Finally putting my reupholstered headliner back in and only now realizing that 2 of the 3 tabs on my RH A-pillar trim broke off during removal.





I see a few complete trim pieces on ebay for not that much. But I'd prefer to fix this one if possible. Obviously, glue/epoxy isn't going to hold such a thin piece of plastic in place. Maybe something beefier that could be screwed directly into the support posts?

Has anyone ever successfully repaired these?

 

I repaired my tabs with monster clear glue, adhesive. Works great. The tabs stayed on the vehicle and I pulled them out with needle nose pliars, then glued them to the pillar on top of the plastic where they came off. Worked great.

 

I broke mine a couple weeks ago. I super glued in place and epoxies w fiberglass. Better than new.

 

I'm in this boat right now, except, I don't even have the tabs, or they fell behind the pillars and I can't find them. Also, my rear seat bottom speaker covers have fallen off as well, because all the tabs are broken. It's a combination of the extreme South Western US heat, and the seriously bumpy off-road trails I've been on. Not technically hard trails, just rocking and shaking like crazy. I'm trying to figure out a better way to secure both, maybe aluminum tabs screw in, or using rivet nuts.
Every piece I've taken off that has tabs, has at least one broken tab, and they could have been broken for years.

 

I wonder if the tabs are still stuck in the metal clips in the pillar? There is a metal bracket that sits in a slot in the pillar that hold the plastic tab.

 

I wish. I've found like two tabs stuck in the metal retaining slots, glued them back on trying a variety of glues, but the all have failed.
I expect if I opened the rear doors, the tabs would be on the bottom, and the A-Pillar tabs likely fell through and are behind the pillar as well. They pieces actually stay in place pretty well until the last tab fails, and by then only that last tab is stuck in the metal clip.
I think I'm going to try thin aluminum, bent over and secured with screws, to see if that will hold up. I'm pretty sure it's the heat, as it can get way too hot in the vehicle, which has essentially never been inside a garage for any length of time.
One of my current projects is how to pull cooler outside air in, and blow hot air out, which is one of the reasons for upgrading my cargo area batteries and upgrading my solar power system.

 

I have not repaired these but I have repaired some other plastic parts with my plastic welder. Works really well!

 

I have been repairing the outside A pillar finishing trim using ABS glue. I also repaired cracks in the windshield air intake using ABS glue and a plastic welder.

If those A pillars are made from ABS then plumbing ABS glue works great. Just make sure you let it sit for 24 hours to set up.

I have one in similar condition I'm going to be repairing soon, I will let you know what works.

 

I cut out strips of aluminum, then used needle nose pliers to bend them into shape. The sides go all the way down, and the metal tab is double thick. Few things of note.
1. The aluminum holds many times better than the plastic, but this can be an issue. There is a huge amount of room for longer tabs, but really long tabs make it exceedingly hard to remove the trim.
2. The tabs can stick so well that the aluminum tears. This happens when I used a pure mechanical connection of tiny screws holding it on.
3. Glue and screws seems to hold the best, but I have some that I just glued.
4. I shouldn't make tab when I'm tired, my best ones were actually the first, they got worse as I made more.
I'll be going on a 2,400 mile trip this week, and well let everyone know how well they aluminum tabs work.

 

I have repaired these. What I've found is they last one "application". So repair 'em, they'll work fine... but when you try to remove them a few years down the line... it breaks again.