Hope you all are well. Has anyone removed the right rear interior quarter panel trim in a 2008 H2? I need to replace the seatbelt, but can't get to it - have to remove the "hump". The OEM part is 25958042 but I haven't found much luck finding a service page for this nor a video. Any help would be much appreciated!

 

Every thing posted in reverse, start at the bottom, this is all I could find for the rear

Neal

 

Neal, thanks for posting this. This is a huge help! I'll circle back if I find any other tips and tricks while doing this. Thanks again.

 

Coming back to this post to provide some detail for @skiracer who is about to install the quarter panel trim 25958042 in an 08 H2. Here is the step by step to remove the quarter panel trim piece.

Notes:

• The passenger side quarter panel trim piece is a single piece of molded plastic
• The right edge (towards the rear lift gate opening) is held in place by 2 clips + the rear corner upper molding with the speaker (25909265) + upper sill plate (25921279) + lower sill plate (10392652)
• The middle has 1 clip that is located about 6 inches to the left of the location for the air inflation ports. If the H2 does not have that option, there is a flat plastic plate there. This clip is very difficult to remove without snapping the plastic leg that holds the clip.
• The left edge is held in place by 2 clips + the upper pillar molding that has the seat belt under it + the door weatherstrip
• The top edge is held in place by 3 clips that fit into metal on the body -- these are the hardest clips to remove since it is a metal on metal set of clips that are very tight
• The bottom edge is only held in place by pressure from the cargo bay carpet. The bottom edge can be wiggled free after all molding holding the left and right edges are removed + the left and right edge are unclipped.

If clips are broken or lost, they are available as part number: 11588650

I recommend spraying the clips with BOESHIELD T9 so that there is some dry lubricant on them before installation. May help with future removal, and will inhibit rust to boot.

Photo of the rear of the quarter panel so that you can see the clips - NOTE: yellow tape is on that middle clip.



1ST - loosen the rear passenger door weatherstrip - just enough to make the edge of the quarter panel trim visible.



2ND - Remove the rear passenger pillar molding - This is held in place with metal clips into plastic mounts... wiggle and pull out. Seatbelt goes through, so I left a top clip connected so it doesn't fall down. It just needs to clear the top edge of the quarter panel edge -- which has a couple plastic loops that go under this molding.


3RD - Remove the top sill of the tail gate. This has a bunch of clips, so start on the right side and work your way through them.


4TH - Remove the lower sill plate. There are two screws that hold this down, and then a bunch of clips.


5TH - Remove the rear top speaker. This has one screw holding it in place behind that center plastic cover which lifts from the bottom. The clips release fairly easily. Pull lightly as the speaker is connected to speaker wire. You will need to reach back and release the wire connector.


6TH - The right edge (towards the rear lift gate opening) - release the three clips. Note where they are on the photo, pull without bending the plastic, or use a plastic spludger to get some lift under there. The clips require lots of wiggling to get them to release. Get your fingers under that bottom corner and work that to get that first bottom clip to release.

7TH - The left edge (towards the rear passenger door) - release the three clips. Same wiggling and nudging to get them to release. Start from the bottom.

8TH - Now you can pull the bottom edge loose from the carpet slightly.

9TH - The middle clip that is to the left of the inflator panel. This is ridiculously difficult to remove. If you are aggressive you will snap the plastic. I found that pulling from the right edge works... and if you can get a long screwdriver to press the clip edge, or if you can get under the clip edge you can twist the screwdriver get some of the clip to lift out. It is hard to get that inflator cover off from the front without marring the finish... but if this a throwaway piece, that may get you more leverage through that opening.

10TH - NOW the entire quarter panel molding will move. Disconnect the wiring clip to the cigarette lighter if you can reach it -- that may give you a bit more flex.

11TH - The top edge now needs to be released. GM cleverly added a plastic leg on the left and the right so that it will NOT slide left or right and so that you cannot lift it from the bottom without increasing the friction and making it even more difficult to remove. You can really only release these by pulling out from the top edge which is sharp, so wear gloves. Brute force is about what it takes - start from one side. I can confirm that it is nearly impossible to harm the body metal that those clips are mounted to as you pull.

Your panel should pop out.

To install, I would connect the cigarette lighter and get the middle clip in FIRST.

I have not done this with the inflator wiring. There may be more to removing that... unsure.

Hope this helps!

 

Thanks, Brunob00 - much appreciated! Should I use plastic pry tools to help remove the trim pieces?

 

The trim pieces pop out with light pressure... they are primarily metal clips into plastic, so they are far easier to remove and replace.

 

Quick question, not to hijack, is there enough room to install an inverter behind the panel? Thanks.

 

The passenger side quarter panel has an air conditioning unit behind it. There is a little room under the AC unit. But you have to remove the entire quarter panel trim to get to it.

There is more room on the drivers side quarter panel, and you can get to that space without removing the quarter panel trim. Just gently pop the top off with a plastic spludger and there is some space towards the front and rear of the space. You can also run wires from the front of the vehicle by popping the bottom door sill trim and pull wires (you can see OEM wiring there and you can follow that path.

If you have a large 3D printer, you could probably make a replacement for that cup holder piece and get a lot more space.

 

Awesome news. There's quite a bit of room there. Thanks!!!

 

These instructions were perfect for me - took about 20 minutes to remove the old quarter panel and about 30 mins to install the new one. Much better now, Brunob00!