I have a 2005 S Type and the JTIS. The wood panel over the passenger side airbag is what I need to remove. Still not clear on how this comes off? Has anybody removed this without damage before??
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tbird, I don't know how it comes off but my dealer did mine under warranty and since I drove the car while it was out being repaired they had to fit a temp piece in place so all the "goodies" would not fall out while driving.
I hope one of our techs will chime in.
If you have a good connection with your dealer a quick call to them might be helpfull

 

tbird, looking at my drawing of the finish trim cover, it appears that it just pops off in each of the 4 corners. alldata says to, disconnect battery neg., and "detach passenger air bag finish trim panel". There are no signs of screws.

 

You might find an exploded parts diagram at a dealer (or online).

Maybe you could get one of those LED-illuminated inspection stethoscope things up behind it? The kind that are USB and you can see the picture on your PC. (I keep meaning to buy one.)

Maybe removing the glove box would help with seeing/access.

 

Actually in alldata that (removing glove box) would be the next step if you are planning on removing the entire dashboard. Which does not have to be done in this case.

 

Yes in the JTIS it sorta shows 4 fasteners in the corners. But I have a picture of the wood piece with the passenger side airbag and it looks more complicated?? I don't have that picture with me. I will try to post it later. Just afraid to start prying on things!!

JagV8-Sure would like a link to something like that!! I have wanted a borescope for a long time but just too expensive for a home mechanic.

MyBlackCat-Why was the piece removed? I have a faint crack all the way across my wood on the passenger side.
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Yeah, the true borescopes are expensive but ebay has snake cameras / flexible cameras (search with -tripod to remove tripod matches) for about $50 if one of those would do. They tend to be under Photography rather than Cars.

 

Is this infringment?

 

Plead fair use

 

MyBlackCat-Why was the piece removed? I have a faint crack all the way across my wood on the passenger side.
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tbird.. Ours had a crack in it that was small,since it was under warranty the dealer sent it away (England) for repair and refinishing. 3 weeks.
If you plan a refinish the whole dash (both pieces) should be done so they match.
I remember some members on here have replaced theirs with other types of materials. Maybe you should send a shout out to anybody that might have one to sell or swap.

 

Yes that is what the JTIS shows. Just 4 arrows. Not really too useful. I found the pictures they are attached and don't see any clips in the corners of the wood?? The fabric straps seem to mean the airbag must come out too??
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tbird have you figured it out yet?

 

Not yet. It's cold out and I want the car to be warm before I attempt interior work. Afraid of breaking stuff!! The pictures I have of the airbag parts just don’t look like what the JTIS has?? It looks like it should just pry off like the surround of the shifter. But my pictures don't show any clips. I have priced the wood parts (expensive) and Jaguar sells both dash pieces as a set so the wood will match. My local Jag dealer recommended just refinishing the cracked piece and says they should be able to match it very good.
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I also post under Tbird6 sorry for the confusion!! I got both dash wood pieces off and wanted to post some hints and a picture of the cracks in my passenger side air bag cover panel. First and most important. If you don't REALLY need to remove the dash wood pieces then DON'T!!!! These two pieces are metal and snap into metal clips in the dash board. The clips hold the two pieces together with unbelievable force. I really thought the panels would just split in two because I was pulling so hard!!! The big piece around the gauges was a bit easier. The passenger side is almost impossible with out removing the drivers side piece first. Nowhere to get a grip. I used nylon pry sticks and then still cracked the passenger piece. Since I was taking it out to repair a crack anyway I am not too worried! But the JTIS is correct and nothing else needs to be removed. The arrows in the diagrams point to all the clips. Try to pry as close to the clips as possible. Removing the pieces distorts the spikes on the retaining clips. I straighten them back with pliers and small screw drivers to grip properly so no rattles when reassembled.

Local dealer has a wood refinishing program and said about 3-5 days and only about $200. This seems low compared to what I have seen posted before? But it is to just refinish the existing wood and not replace the wood veneer. I will bring in both dash pieces so they can decide if the drivers side needs work too. I am again impressed with the build quality in this car. Many metal castings make the dash very strong and creak free. The only exception is the glove box assembly. I took it out to see if I could some how push the passenger side airbag cover off from behind. It's all plastic and feels cheap and flimsy compared to everything else??

The short crack in the picture is the one I did trying to remove the panel. The long crack is all the way across the piece and kind of curls around the passenger airbag indicator light. I still have no clue on how it got there? Hope it was just a freak deal and won't happen again!!
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I would talk with your wood refinishing vendor about coating the entire back side of all wood veneer pieces with an epoxy resin to add significant strength to each piece and possibly prevent additional cracks from getting started. Of course, that coating will need to be thin enough so it won't interfere with re-installation....

 

I like that idea a bunch!! I don't know if they would do it or not?? There is actually plenty of room for coating thickness. I am not knowledgeable on this so will rely on the refinishing people.
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They'll do it if you make it a requirement. Ask them what coating they recommend for maximum strength, and go with it. Should be some type of epoxy. If you have plenty of room on the back sides of the trim pieces, I would do multiple coatings for even more strength. First coat, let it dry, second coat, let it dry, then coat it yet one more time. As long as your trim pieces are out of the car and being refinished, do it right to ensure maximum strength and minimum chance of future cracks....

 

After reviewing tbirds pics of the complete air bag system and clubairth1s advise of not daring to F*ddle with it. I see the 2 steel tabs that present a problem and looks as if the whole assembly would have to be removed, hense the vague discription of removing the glove box. clubairth1 did you happen to take pics of the retaining clips? Since I presume that you have sent the pieces out for restoration can you take and post pics of everything that you stated before the reinstall?

 

The curve in that long crack suggests to me that the wood grain has curve - very likely due to a knot or similar. Otherwise you'd expect any crack to be straighter. Just bad luck that it cracked, I suspect

Are they confident they can make a seamless join before re-finishing? (gulp)

Lovely photo - thanks.

 

Since there seems to be some interest in my dash wood removal project I took some more pictures. In one picture you can see the sharp metal point of the retaining clip that digs into the back of the metal airbag face plate cover. This is what gives it such strong holding power. The clips stay in the dash so the metal fin has nothing on it except scratches. The metal cover is marked with Al Mg Si on the back. The face plate just has cast fins on the back that fit into the clips.
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