It's only been 4 days and they already called me back asking when do I want to schedule my appointment to have the seatbelts replaced.

They saw me coming from a mile away, I think they are just as afraid of me as I am of them, but that doesn't mean I will trust them.


I want to remove my interior myself for them, and I'm wondering if anyone has any write up or pics of how to do this?

Do I need to remove the back bins, or is it as simple as just undoing the clips on the side panels?


(Do they replace panels if they break them?)

 

The only panels they removed that I know of when they did mine was the a pillars, and the headliner because there's some wiring in the top. I believe that's it. Then again, my buddy was the one working at Mazda (who's had 4 FC's) so I knew it was being done right. That's all that he talked about removing though.

 

Holy ******* ****, the headliner now??

It can't be just the Apillers, the huge *** motors have to be hidden in the plastic behind the seats, right?

Are you able to get in contact with your buddy?

 

Unfortunately no. I lost my number when I got my new phone and it appears he hasn't logged in since 7-14-12.

Sorry about that man, I do know he told me he took the headliner out because he told me it had a lot of surface rust falling when he did it.

 

you need to remove the A pillar, and the B pillar. headliner can stay. the A pillar has a few clips you can see once you pull of the seaming welt, be gentle.

they should replace anything they break, however stuff might not be available

 

In addition to the A and B pillars, the "quarter trim" has to come out as well. This is the piece directly below the B pillar. It covers the motor and reel for the passive belts. The A pillars are still available, but the B pillar and quarter trim pieces are not. I would definitely recommend removing it yourself as they may not use the same care you will. I plan on doing pretty much the same thing when my car is ready to go back on the road. The one advantage I have is everything is already out - I just won't put it back in right away.

 

Scrapp, I think if you go out to your car now you'll find the a-pillar trim already broken.
Just thinking/typing about it was all it took.

 

I've been worried about that all day actually...

When I first got the car I bent in the passenger side to get something out of the bin. I hit my head on the Apillar and chipped a part off. I bout had a heart attack... You know those scenes in anime where they experience ultimate despair? Mouth falls open, eyes go big and white with a hazy blue under them with hash lines? Yea. That happened.

 

The nature of brittle 20+ year old plastics stinks. The B pillars and quarter trim are very stout, but the A pillar not so much once it loses its pliability.

 

One of my perfect (probably) never removed a-pillar covers broke into three pieces when I prised up the plastic cover over a retaining screw.

You may get lucky and break nothing but odds are against you.
The combination of ancient mummified plastic and Mazdas insane love of metal clip/plastic receptacle construction (or the even more vicious metal clip suspended on a plastic foot plugging into a metal receptacle) practically erases skill and thought from the removal process.

Looking back at my last removal, I'd say it's as if an episode of The Twilight Zone was based on the adage "**** Happens".

 

He should probably leave the A pillars in if possible. I think they come out before the B pillar though. It's probably doable though to get the B out and leave in the A. A new set if they break them would be nice.

 

The a-pillar plastic HAS to come off to replace the mousetrack, no way around it.

 

Oh, I know that. But if they were in good condition, don't take them out ahead of time and let the Mazda dealer do it. That way, they can get him a new set if they break them.

 

yes in Mazda the clip is stronger than the part that's being clipped on (up to about 2003, the Rx8 doesn't have this problem)

rule #2 is that the o ring is fine, but you need the $1000 aluminum casting the o ring goes in.

 

Yeah, you know, I'm kinda up in the air about that.
If I was a Mazda service manager, I'd offer you the opportunity to remove them yourself and only promise to be careful if you declined.
I'd feel bad for the poor tech- whose skill and care are irrelevant- who would get dinged on a job we all know has a very good chance of ending badly.

 

Oh lawd half merceee.... I have no idea what to expect when I go pulling at this stuff....

 

Take your time and be careful. If you'd like, I have some spare B pillars and quarter trim laying around I can take pictures of so you know where to expect the clips to be. It may aid in removing it as carefully as possible. I also have the brand new A pillars that are going to go on my car in a closet, so I can take pictures of the back of those.

 

Ooo oooo, I woule love pics of what to expect.

 

Why are you getting new seat belts? Is the system broken? If so aren't they under warranty? I'd let them do it. They break anything, they fix it.

 

I was always told that Mazda would not replace the plastics... But I ended up stopping by Mazda so I could say hi and thank you to my parts guy for his help in getting ready for SevenStock... He laughed cause he had no idea that the mousetracks sitting in the back were mine.

After talking to him and the service writer, they said bring the car in, if plastics break, they will replace them.

Off-topic: when I walked in, the receptionist that I've been noticing and wouldn't give me the time of day, gave me the stink-eye and said "arnt you that rx7 dude? Didn't you take a roadtrip to California for some carshow?"
After a few more IOI's I went in for the kill and asked for her number, which she happily gave me.
Let's hope I'm not jinxing it by mentioning this, I wouldn't mind getting to know her.

 

except that some of the stuff they remove isn't available anymore.

 

That a boy. It's always the ones that ignore you at first. ha

On the down side, if you date her and she ends up a psycho and you bail, you'll be screwed and looking for a new dealership. lol