A3 8V Pre Facelift - Honeycomb Grill Install Guide

[MikeBoiii286]

This is a guide on removing and installing the front grill on an Audi A3 8V Pre Facelift.
This guide is specifically for an Audi A3 8V S-Line Pre-Facelift but will work on any A3 8V with little difference.

Firstly before you decide to swap out your grill know that this job was difficult for the sole reason of removing all the darn plastic clips that attach the grill to the front bumper. It isn't a difficult job but requires lots of patience so be warned

Tools Required:

1. Socket Set with some extension bars.
2. T25 and T30 Bits
3. (Optional) - Dremel with cutting attachment

Guide:

1. Firstly 'Jack up your car' and remove both front wheels
2. Start from the underside of the car and remove the screws(Approx 14) running along the bottom of the grill. The middle ones are different lengths so keep track of what goes where.
3. Once the underside is removed we can focus on the wheel arches. Remove the following screws:
   • 
4. Pull back the Wheel Arch and optionally use a bungee tie to make the next step easier
   • 
5. We need to remove two bolts securing the bumper to the chassis which are located at the seam where the bumper meets the fender. Using an extension bar will make this easier but it is possible to do this with a small ratchet. The bolts are located at the top and side of the 'L' shaped meeting point(see picture)
   • 
6. Once Steps 3, 4 and 5 are completed on both sides of the car place some mats or towels under your bumper to protect it from scratches and proceed to the next step
7. Open your Bonnet and undo the Three Screws with Large Washers at the top of your original grill.
   • 
8. Gently Pull Out and Up to loosen the front bumper from the Chassis. Be careful as you need to detach cables before lowering the bumper to the ground. From memory, there are three cables to detach(2 fog light cables and 1 cable on passenger side) and the connector for headlight washers if you have this as an optional extra.
   • 
   • 
9. After the bumper is removed you should have a screw collection that looks like this
   • 
10. Before removing the grill unscrew the crash sensor and move the wire loom and Headlight washer tube out of the way to make removing the grill easier and avoid any accidental damage during the next step
    • 
11. Now here comes the tricky part where we need to gently pry the countless clips around the grill to separate it from the bumper. If you find your clips are relatively easy to pry apart continue separating the clips until the grill is free and you can skip the next step
12. Unfortunately for me, the clips were incredibly difficult to separate and after lots of attempts, A small crack appeared on the thin part of the bumper where the headlights are. Fortunately, this isn't visible when the bumper is back on so instead I made the tough decision to use a Dremel to cut the grill out rather than risk cracking the bumper further. After lots of careful cutting, I removed the old grill and clipped the new one in place
    • 
13. With your new grill in you can put the wiring loom and headlight washer pipe back where they belong. The crash sensor can then be screwed into the new grill. In my case, no screw hole existed on the new grill for this so I reused the metal screw hole clip with some zip ties to fasten it in place ensuring it is secure.
    • 
14. Now you should at a stage where we can attempt to put back on the bumper with the new grill. Carefully test fit the bumper and look for any clearance issues. In my case, my crash bar had foam over the bar itself which is different from what I've seen in other tutorials online. The good news with this was I didn't have to spray paint the crash bar however on test fitting I noticed the parking sensor plastic clips on the new grill weren't allowing the bumper to go back in so I had to cut them off from the grill. This was fine as my car doesn't have parking sensors but I'm sure if the car did come with parking sensors from the factory this wouldn't be an issue.
    • 
15. Now after all this you can push the connectors back into the bumper and test fit ensuring the bumper and fenders are lining up on each side. With the fitment all ok you can screw everything back in starting with the 2 bolts on the 'L' bracket on either side where the bumper and fender line up to secure it in place.
16. Congratulations sit back and admire your new grill
    • 

Hope you found this Guide helpful. If you have any questions or feedback PM me or comment below

 

[Peter Peter]

Even those small fog lights grills change to real ones ''open''

 

[pburv]

This is a guide on removing and installing the front grill on an Audi A3 8V Pre Facelift.
This guide is specifically for an Audi A3 8V S-Line Pre-Facelift but will work on any A3 8V with little difference.

