Replacing Interior Dash Trim

[Serenity24]

Hello everyone, im newly registered here but have been browsing this site for the past 2 years. I purchased my 2017 Ecoboost Convertible about a year and a half ago and these forums have been really helpful so I thank everyone for that! So my question today is about the interior dash trim. When I purchased the car the silver dash trim looked awful. It looks as if someone used harsh chemicals to clean it. When its clean and the top is up its not too noticeable but when the top is down it looks awful. I've been dealing with it since I bought it but recently my girlfriend broke one of the AC vents so I decided it was time to just replace the whole thing. I found a used set on Ebay for $100 which I thought was a good deal. My question is how do I replace this thing? I do 90% of the work on my car but I haven't dealt with interior components with clips and tabs and what not. My car is at the dealership for a repair and I pick it up tomorrow morning and I would like to purchase whatever tools I may need tomorrow to get it replaced. Is it a simple job or is it best to take it to my body shop guy to get it done? Any help from this awesome community would be greatly appreciated!

Also the picture I posted of my car is before the AC vent was broken. You can't see ugliness I talk about in the picture but maybe when I get my car back I can take a picture to show how bad it really is.

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[Crreyes18]

Its actually a pretty simple process, just have to leverage the pull the clips off. I attached one of the youtube videos that I used when I pulled mine off to wrap. Hope this helps

 

[Serenity24]

Thank you so much!! I don't know how I didn't come across that on YouTube. Looks pretty straight forward. I appreciate the help!

 

[Elp_jc]

The tab where the lower pieces attach at the top will never go back to normal after you pull on the pieces. But you have to pull on the little piece to be able to insert something against the tab, so the metal clip can detach. At least I didn't break mine (like many), but the piece didn't go back to flush. No way I could leave it like that, so ended up drilling the tab and dash, used a small black screw, and after lots of trial and error, finally the little piece was flush again. But also had to use a rubber spacer on the inside of the glovebox, to level both sides equally. What a royal PITA it was. That's why I hope to NEVER having to remove anything else on this POS interior. Ha ha.

 

[Serenity24]

Its stuff like that I worry about. Im going to be extra careful and hope for the best. This is the nicest interior I've had on any of my mustangs.

 

[GT5.0Fan]

The tab where the lower pieces attach at the top will never go back to normal after you pull on the pieces. But you have to pull on the little piece to be able to insert something against the tab, so the metal clip can detach. At least I didn't break mine (like many), but the piece didn't go back to flush. No way I could leave it like that, so ended up drilling the tab and dash, used a small black screw, and after lots of trial and error, finally the little piece was flush again. But also had to use a rubber spacer on the inside of the glovebox, to level both sides equally. What a royal PITA it was. That's why I hope to NEVER having to remove anything else on this POS interior. Ha ha.

So basically if one wanted to upgrade the factory trim to a nicer carbon fiber one it is not recommended to remove and install a new one then right?

 

[Serenity24]

I'll update here tomorrow how it goes when I replace it. Im curious to see how the fitment is when I install the new* one. Im hoping everything is straight and tight but I guess we'll see tomorrow.

 

[Bikeman315]

So basically if one wanted to upgrade the factory trim to a nicer carbon fiber one it is not recommended to remove and install a new one then right?

Oh God, don't listen to JC. All he does is complain. Listen take some time to read the build threads. Many, many members have recreated their interiors to exactly what they wanted. Some of them are freakin incredible. Do what you want, pick the right products, watch the videos and be careful. And if you get into a jam, just come on here. We are here to help. Good luck.

 

[Crreyes18]

The first time I pulled my dash pieces was to install an Nguage and everything fit fine after that reinstall I only had some issues when I wrapped my dash pieces and issues was due to the vinyl bunching up in a spot where the clips go once I pulled it back off to and moved the vinyl everything fit perfectly. Like Bikeman315 said Do what you want, pick the right products, watch the videos and be careful. And if you need help, just come on here.

 

[Elp_jc]

You can put the long piece with the vents back fine. But the problem is that stupid plastic piece that sticks at the bottom of the right edge, where the lower small piece top metal clip bites into. It's a flimsy piece of plastic that once you pull on it, it never goes back like new. It's permanently deformed, so the bottom little piece doesn't sit flush with the top trim piece and the glove box anymore. And I was super careful. I didn't yank on the piece like most videos. I just pried it far enough to insert a thin trim tool to push on that plastic piece, so it deform. But it did, so it's basically impossible to do it with less pull than me. Maybe others don't care, but if you can push in that little piece even a little, it's not sitting like factory anymore. After the screw I installed, it's all the way flush now, and it doesn't move anymore. And now I can just pull it, and the clip lets go solidly, without bringing that stupid plastic with it.

 

[Serenity24]

Well if anyone's interested at all I replaced the trim and it was the most uneventful swap I've ever done on anything haha. I thought I was gonna have to wrestle this thing off but it took me all of 30 seconds to take off and maybe 10 seconds to snap on. Idk if I got lucky but after removing the bottom right piece the top long one came off with no problems. I didn't break any tabs and putting in the replacement, everything snapped in place and was tight and flush with everything. It looks great and is a huge upgrade over the old one. I didn't replace the pieces on the left side of the dash because they're in good condition and match the stock set i purchased. It may be stock but i think it looks great in the car. I forgot to take a pic when I was done working on it but it honestly looks like any other stock ecoboost out there. I was a little nervous about swapping these out but you guys really helped me out. Thanks!!

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