In 2020 I picked up a CPO 2018 Macan and noticed when I was detailing the car the piano black pieces all had micro-cracks in them. I took the car to the dealer and had them replace all of them under warranty. I PPF all of the new pieces and that has been helping keep them looking new. Appreciate the tutorial on the installation of the replacement pieces.

 

Sorry I’m late to the party, but I’m in the same predicament with a 2018 CPO. As far as I knew the dealership would NOT replace cosmetic parts. Just curious how your conversation went so maybe I can bring up a few points to my local dealer. Thanks!

 

Great write up, thanks. Mine started flaking on my Cayenne Turbo, sold it before replacing them.

 

These trim pieces are the bane of my existence. I've had mine vinyl wrapped but the expansion of the plastic beneath still causes issues.

Mind sharing rough cost on all 6 pieces? I feel like I priced it out once and it was around $1k.

 

I was able to find them for about $50-60 a piece so for about $350 (shipping/taxes) it was a worthwhile adventure. Because I didn't want to wait months, I sourced them from (sunsetporscheparts.com, getporschesilverspringparts.com & porscheburlingameparts.com) and still had to wait about 6 weeks. I did the vinyl wrap as well but didn't hold up. I love my Macan and will be driving it for years to come. This was the only thing that started to go and really makes a difference.

 

Thanks for posting this; it's intersting. I was wondering how much work it was to replace the pillar trim.

I have a 2023 S and I just had all of this gloss black trim covered with PPF - mainly to prevent swirls and scratches from people grabbing onto the trim to close the doors. I wonder if it will help with the long-term stability of the trim? Or if just by parking it indoors would help (and using a UV protecting sealant/wax).

 

Thanks for posting this; it's intersting. I was wondering how much work it was to replace the pillar trim.

I have a 2023 S and I just had all of this gloss black trim covered with PPF - mainly to prevent swirls and scratches from people grabbing onto the trim to close the doors. I wonder if it will help with the long-term stability of the trim? Or if just by parking it indoors would help (and using a UV protecting sealant/wax).

There are two elements I think at play - The finish which PPF and UV protection should help but the other issue is the actual trim piece (gloss black, carbon, etc.) is connected to the structural element of the trim piece (for all 3 on each side). The parts are glued/heated(?) together and I think the connection is a stress point as this is where I saw the cracks from. It may eventually crack vertically over time but that might have something to do with the exterior trim plastic degrading over time. Good plan on tackling it sooner than later.

 

nice write up. I ended up vinyl wrapping it for now... and it looks too good to go for a full on replacement.

 

Wow I had figured these would be good for at least 2-3 years. A 2023?!

 

With ~1300 miles. I picked it up Jan 26th.

 

Any of you fellow owners with PPF done satin film? If so can you share a photo?

My window trim is satin black wrapped and I'm considering getting the new pillar trims ppf in satin...concerned about the sheen being off though.

 

Well this thread gave me the courage to try this myself...I honestly thought the parts were more expensive which is 95% of the reason I had put it off.

Got everything installed today and despite my BEST efforts my passenger rear regular/motor threw an absolute fit on the first attempt rolling the window up. Now I am getting a slow rolling window, rolls crooked occasionally, and sounds like it's full of gravel.

Good news, rear regulator DIY incoming as soon as parts arrive!

 

Ya, the rear windows are the crux. Once the B-pillar and C-pillar trim pieces are in, start the reassembly of the rubber gasket with the rear rubber 6-8" tail is so that it is seated inside the C-trim bottom section that extends inside the door. Then the glass fits inside the rubber trim. You should then be able to move the window up and down with your hand before you latch it into the retaining clip. I almost broke my rear window and trim piece the first time assembling the rubber trim and tail.

 

You're not kidding. Funny thing is I got the 1st rear window seated properly by dumb luck...installed perfectly. The 2nd one I took my time and triple checked...and that's the one that trashed the regulator.

The room to work inside the door panel to get the window in that seal is very very tight. Doable. But not enjoyable.

Fwiw the entire process is very straightforward. Bonus is that the regulator and motor are very cheap and straight forward to replace if you do experience an issue.

 

2017 Macan GTS. Bought used 2/2022. Geat car. Finally finished the extended warranty work on engine oil leaks at the dealer. Tedious, but, I think a necessary process. Now doing some cosmetic clean up. People who see the pillar covers say they’ve never seen anything like these before. I got right and left B pillar covers from SunCoast. Looks like I’ll have to buy the C pillar covers, too. The dealer quote was not realistic. I got another quote from a paint group I want to repair sod scratchesm. I’m in Norther VA - what people here call the DMV Area (District/Maryland/Virginia). Anyone know a shop that can install them?

