Audi 2003 A8

October 5, 2003

do anyone know how to tint the bac window of the AUdi A8 , the back rests cant be taken out please help???

October 11, 2003

I just did an '04 A8 last week, what a nightmare. It was a dealer car, so I called them and told them the situation, that I could not tint the window with the headrests in, and they kindly told me to do whatever you can. I began taking apart the rear seat, I got the seat bottom out, then the seat back, then the b-pillar covers, then the c-pillar covers, then the trunk lining to access three screws to remove the rear deck, as it goes up the window about 6". Being that it was my first time dis-assembling this car it took quite a while, and was pretty frustrating. Putting it back was an experience also, but the next one wont be so bad, since I know what needs to be removed and in what order. If you want me to give you more specific info on removing all this crap, just let me know, and Ill be happy to save you the headache. Let me know.

BK

TintDude · October 11, 2003

go ahead and post the info

October 11, 2003

go ahead and post the info

:booga post post away

October 12, 2003

I hope you have some time to read this, so here it goes. First you need to remove the rear seat cushion, lift up on the front edge of the seat, as it is attached with a pop in tab on either side. Once you unfasten the seat from the car, you will need to unplug all of the electronics from the seat bottom. Now you need to get the seat back out. There are, I believe 8 bolts (I cant remember exactly what size, but they are fairly large, 17-19mm) attaching the seatback to the car at the bottom of the seat where the seatbelts are. Take all of these out, but VERY IMPORTANT, keep all of these in order where they go and what brackets accompany them because they are not all the same. Once all of those bolts are removed, then raise the middle headrest up as far as it will go, and hidden behind the leather flap are two 10mm bolts, remove those. Flip down the center armrest and pop out the little trim ring around the trunk pass-through panel. It is just clipped in, no screws. Now grab the bottom of the seatback and pull straight up towards the roof and it will come off of the two hooks holding it in. Now the seatback is out, set it aside. Now you need to take off all of the pillar covers in order to remove the rear deck. The C-pillar cover is actually two or three separate pieces, attached with a few 10mm bolts and a few torx screws. I cant remember how many exactly, but they are clearly visible at this time. Then you need to remove the grab-handle, pull the handle down, and there are two torx screws covered by two little plastic covers. Once you get the grab handle out, take out the popdown hook, by opening it and taking out the screw inside. Once that is out there is one more screw behind where the hook was that is holding the piece to the car. Now all of the pillar covers will be off and you just need to remove the deck, as it goes about 6 inches up the window and its virtually impossible to squeege behind this. I tried, no good. Pop off the subwoofer grille (no screws) now there are 4 torx holding the deck down around the sub remove these. Now pop off the speakergrille/brakelight cover that is at the very back of the deck, (no screws here either, but you will need to unplug the brake light. There will be I believe two screws under this brakelight cover holding the deck down. Once all of those have been removed, you need to go inside the trunk compartment and drop the upper carpeting to remove the last few screws holding the deck down. There are three black plastic pop out tabs, remove these, also remove the two pull down hooks (two phillips screws in each one). Now start pulling the carpeting down just until it reveals the bolts that attach the deck (under where the sunshade is) to the frame. I cant remember what size or how many, but I believe they are 14mm and Im pretty sure there are three. Once you have removed these bolts from the trunk compartment, the deck will slide right out. Some tips that I learned that I wished someone had told me, wait to do the quarter windows until you reassemble the deck as I messed up both of them in the process. Make sure and keep track of each and every screw, bolt, and everything else and keep them in exact order as to where they go and what they attach to, I spent more time than I wanted to attempting to put the wrong screw in the wrong place. Most of all just take your time and stay away from any handguns or other potentially dangerous items until after you have finished, or you may be tempted to use them in a manner not approved by the manufacturer. Good luck. I am not able to check this message board as often as I would like, but if you have a question please feel free to email me at b_primaris@hotmail.com. I will be more than happy to help you to avoid the mental anguish that I endured doing the first one.

October 12, 2003

man, thanks for the info dude TOTW material maybe :booga I'm gonna print this and keep it for my records, and I'm DEFINITELY gonna charge alot more for this one :cool thanks again dude :lol

October 13, 2003

Hopefully that helps somewhat. The actual window is easy, but the disassembly and reassembly are horrible. I charge an additional $200 to do this car. Quite a chunk of change, but with the time it takes, I believe it is more than fair. Plus, the sticker on all of these that I have done has been over $85,000, so if the owner wants it done correctly, then they will be happy to pay the extra. Like I said if you need anything else, just email me. Thanks.

June 26, 2004

Ive seen the other post where someone removed just the headrests, I tried this first and couldn't get them out, but tried tinting it anyway, and the last 6 inches of the window looked like sh!t regardless of what I did. So when I get an A8, the only way that I will touch the rear glass is with the deck out. Ive done 5 or so, so I consider myself fairly experienced with this particular car (I know 5 isnt many for normal cars, but I consider this one an exception).

BK