Tail gate trim removal

[yunis]

Hey guys,

Has anyone here removed their plastic tail gate trim before?Do I just pop it off with a plastic pry tool? looking for any advice/things to be cautious of before I attempt to do it and install my dash cam.

Cheers

 

[westcoastGT]

ask a body shop , most trim comes off relatively easily with a pry tool , but .................................

 

[bumble bee]

Intresting question my friend!

 

[Jp1i]

IF you’re referring to the trim just below the third brake light they pop right off with a trim removal tool. The middle one is held on by 4 pressure fit push pins. Just pry gently. Once the middle one is off, taking off either of the ones on the side is a breeze. I’m assuming you’re trying to get to the grommets so you can fish the wire through to the rear. I recently installed front and rear dash cam on my stinger.

Only thing I will tell you is the 2 push pins in the rear for the headliner must be removed by getting underneath them and pinching as you pry down. I did not do that broke both off. Apparently Kia does not keep those in stock and if you want an oem replacement must buy a new headliner altogether at a price of $2500 CDN!! Hope this helps, good luck with the install!!
If you need more info let me know!

 

[Madman]

IF you’re referring to the trim just below the third brake light they pop right off with a trim removal tool. The middle one is held on by 4 pressure fit push pins. Just pry gently. Once the middle one is off, taking off either of the ones on the side is a breeze. I’m assuming you’re trying to get to the grommets so you can fish the wire through to the rear. I recently installed front and rear dash cam on my stinger.

Only thing I will tell you is the 2 push pins in the rear for the headliner must be removed by getting underneath them and pinching as you pry down. I did not do that broke both off. Apparently Kia does not keep those in stock and if you want an oem replacement must buy a new headliner altogether at a price of $2500 CDN!! Hope this helps, good luck with the install!!
If you need more info let me know!

Assume you didn't buy a new one? What did you do?

 

[yunis]

IF you’re referring to the trim just below the third brake light they pop right off with a trim removal tool. The middle one is held on by 4 pressure fit push pins. Just pry gently. Once the middle one is off, taking off either of the ones on the side is a breeze. I’m assuming you’re trying to get to the grommets so you can fish the wire through to the rear. I recently installed front and rear dash cam on my stinger.

Only thing I will tell you is the 2 push pins in the rear for the headliner must be removed by getting underneath them and pinching as you pry down. I did not do that broke both off. Apparently Kia does not keep those in stock and if you want an oem replacement must buy a new headliner altogether at a price of $2500 CDN!! Hope this helps, good luck with the install!!
If you need more info let me know!

Thanks Jp1i! I really appreciate your reply!
I have removed the cover beneath the brake light, but now you have me a little weary on removing the headliner clips. Did yours brake while using a removal tool? I am now thinking of trying to feed the cable through using a cable tie instead!

 

[Madman]

Thanks Jp1i! I really appreciate your reply!
I have removed the cover beneath the brake light, but now you have me a little weary on removing the headliner clips. Did yours brake while using a removal tool? I am now thinking of trying to feed the cable through using a cable tie instead!

Can you please document your journey? I want to do the same shortly and would love to learn from your...errr...opportunities. Thanks.

 

[Jp1i]

Assume you didn't buy a new one? What did you do?

Just went to a local parts store and bought a 6mm push pin that resembled the oem ones. Worked like a charm!

 

[Jp1i]

Thanks Jp1i! I really appreciate your reply!
I have removed the cover beneath the brake light, but now you have me a little weary on removing the headliner clips. Did yours brake while using a removal tool? I am now thinking of trying to feed the cable through using a cable tie instead!

As I was prying with the trim removal tool on the headliner push pins I didn’t pinch them enough and exerted to much downward force, hence why they broke. What I would have done differently would have been to grab a second removal tool and pinch the clip. I think needle nose pliers would work effectively as well. Just take your time and be patient.

 

[Madman]

Just went to a local parts store and bought a 6mm push pin that resembled the oem ones. Worked like a charm!

Perhaps you can sell them to Kia for, say...$1800? Everyone's a winner then.

 

[Jp1i]

Perhaps you can sell them to Kia for, say...$1800? Everyone's a winner then.

I’m hopeful in due time OEM parts will be more readily available for our cars. As of now can’t even source part numbers for specific parts online. Even while looking for the headliner push pins, the parts manager at the Kia dealership had a heck of a time trying to find a parts number for them! In the end, they don’t have a specific parts number.

 

[yunis]

As I was prying with the trim removal tool on the headliner push pins I didn’t pinch them enough and exerted to much downward force, hence why they broke. What I would have done differently would have been to grab a second removal tool and pinch the clip. I think needle nose pliers would work effectively as well. Just take your time and be patient.

I managed to get the cable to where I wanted Jp1i! Once again cheers for the help! My method was a little different, basically I pulled down the rear passenger weather rubbers and also the rubbers from the tailgate to access underneath the headliner. I fed the cable from the rear passenger side headliner using a 400mm cable tie and pulled it out the tailgate side. I used another cable tie of the same length and fed it down the rubber grommet between the vehicle and tailgate, attached the two cable ties together with electrical tape and pulled the cable upwards and there you go! Camera cable is now in the tailgate area! The rest is straightforward from there. It's a little tedious but with a little exploring and planning it actually isnt too hard!

I actually managed to snap 2 out of 4 clips on the tailgate trim beneath the rear stop light as I did not use the right tool, but fixed them with a little super glue!
Hope this makes sense to anyone who else wanting to install the rear camera! Quite happy to also explain further if need be.

 

[netwalker]

I managed to get the cable to where I wanted Jp1i! Once again cheers for the help! My method was a little different, basically I pulled down the rear passenger weather rubbers and also the rubbers from the tailgate to access underneath the headliner. I fed the cable from the rear passenger side headliner using a 400mm cable tie and pulled it out the tailgate side. I used another cable tie of the same length and fed it down the rubber grommet between the vehicle and tailgate, attached the two cable ties together with electrical tape and pulled the cable upwards and there you go! Camera cable is now in the tailgate area! The rest is straightforward from there. It's a little tedious but with a little exploring and planning it actually isnt too hard!

I actually managed to snap 2 out of 4 clips on the tailgate trim beneath the rear stop light as I did not use the right tool, but fixed them with a little super glue!
Hope this makes sense to anyone who else wanting to install the rear camera! Quite happy to also explain further if need be.

I'm trying to get the center trim piece off right now and it is on so tight I don't know what else to try. Any tips of safely removing the center trim piece?

 

[yunis]

I'm trying to get the center trim piece off right now and it is on so tight I don't know what else to try. Any tips of safely removing the center trim piece?

If it's the centre trim piece where the slop light is then you have to use a pry tool and pry off 4 clips. You might end up breaking some clips but they can be easily glued back together and then snapped back into place. Let us know.how you go

 

[Stinger GT SS]

@GT2inSeattle

 

[mswear75]

IF you’re referring to the trim just below the third brake light they pop right off with a trim removal tool. The middle one is held on by 4 pressure fit push pins. Just pry gently. Once the middle one is off, taking off either of the ones on the side is a breeze. I’m assuming you’re trying to get to the grommets so you can fish the wire through to the rear. I recently installed front and rear dash cam on my stinger.

Only thing I will tell you is the 2 push pins in the rear for the headliner must be removed by getting underneath them and pinching as you pry down. I did not do that broke both off. Apparently Kia does not keep those in stock and if you want an oem replacement must buy a new headliner altogether at a price of $2500 CDN!! Hope this helps, good luck with the install!!
If you need more info let me know!

I did the same, and cannot get the trim piece to lie flat now