish above it as a precaution.

Once the clip was lifted, the entire strip was free to pull strait up. There was some light resistance since the molding is formed to grip the edge of the door panel. Working back to front, pull strait up and when you get about 75% of it off, start pulling the molding back to clear the mirror assembly.

That's it. To install, just insert the front end in and under the mirror assembly, then push it on front to back until it's fully seated.

For reference, the Honda part number for the driver's side molding is 7240-TBG-A01.

Honda Civic 10th gen How to remove window trim? Civic_Coupe_2016_moldin
 
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RuLEoF2

RuLEoF2

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So, I figured out how they melted the molding.

I watched guy do the rear window on my old car many years ago and I'd forgotten how they do it until couple days ago. After they rough cut the film to the shape of each window, they place it on the outside and use a heat gun and soft plastic scraper to form the film against the glass. Since the film is flat and the windows aren't, they have to do this to minimize wrinkles. The guy must have put too much heat there along the bottom edge.

I suspect that this could be a common problem with this model because the rubber on the molding is very soft and apparently not very heat tolerant. So, be careful using heat around this molding and any similar rubber on the car. Definitely be mindful of this when having your windows tinted. Take pictures before you drop it off!
 

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This is pretty interesting. Even in my older cars that were tinted, I never actually paid attention and saw that they do that to the film. Good to know!
 


lucashend

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So, I figured out how they melted the molding.

I watched guy do the rear window on my old car many years ago and I'd forgotten how they do it until couple days ago. After they rough cut the film to the shape of each window, they place it on the outside and use a heat gun and soft plastic scraper to form the film against the glass. Since the film is flat and the windows aren't, they have to do this to minimize wrinkles. The guy must have put too much heat there along the bottom edge.

I suspect that this could be a common problem with this model because the rubber on the molding is very soft and apparently not very heat tolerant. So, be careful using heat around this molding and any similar rubber on the car. Definitely be mindful of this when having your windows tinted. Take pictures before you drop it off!
Interesting.

Side note, I noticed one day that the portion of trim under the small triangular window behind the back passenger doors of the 4 door sedans is made of a different type of plastic. In the sun, it becomes malleable vs staying hard like the rest of the trim.
 

WingKing76

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Yep the window tinter screwed mine up too. Cut the window channel trim.

Hi,

Yep the window tinter screwed mine up too. Cut the window channel trim.

My wife just got her 2016 Coupe EX-T last week. She wanted the windows tinted so we had it done this morning. I go to pick it up and find that they damaged the exterior window trim/molding. It's that black piece that runs from the mirror to the handle, along the weather strip where the window slides into the door. I'll try to attach a photo.


Anyone know how to remove and reinstall one of these?

IMAG4226_02.jpg
 

nick94

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And there it is. Mr. squeegee in the back got a little careless with the hair dryer. I'm still confused as to why they would need to pry on that anyway but whatever.
Perhaps the plastic melted and stuck on the window in a few places, so they had to pry that open.
 

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I always want to get my cars and trucks tinted but I’m not willing to have some screwball kid mess with it
 

EasyPickins

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Yeah, it baffled me too.

We dropped it off yesterday afternoon so my first thought was that someone must have tried to jimmy it in the parking lot but they said that it was in their bay overnight. So that made it even easier to hold them accountable. Dude said that he checked all the security video and he "didn't see anything". He insisted that there was no way that they could have done it because they do everything inside.

So, I took a closer look at the damaged molding and the edge isn't shredded or cut, it's deformed. Like someone used a flat-blade screwdriver to pry the molding away from the window and it permanently mashed it. Then it occurred to me that maybe they melted it. So, I asked the guy if the use any kind of heat-guns, both inside and outside and he looked a little thrown back. He hesitated and then stuttered a bit when he said "Ah, well... yeah. It's soft rubber so that might have done it."

BOOM!

And there it is. Mr. squeegee in the back got a little careless with the hair dryer. I'm still confused as to why they would need to pry on that anyway but whatever.

In the end, I got a free tint job and replacement part but it still pisses me off. The damn car just passed 500 miles!

Oh well. I just hope that I can replace it without breaking anything else.

IMAG4225.jpg
Based on my experience I think it's just poor materials. I don't have window tint and have never used anything more than a hand washing mit to clean it. That said, the middle portion on my drivers door completely failed and passages side is starting to breakdown too. Great to hear it's an inexpensive part and easy to replace!
 


 


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