How do these b-pillar trim pieces come off?

[BenFenner]

I've got the rear interior out for some rear suspension work.
During that I found the shoulder belt adjusters are locked in the top position. I'd love to fix them.

How do I get these b-pillar trim pieces off? They don't seem to want to pull off. Any help? I have the weather stripping and seat belt itself unbolted. The main plastic trim piece is giving me the trouble.

[BenFenner]

Well, I got the seat-belt adjustment to go up and down again, but it is not working how I think it should. I'd still like to get these panels off. Do they pop off, or am I going to break plastic trying that?
Searching the forum is not proving fruitful.

[BenFenner]

Well, it would appear that they slide up to be removed. But how one accomplishes that without removing the headliner or cutting the roof off is beyond me. =/

[BenFenner]

I got the b-pillar trim piece off. If anyone in the future needs to know, the top part needs to be removed first. It snaps outward toward the middle of the car (it is held in by two metal prong clips side-by-side). Then the bottom part can be lifted up off of the catch down low. Before you do all that, remove the plastic seat belt adjuster latch cover by pressing up on the bottom of it where you see the window to the bendable latch holding it on.

And for the record it seems the adjusters do work the silly way that made me think they were broken.
The plastic catch release has an arrow that makes it seem like you should slide the latch down to unlock the seat belt adjuster. Also, the sliding plastic behind it seems to enforce this idea. That, however, is not how they work. (It didn't help that the passenger's side latch was installed upside-down. And for whatever reason it never occurred to me to try to pivot them out.)
Apparently those plastic catch releases need to be pulled out (toward the center of the car) and rotated down. They pivot, instead of slide. This causes the plastic piece to dislodge from the rear plastic sliding cover (much to my surprise) and it can be hard or impossible to have the plastic catch release return back fully behind the sliding cover. There is a little bit of plastic that gets caught. This is apparently normal and that plastic lip is never meant to go behind the sliding cover. This is part of what had me convinced things were broken, since mine had the lip behind the sliding cover until I tried to use them and "broke" it.

The joys of German engineering never cease to amaze?

All is good now that I've figured out how they work, figured out they weren't broken, and flipped that one cap that was on upside-down (arrow pointing up).

[BenFenner]

Here are the pictures I took when removing the B-pillar covers. If you are here from the future and the pictures don't show up, check toward the end of this huge album for them.
If you still need help, PM me and I'll re-host them ASAP.

Top of B-pillar cover showing the two metal prong clips.


Bottom of B-pillar cover showing the lower catch.


Bottom.


Top.


Seat belt mount and undressed slider latch.

[BenFenner]

Server double-post.

[MudHut]

Thanks for posting this information. Very helpful. Jay

[BenFenner]

You're welcome.

[PettitWC]

Saved me a ton of aggravation

Thanks for sticking with it and updating!

[TexasVol]

Great info, still valid. Saved me much aggravation, and no broken tabs. A bonus with 20yr old plastic. Now on to the headliner… ��