2004 C209 CLK driver's seatbelt/lower rear panel removal help please

[dbclk]

Hi ...I want to send my driver-side seatbelt for repair, so I need to remove it. I have made some progress, but I don't know how to remove the lower rear side panel. I have found plenty of documentation online with diagrams (AR68.30-P-4780Q, AR91.40-P-0630Q, etc), but there is no detail on how to actually remove the panel(s) ...it just states 'remove'. However, I don't know how to remove the panels and don't want to break anything by forcing things off.

It could be that I need to remove other components first. In the photograph below, it's the orange panel that I'm trying to remove. The green rear seat cushion is now loose. The purple is foam padding which I assume may be attached to the orange or blue panel (although it could be unattached). The blue panel runs up to the ceiling and seems to overlap the orange panel, but I see no way of removing it.

To the bottom left (out of the photograph), the orange panel is tucked under some plastic door sill trim - not sure how to remove that either - is it just a case of pulling it upwards with force?

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The sort of info I'm looking for is, the order in which I need to remove the panels, and whether there are latches to undo, plus the direction that I should pull when removing.

Any info/help would be greatly appreciated : )

 

[Trickythemerc]

There is a little tab that you have to pull out. If you take the door seal off you will see it, that will release the trim panel from the edge of the B post. The rest of the clips are just pull and hope none break. What is wrong with the seat belt ? If it is just lazy when retracting a good spray with a dry silicone lube may help. They are generally a non serviceable item, so replacement may be a better plan.

 

[dbclk]

Hi Trickythemerc, Thank you for your reply.

Pretty soggy up here at the moment, but if I get a dry spell this afternoon I'll get the door open and look for the tab (thanks). With hindsight, I should have looked for a second tab, as the top panel obviously comes off with a tab too.

The seatbelt was playing up and I pulled it all the way out (forcefully) in order to clean it. This unfortunately led to there being absolutely no retraction force. I subsequently spoke to a company down south, who reckon that they might be able to fix it if I send them the part down.

If that doesn't work I'll be looking at replacement : (

 

[dbclk]

So it's drier today and I've made some progress. I have managed to remove the lower side panel (after removing the adjacent seat padding) and gain access to the seat belt, which is now almost free from the car. There's just one little step left, which is removing the green connector and wiring from the top of the seat belt unit.

I really don't want to break the connector as finding a replacement might be a challenge ...so any idea how this green connector is removed? Does it screw off? Does it pull off? Is there some sort of clip action?

 

[Trickythemerc]

It will not screw off, anything related to SRS or airbag systems will use a locking tab that will need to be depressed or pulled before you can remove the molex plug. Looking at the pic the grey bit could be the latch, from memory of working on airbags I think grey is some sort of industry standard for safety control. When I had the airbag out of my Jag I seem to recall a double lock system on the plugs. It may be a good idea to disconnect the battery and wait 45 mins before attempting to pull the plug. The reason for this is residual current can trigger the airbag and seat belt squibs if you just pull a plug.

 

[dbclk]

Hi Trickythemerc,

Thanks for your reply.

You're spot on. I pulled/slid the grey tab out which allowed me to get a small screwdriver under the orange clip and remove that. Once the orange tab is off, the green connector is free to lift off upwards. Good point on the battery too - although the car hasn't moved for a couple of months so the battery is totally flat, and that negated the need to disconnect. Seat belt now out of the car and will be sent off for repair this week.

Thank you very much for your help! : )