Firstly before you decide to swap out your grill know that this job was difficult for the sole reason of removing all the darn plastic clips that attach the grill to the front bumper. It isn't a difficult job but requires lots of patience so be warned

Tools Required:

1. Socket Set with some extension bars.
2. T25 and T30 Bits
3. (Optional) - Dremel with cutting attachment

Guide:

1. Firstly 'Jack up your car' and remove both front wheels
2. Start from the underside of the car and remove the screws(Approx 14) running along the bottom of the grill. The middle ones are different lengths so keep track of what goes where.
3. Once the underside is removed we can focus on the wheel arches. Remove the following screws:
   • View attachment 206926
4. Pull back the Wheel Arch and optionally use a bungee tie to make the next step easier
   • View attachment 206927
5. We need to remove two bolts securing the bumper to the chassis which are located at the seam where the bumper meets the fender. Using an extension bar will make this easier but it is possible to do this with a small ratchet. The bolts are located at the top and side of the 'L' shaped meeting point(see picture)
   • View attachment 206928
6. Once Steps 3, 4 and 5 are completed on both sides of the car place some mats or towels under your bumper to protect it from scratches and proceed to the next step
7. Open your Bonnet and undo the Three Screws with Large Washers at the top of your original grill.
   • View attachment 206929
8. Gently Pull Out and Up to loosen the front bumper from the Chassis. Be careful as you need to detach cables before lowering the bumper to the ground. From memory, there are three cables to detach(2 fog light cables and 1 cable on passenger side) and the connector for headlight washers if you have this as an optional extra.
   • View attachment 206930
   • View attachment 206931
9. After the bumper is removed you should have a screw collection that looks like this
   • View attachment 206947
10. Before removing the grill unscrew the crash sensor and move the wire loom and Headlight washer tube out of the way to make removing the grill easier and avoid any accidental damage during the next step
    • View attachment 206948
11. Now here comes the tricky part where we need to gently pry the countless clips around the grill to separate it from the bumper. If you find your clips are relatively easy to pry apart continue separating the clips until the grill is free and you can skip the next step
12. Unfortunately for me, the clips were incredibly difficult to separate and after lots of attempts, A small crack appeared on the thin part of the bumper where the headlights are. Fortunately, this isn't visible when the bumper is back on so instead I made the tough decision to use a Dremel to cut the grill out rather than risk cracking the bumper further. After lots of careful cutting, I removed the old grill and clipped the new one in place
    • View attachment 206949
13. With your new grill in you can put the wiring loom and headlight washer pipe back where they belong. The crash sensor can then be screwed into the new grill. In my case, no screw hole existed on the new grill for this so I reused the metal screw hole clip with some zip ties to fasten it in place ensuring it is secure.
    • View attachment 206950
14. Now you should at a stage where we can attempt to put back on the bumper with the new grill. Carefully test fit the bumper and look for any clearance issues. In my case, my crash bar had foam over the bar itself which is different from what I've seen in other tutorials online. The good news with this was I didn't have to spray paint the crash bar however on test fitting I noticed the parking sensor plastic clips on the new grill weren't allowing the bumper to go back in so I had to cut them off from the grill. This was fine as my car doesn't have parking sensors but I'm sure if the car did come with parking sensors from the factory this wouldn't be an issue.
    • View attachment 206955
15. Now after all this you can push the connectors back into the bumper and test fit ensuring the bumper and fenders are lining up on each side. With the fitment all ok you can screw everything back in starting with the 2 bolts on the 'L' bracket on either side where the bumper and fender line up to secure it in place.
16. Congratulations sit back and admire your new grill
    • View attachment 206956

Hope you found this Guide helpful. If you have any questions or feedback PM me or comment below

Well put together post. Thank you

 

[MikeBoiii286]

Even those small fog lights grills change to real ones ''open''

Good mod advice, On my list of things to do when my bank account allows me

 

[Dylsz]

Hi Mike great post, just wondering where you purchased the grill?

 

[MikeBoiii286]

Thanks, I purchased it on Ebay for £100 but looks like they raised the price.. I'll PM you the link.
It was a flawless grill but the logo and number plate logos had to be spray painted gloss black. Great value for £100 but not at the price they are asking now.

 

[Khufu]

that's a shame RE the price. I fancied the RS3 FL style grill pattern for my pre FL car but hadn't seen it when looking. Could only see the older style diamond hatch. Last week I upgraded to ACC so now have a hole in my grill & I've never seen a PFL RS3 style grill with radar hole.

 

[Dylsz]

Thanks, I purchased it on Ebay for £100 but looks like they raised the price.. I'll PM you the link.
It was a flawless grill but the logo and number plate logos had to be spray painted gloss black. Great value for £100 but not at the price they are asking now.

Hey man thanks for the response, yeah €100 would have been amazing €500 is a bit much for what i was hoping for


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[CanadaA3wales]

They are about 230.00 on a 8V from a UK seller and well regarded site.
The ones on ebay are 119.00 from germany and get really good reviews.
If you want to pay over 250.00 you get the honeycomb grill ring inserts if thats important.
I would link the UK site but cant remember it for the life of me.

If you want to know DM me and I will find it for you.