I completed this job a few days ago on a family member's 325i and have a few words of wisdom...
Note: I wasn't modifying anything, just re-doing the adhesive that keeps the felt on the plastic.
Popped loose the "HPS" cover piece of the A pillar trim with one of those tiny screwdrivers for eyeglass screws. Great success. Some of the tabs in that strip may break upon removal but there are many and the strip re-installs just fine with a couple broken tabs. Expect to break some of these if your car sits outside frequently by day in a warm climate (the plastic will be brittle from heat exposure). Along those same lines, don't even try any A,B, or C pillar trim removal in cold weather.
Noticed some have abandoned this DIY due to lack of space to remove the uppermost Torx screw under the "HPS" strip. Radio Shack sells a little ratcheting driver set with an assortment of bits and sockets ($11, p/n 64-070). Works perfectly for this job but you'll have to buy a T20 bit if you don't already have one.
Referring back to Dane's DIY, step #3 in particular, I have a clarification: once a majority of the pillar cover is free of the rubber strip and you can see the airbag underneath, pull/lift up to free the bottom tab from the dash. I pulled over or down (can't remember which) and cracked the tab. It is ABS plastic and does not respond to super glue but the 3M Super 77 held it well enough for re-installation.
Wear gloves of some sort to protect the felt from your fingers (sweat, oil, dirt, etc.). It was very warm outside when I did this and I wore microfiber detailing gloves sourced years ago from Griot's Garage. I wore Nitrile gloves when spraying the Super 77 (gloves @ Walmart).
If you are contemplating windshield replacement, I highly recommend removing these yourself because no installer is going to be as slow and careful as you. Replace them after the windshield adhesive has cured.
And finally, if you break anything beyond repair or if your felt is in bad shape, the pieces are inexpensive to replace with new. $36/ea for the main trim piece with black felt for the ZHP from what is, at the time of this writing, the cheapest source known to me for OE BMW parts (Husker BMW in Nebraska). And $8/ea for the "HPS" strip. Pricing may be different on coupe/cabrio. See realoem.com, enter VIN, browse parts, then Vehicle Trim-->Covering Inner.
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Originally Posted by HokieZHP