 

Hi did you ever find anyone to install yours? I also have a 2017 ( also bought used) and need to replace mine. Plan to keep this car for some time and it makes me nuts that they look so awful. I am also in the DMV/NOVA any tip would be appreciated.

 

 

Mine look exactly like yours, going to have to order all new ones. The back ones look like too much work for me though

 

Just finished replacing the regulator and motor on the rear door...probably the easiest job I've done on this car...so simple it's hardly worth the write up.

There are 3 nuts holding the motor in place, remove these, disconnect the harness, and pull the motors straight back. There are 2 nuts holding the regulator in place at the top and bottom (top is hidden behind a plastic cap). Remove these. Last thing to do, push the 3 plastic mounting clips that the motor was mounted to into the door (this bit is connected to the regulator.) finally, fish the regulator out of the door - install in reverse order.

The entire process took me about 30 minutes and total parts cost was $160 from europa parts (and they oddly had them in stock).

Silky smooth operation now. Odd thing is, visibly everything about the old parts looks just fine...must have been some internal carnage.

 

This is great, one on my passenger side is cracked. Looks like someone tried to pull it. Thanks for this!!

 

Picked up a ‘20 GTS a few weeks back. Noticed three of them have vertical cracks. Since it’s still under warranty the dealer is replacing them under warranty! I’m grateful for that!

Great write up!

 

I agree, that's a great description of the process. It's a shame that this happens after a relatively brief period of time. Porsche should cover this. Perhaps this will be the next class action, $30 million in legal fees and a $100 to owners.

 

mine cracked on passenger front door like 3 months into ownership. they tried to tell me that they think something hit It bc they've never seen this nd somehow of course it was free warranty fix bc of course its a known defect

 

my car porsche 2018 has all 6 pillars cracked at the same time, i brought it to the dealer where i purchase my car in 2019, still under manufacture warranty until 06/2024. They inspected and said the damage didn't cover under warranty , they are cosmetic issues. i paid $149 preliminary inspection fees. They want to charge $2900 to replace all of the pillars if i agree to fix. I felt the porsche service didn't want to replace them. I just called Porsche North America to open a case yesterday , still waiting to here the outcome.

 

I had all of mine replaced under warranty and I bought a 2 year old CPO car.

 

My 1-week new (CPO demo) Macan is having driver’s door piece replaced tomorrow. I noticed the issue the day after I got it home. SA was ultra-apologetic that they didn’t notice it before delivery.

**** happens; how it’s handled is the important thing.

 

@raythecanuck@gmail.com where did you get your splash guards? they look great on the car!

 

Not 100% sure, but I think these were the ones I picked up.

They do require drilling holes through the trim to mount but looks pretty clean when done. I did it mostly to prevent additional rock chips in the lower sections of the car.

Ray

 

Great info, I swapped out the rear C pillar and the window now goes up cockeyed and stops. I can see down the channel that the window is in the track, but other than that I'm stumped. Maybe the rubber tail is out of line?

Any ideas?

 

Great info, I swapped out the rear C pillar and the window now goes up cockeyed and stops. I can see down the channel that the window is in the track, but other than that I'm stumped. Maybe the rubber tail is out of line? View attachment 277608
Any ideas?

Anyway, this rear c-pillar one was tricky. This post helps explains it in a bit more details (https://www.macanforum.com/threads/...-for-replacing-your-cracked-faded-b-and-c-pillar-trims-diy.188969/#post-2749365) Good luck.

 

Thanks for this info! I noticed the passenger front has a crack that looks kind of like an indent. The others I can see micro-cracks, almost spider webs, especially in the sun. Might wait until after winter to tackle them.

 

What are the part numbers for 41 & 43?

 

I wish I was brave enough to swap out the pieces. Mine are completely oxidized on one side.

 

Sorry, was not getting notifications on this thread. check out Step 8 from above: Replace the C Pillar trim piece but be careful to make sure the window fits inside of the molding near the rear of the car. There is a 6-8 inch rubber tail trim piece that fits inside the lower C-Pillar Trim to guide the window when it is moving upward. If you do not get this right, you may damage the trim piece or worse the window assembly. This was particularly tricky and as I recall (it's been a minute since I did mine) you can freely slide the window up and down before you connect it to the motor to be sure it's lined up correctly. Good luck. - Ray