Hi all,

Has anyone removed the front grill (oval shaped)? Can it be done without removing the entire front fender? Any tricks to doing it?

I’d assume you have to remove the front bumper first.

 

I was looking at pictures of grill and bumper, but unable to see if there are screws or if it’s possible to slide in credit cards to unclip it.

 

There isn't a modern Audi in existence where you can remove the front grill without first taking the entire front bumper off (without destroying it).

 

There was a thread about this a while back, in reference to "blacking out" the grill. It requires lots of disassembly. Sorry.

 

It might be possible to remove the front grille w/o removing the bumper fascia by removing the underbody panel to gain access to the clips. If you have long skinny arms, you can easily reach to pop those clips out.

I don't remember who the member was, but he posted this instruction a while ago.

 

"Possible" and "advisable" aren't the same thing. Breaking those tabs would be an expensive mistake. $0.02

I would suck it up and pull the bumper shroud or leave well enough alone. Probably the latter.

 

I took the underbody trim off my ID.4 to check the front motor during a 4 year service. You can’t see the grille at all… the styrofoam surround for the air intake blocks everything. The motor was fine, btw… no leaks or rust or anything, but I annoyed the spiders.

 

If you really want to swap the grill out, it's not a difficult job if you're comfortable with this sort of work. Modern cars pretty much follow the same pattern and I've done this job on about half a dozen Audi's over the years.

Generally, there are a line of screws than run along the bottom underside where the front end connects to the undertray. Then there is a line under the bonnet/hood and the remainder are at the inside edge of the front wheel arches. Often there may be one or two behind the wheel arch liner as well.

Then you can release it and disconnect PDC wires and headlight washer tubes if applicable.

Once the front end is off you can access the screws and clips that hold the grill in place from the rear.

If you want step by step instructions, you can pay around £10 to get an hours access to Audi's online repair system - ERWIN and download PDF files of the relevant workshop manual sections.

Fitting in reverse is easier with two people to line everything up but it's possible for one person to manage it.

 

If you really want to swap the grill out, it's not a difficult job if you're comfortable with this sort of work.

And therein lies the rub. This is not the shallow end of the pool, and scratching the bumper shroud or breaking off tabs would be a very expensive mistake.

I have taken off bumper shrouds, but never on a new vehicle, and I have the proper trim tools and many years ( decades ) of experience digging into car interiors to access audio equipment.

It is essential to be methodical and patient. If you can't walk away for a while and drive something else if necessary, think twice before you start. An experienced second set of hands would be very helpful.