[The_Tok'Ra]

Hey guys, I only noticed this a few days ago, just wondered if anybody else has had this issue.

The black shadowline trim piece right in front of the side mirrors, and at the botton of the A pillar seamingly warping and coming away from the bodwork of the car.

The last two pics are of the nearside trim, it's fine, but you can the that the offside side trim is sticking out a bit at the end.

I saw something slightly similar with the rubber trim on my Octavia, but nothing as bad as this.

[The_Tok'Ra]

My manufacturers warranty runs out in just 4 days, and while I did mention this issue when the car was in for the creaking steering wheel last week, they said they had sorted this issue as well, but in actual fact they didn't touch it at all.

Sadly at the time, I did not have the time to go back into the dealership and have a moan about that.

This video shows how the trim is removed, but what I'm not sure about is if the trim piece is aluminium or not? If it is, I could bend it back into shape, so I think I could fix it myself if they will not fix it under warranty.

[bmnut]

Originally Posted by The_Tok'Ra

Hey guys, I only noticed this a few days ago, just wondered if anybody else has had this issue.

The black shadowline trim piece right in front of the side mirrors, and at the botton of the A pillar seamingly warping and coming away from the bodwork of the car.

The last two pics are of the nearside trim, it's fine, but you can the that the offside side trim is sticking out a bit at the end.

I saw something slightly similar with the rubber trim on my Octavia, but nothing as bad as this.

Is that an indentation in the trim just before it starts to stick out from the bodywork?
From your photos it looks almost like it has been prised away from the frame, could something have been caught on the leading edge and pulled it away from the frame?

[alFR]

Originally Posted by bmnut

Is that an indentation in the trim just before it starts to stick out from the bodywork?
From your photos it looks almost like it has been prised away from the frame, could something have been caught on the leading edge and pulled it away from the frame?

That's what I thought as well from the photos, looks like it's either got caught on something, someone has tried to prise it off or it's had a knock and got pushed in where the indentation is which has caused the front end to move out a bit in response.

[bmnut]

Originally Posted by alFR

That's what I thought as well from the photos, looks like it's either got caught on something, someone has tried to prise it off or it's had a knock and got pushed in where the indentation is which has caused the front end to move out a bit in response.

Might just be a trick of the light as the photo's been taken and hopefully not bent. I know the trims aren't that robust and you have to be very careful if you take them off so as not to buckle them.
We'll see what The Tok'Ra says when he views our posts!

[The_Tok'Ra]

I see no indentations in the bodywork guys, must be just the light in the pics. I have not ruled out the idea that somebody has tried to pry it off, but why?

As I said, the rubber trim strip on my old Skoda warped a bit over time and came away from the bodywork, but if these trims are aluminium then it can't be the case that it's been warped by heat, certainly by force though.

When I showed it to the service advisor he just said yeah, OK we'll have a look at it, but they just didn't bother to look at it all.

And then they had the gall to tell me they'd fixed it.

[bmnut]

Originally Posted by The_Tok'Ra

I see no indentations in the bodywork guys, must be just the light in the pics. I have not ruled out the idea that somebody has tried to pry it off, but why?

As I said, the rubber trim strip on my old Skoda warped a bit over time and came away from the bodywork, but if these trims are aluminium then it can't be the case that it's been warped by heat, certainly by force though.

When I showed it to the service advisor he just said yeah, OK we'll have a look at it, but they just didn't bother to look at it all.

And then they had the gall to tell me they'd fixed it.

That's good news it isn't bent or buckled though.

As far as I can recall the trims just fit in place by sliding on to clips on the door frame if that helps?

On my wife's 220i coupe the trim came away from the frame one winter's morning as the rubber seal had frozen to the glass so when I finally coaxed the window to release and open on closing it again it dragged the trim up out of the clips...nearly crapped...since I'd have got the bill! I managed to reposition the trim by just push fitting it back in place and it's been fine ever since.

When I had my door mirror replaced last year the senior tech had to remove my window ledge trim to get the replacement window glass to fit correctly and I remember him saying the trims are a bit of nightmare to remove and replace because they aren't very robust but I'm sure they are aluminium underneath the paint and lacquer coating. It's the high gloss black finish which is a bit of pain as well since you have to be careful not to scratch them...just looking at them and the buggers scratch!

[The_Tok'Ra]

I think the trim is a bit bent an the end, where is moves away from the bodywork.

I had initially assumed that at the front, around the mirror forward, that the trim was held in place with a strong double sided adhesive tape.

Watching that video I linked above, it is just a press into place bit of trim, but in order to remove it you need to remove the door card and the wing mirror too.

With only a few days of my Manufactures warranty left, I can't see me getting it fixed under warranty. If it can even be called a warranty issue.

But now I've seen it, I can't un-see it, and now I can't miss it. If it's just aluminium, then I think if I can get it off I could manipulate it straight, or at least straighter than it is.

[alFR]

Have you tried just covering it with a microfibre cloth or similar and pushing it in with the heel of your hand? Might work without taking it off.

[The_Tok'Ra]

Originally Posted by alFR

Have you tried just covering it with a microfibre cloth or similar and pushing it in with the heel of your hand? Might work without taking it off.

There is enough flex in the trim that I can push it back into place with just my thumb pressing on it, but it just springs back out again. It does not seem to be retained by anything at all at the end.

I'd need to try to get a trim removal tool behind the back of the trim, just behind where it is bent, and put a little tension on the tool to force it out a little more before trying to bend it back into shape.

I'm concerned I may end up doing more harm than good though TBH, really the best way to straighten it would be to remove it first.