Page 884 of 1002
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51 3-6
Interior Trim
Remove parking bralte lever side cover fasteners (arrows)
4 Unclip trim boot for parking brake lever and pull boot and
handle forward off brake lever. Remove parking
bralte cover
fastener
(arrow) and remove cover.
4 Remove fasteners at rear of console (arrows).
4 With left and right seats in lowest position, remove side con-
sole fasteners
(arrow).
- Remove left and right side console trim covers. See Lower
- Remove center console.
- Installation is reverse of removal.
Page 893 of 1002

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51 3-1 5
I Interior Trim
Dash panel support, removing and
installing
- Remove lower dash panel. See Lower dash panel assem-
bly, removing and installing.
- Remove upper dash panel. See Upper dash assembly, re-
moving and installing.
- Remove upper steering column fasteners. See 320 Steering
and Wheel Alignment.
4 Remove dash support fasteners (arrows).
Remove wire ties as necessary and remove support.
- Installation is reverse of removal.
Rear parcel shelf, removing and installing
(models without rear
HPS airbags)
WARNING-
On 1998 and later models, rear Head Protection System
(HPS)
airbags may be installed (optional equipment). The
procedure given below does not covermodels with rear HPS
airbags. See721
Airbag System (SRS).
- Remove C-pillar trim panels. See Rear window pillar trim
panel (C-pillar), removing and installing.
- Remove rear seat backrest. See 520 Seats.
- Rear parcel shelf removing:
Remove center headrest fasteners.
Remove
seatbelt floor mounting fasteners.
Carefully pry out safety belt trim panels and feed
seatbelt
through slots.
. . . - -. . . . . . . . . Remove expansion rivets and slide pane fonvard to re-
move.
< Remove expanson r:vets (arrows).
Remove vent panels (A).
Remove speafter pane s (B).
Remove center head rest s-pporl fasteners (C).
Slioe parcel shelf forward lo remove.
- lnsta lation s reverse of removal.
Page 924 of 1002

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l Seats
Seat repair and component replacement is possible once the
seat has been removed from the vehicle.
Before servicing front seats read safety regulations on han-
dling
airbag modules and pyrotechnic seatbelt tensioners.
See
720 Seat belts and 721 Airbag system (SRS).
WARNING-
. The front seats are equipped with pyrotechnic seat belt
tensioners. These tensioners are powerful devices and
should be handled with exfreme care. Incorrect handling
can trigger off the tensioner and cause injury.
BMW recommends that all repair or replacement
worlc
on pyrotechnic devices must be carried out by a quali-
fied
BMW technician.
Be sure to disconnect the battery and wait
5 seconds
before attempting to work on pyrotechnic devices.
During body straightening and welding with an electric
arc welder, always disconnect the battery and the con-
nection to the pyrotechnic gas generators.
Seat switch and memory module, removing
and installing
- Remove front seat. See Front seats, removing and install-
ing.
- Carefully pull seat adjusting ltnobs straight out to remove.
Remove screw fastener
(A) and trim clips (B), turn side panel
downward to remove.
Disconnect electrical harness connector
(arrow).
Page 925 of 1002
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520-5
Seats
1
4 Release mounting tabs (arrows) and remove switch module.
Front seat, removing and installing
- Turn ignition switch to OFF position.
Remove front and rear rail trim panels:
Raise center of trim panel
(A) to release loclting pin.
Unlock and lift out inner mounting clips tabs
(6).
Slide trim panel off rail (arrow) to remove.
< Remove seat belt mounting fastener (arrow) from seat
frame.
Page 926 of 1002
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--. .
1 Seats
4 Remove fasteners (arrows) from rear
- Move seat as far back as possible. of
seat rails
4 Open seat electrical harness cover (A) to release plug loclc
(6) and disconnect electrical connector (C).
Page 927 of 1002
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Seats
< Remove front seat rail fasteners (arrows)
- Remove front seat from car. Headrest may be removed to
provide additional clearance.
NOTE-
Use a blanket to protect the door sill from scuffing by seat
rails
during seat removal.
- Installation is reverse of removal. Use wire ties or equivalent
means to keep seat harness wiring from fraying.
Tightening torques
Front seat to floor
42 Nm (31 ft-lb)
Seat belt end to seat frame
48 Nm (35 ft-lb)
E39 models are equipped with at least three different ver-
sions of rear seats. This manual only covers the standard
seat used in sedan models.
Rear seat cushion and backrest, removing
and installing (sedan only)
4 Pull front of rear seat cushion up to release clips. While hold-
ing front of cushion up, pull cushion forward to remove.
Page 928 of 1002
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Seats
Remove left and right side bacltrest mounting fasteners (ar-
row).
Pull up on backrest to detach from top retainers. Slide back-
rest to side to clear seat belts while removing.
NOTE-
If the car is equipped with heatedrearseats, detach electrical
harness
connector(s) as you remove the seat components.
4 When reinstalling, be sure to pull seat belts and buckles (ar-
rows) up through appropriate slots in seat cushion.
Headrest, removing and installing
- Slide headrest as far up as possible.
Press guides (arrows)
back and
Installation is reverse of removal pull
upward to remove
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- -
Seat Belts
Front seat belt tensioner, removing and
installing
- Disconnect battery negative (-) cable in trunk.
The
front seat belt loclts are equipped with pyrotechnic (ex-
plosive charge) automatic tensioners. These tensioners are
designed to automatically retract and tension the seat belt by
55 mm (approximately 2 inches) in the event of an accident.
CAUTION-
Prior to disconnecting the battery, read the battery discon-
nection cautions given in
001 General Warnings and Cau-
tions.
WARNING-
Pyrotechnic seat belt tensioners are powerful devices and
should be handled with extreme care. Incorrect handling
can trigger the tensioner and cause injury
BMW recommends that all repair or replacement work
on pyrotechnic devices must be carried out by a quali-
fied BMW technician.
Be sure to disconnect the battery and wait
5 seconds
before attempting to work on pyrotechnic devices.
Pyrotechnic devices cannot be repaired. Always re-
place them.
Never treat pyrotechnic components with cleaning
agents or grease.
- Do not expose pyrotechnic components to tempera-
tures above
75% (167°F).
Pyrotechnic components can only be tested electrically
when installedusing the
BMWService Tester (DISplus,
GTI, or MoDiC).
Do not fire a pyrotechnic gas generatorprior to dispos-
al. It must be fired by a special disposal company or
shipped
back to BMW in the packaging of the new com-
ponent.
During body straightening and welding with an electric
arc welder, always disconnect the battery and the con-
nection to the pyrotechnic gas generators.
- Remove front seat as described in 520 Seats.
-