DIY Sunroof Panel tab fix & visor refresh by g60racer

To remove, first press on the left side of the dome light housing to release the mounting tabs, and swing it down. 

Disconnect the dome light wiring connector and put that aside. You'll see the two screws holding the mounting tabs in place - and most likely your mounting tabs are cracked from years of heat. 

This is a panel I've already fixed - will go into the "how to" of the tab fix a little later. But this is just a pic of what it looks like installed. Undo the two mounting screws and gently pull the panel back to release it from the sunroof trim. 

Disconnect the sunroof control switch (on early interiors). 

Here you can see how the Passat center sun visor clips on, and the replacement mounting tabs I used to fix the old cracked ones. The replacement tabs are small size D-ring picture mounting tabs that I got at Walmart. You can get them at Home Depot, Lowe's, or any other place that sells hardware for hanging pictures and frames. 

Here's my CF panel with the sunroof control switch mounted...

Used Krylon Paint for Plastic to freshen up the Passat sunvisor and have it match the new panel.

And while I was at it, decided to paint the old panel too, to freshen it up. 

As previously mentioned, the mounting tabs on my new panel needed repair. Here they are before the fix:

And here is the previously repaired panel which I used as a template for comparison, to repair the replacement...

I drilled holes in the same places, for the D-ring mounting tabs to secure to the panel.

Here's the D-ring in place before being secured with a screw.

And here is the panel with the D-rings secured in place. You can see how their little brackets line up nicely with the stock mounting tab location:

Re-installation is the reverse of removal... carefully slide the panel into place over the sunroof trim, and secure the mounting screws. Make sure to tuck in your sunroof wiring bundle up inside the headliner, so it doesn't stick out in the seam between the panel and headliner. 

Reconnect the dome light panel, and angle it back into place...

Voila! Fixed sunroof panel in place!! Ooh, SHINY!!!!

But wait - now the sunvisors look dirty in comparison. Guess I'll have to fix them too. 

Remove them with the two screws holding the brackets in place. On the passenger side, carefully pull out and disconnect the light harness for the vanity mirror. Then remove the retainer clips - again, just the two screws. 

Carefully push on one side of the vanity mirror to loosen the mounting tabs and angle it out. 

Here are the sun visors all clean and ready for paint. Oh yeah, I should mask off the vanity mirror pocket. 

Again, Krylon Paint for Plastic in light coats. 

And here they are, dry and reassembled:

And reinstalled in the car. I didn't clip the visors into the retainers yet because I want to let the paint cure for a couple days, so it doesn't rub off. 

Overall I'm very happy with how it came out. Now I gotta finish my auto-dimming rear view mirror so I can mount that... perhaps this week I'll have time for that project and will do another write-up. 

Hope this helps out those of you who have broken tabs, or who have been tempted to do black sun visors... drive fast!

The B4 sunshade clips are just crimped in place, so to install them on the Corrado panel you simply use a flat head screwdriver to release pressure on them and widen the clamps enough to fit over the edge of the panel. Slide them onto the Corrado panel, and the barbs will grip the material and hold it nicely. 

Then when you're installing it, make sure it's folded forward horizontal so it passes above the mirror. Then once the panel is secured, you can swing it down and it fills the gap nicely.

If the visors are cleaned with 70% isopropyl alcohol before paint, and painted in light coats, the paint should cure quickly - dry to touch in about 20 minutes, fully cured in a 24 hours. Of course that does depend on relative temperature and humidity as well, but the paint shouldn't be sticky.

Try angling it into the gap between the mirror and windshield as you're securing the panel? You just want to make sure it's basically pointed forward into the gap rather than backward toward you.