Volvo Maintenance Hints for 7xx/9xx - Bill Garland's Nuclear ...

generally an overlapping system, with the front pieces on the bottom and the rear
pieces on the very top.
Climate Control Trim Surround. [Note from Pat Dwyer] The plastic trim piece that
goes around the heat-A/C control switches and goes leftward , ending at the left
edge of the ignition slot, is difficult to pry out, and probably fragile, but it did NOT
break under my ministrations. I used a knife blade to pry the plastic 'somewhat'
loose, all the way around, but it felt like it was stuck somewhere...and it was: just to
the right of the rear window defrost switch, where the plastic trim piece meets the
vertical console, there is a spring-tensioned clip holding the whole trim piece in
place, and it will take some wiggling and jiggling and cussing to pop the plastic off,
but it does come off, and all in one piece if you do it right!
Headlamp Switch Trim Surround. [Bob/John Shatzer] On 740/940 cars, pull the
headlamp knob off and gently pry the trim from the left side. On 960 cars with wood
trim, remove the narrow dash trim just above the headlamp switch trim surround
and be very careful of the wood veneer on the surround.
Kickpanels and Side Trim under Driver and Passenger Dashboards. To remove the
front trim panels where your feet are extended on either side of the front seats:
remove the large plastic body fixing plugs holding the kick panel to the upper
instrument panel. Pull down on the rear edge of the kick panel and maneuver this
backwards: some foam will be in the way and the panel itself is mounted in two
guides on each side on the left side and in one guide and next to the blower
housing on the right. Remove the panel. To remove the side trim at the bottom of
the A-pillar, unscrew the front two sill trim screws using a Torx driver. Carefully
maneuver the side trim out from under the sill trim, then pull back gently to remove.
The top of the side trim is inserted under the A-pillar trim: bend this slightly to
remove. On reinstallation of the right side trim, make sure the plastic catch on the
side trim engages the metal frame attached to the ECU mounting frame.
Door Panel Removal. The door panels are very easy to remove after you've done it once.
1. Later Cars. [Tip: Peter Gotseff] These instructions are primarily for 85 and newer 700
models w/ one piece door panel i.e. w/o a door strap, mine is an '89. Remember don't force too
much or you'll break trim clips
Remove plastic screw at the bottom of the door handle "cup" 1/4 turn and lift out the
whole "cup". The p/w switches can be removed now by removing their cover plate. This
always seems awkward but push the carpet cover back and remove the p/w switch cover
up and forward.
Pry speaker cover off by sliding forward only. There are two trim clips beneath the
forward edge of the speaker cover which help hold the door panel on.
Unscrew lock knob.
Unclip the three white door panel base clips with a small flathead screwdriver. These are
located at the bottom of the plastic door panel (look up at the bottom of the panel.) They
are removed by inserting blade and prying straight down to completely remove the clip