First of all, hello to everyone!

A few weeks back some extremely ignorant woman an a rather large SUV plowed into the back of my EP3 and I was quite upset by it. The dent is fairly treatable, though, and I'd like to just pop it out myself without having to go to a body shop or do anything serious.

My problem, embarrassingly, is that I can't get the plastic panel on the hatch off in order to get down to the dent. I've removed the small screw inside the little handle/cup on the passenger side, and it seems like the large bottom piece is either held in by the smaller trim pieces that go around the top, or there's just something I'm missing. Any ideas?

Thanks a million,

Nick

 

It's held in by many small clips. Once you get that screw out you just have to pull until the panel comes off. Be prepared, though. You will have to replace several of the clips as they will break and they are not cheap.

On a side note: Homemade bodywork

 

Hi Nick! Welcome to the site. Since you own an EP3 I'd also recommend you visit ephatch.com, tons of good info over there.

When you remove that interior panel you'll also need to remove the upper trim piece near the 3rd brake light, and the two side panels. If you're having trouble with the side panels you can wrap a rag around a flathead screwdriver (rag prevents scratching paint) to pry up the panels.

There are also 2 push-in clips near the hatch lever, it looks like a circle inside a circle. Push in the middle circle and it will pop up the outer circle, and then you can remove it.

Once those three pieces are removed, you can (gently) pull off the middle panel. It helps if you start from the side and work your way across. I use a special clip removal tool (looks like a fork with 2 prongs) to help pop out the clips, but it's not necessary. If some of the clips rip out from the body, you can slide them back onto the panel. You'll see what I mean once you have it apart.

Good luck with that dent though You might want to gently heat the panel with a blow drier so the paint doesn't crack when you push the dent back out.

 

I would suggest getting one of the panel pry plier things. I bought one for my door panels. Saves a world of trouble and broken tabs and stuff. Hopefully everything works out for you.