Hi - My name is Paul and I listen to your show as often as possible. Here’s one I haven’t heard anyone ask …
2000 Audi A6, 55k miles. Got in my car after parking in the airport garage for a few days and the fabric on the inside of the roof was sagging in the middle above the back seat.
A week later it dropped completely so now it’s only being held up by the trim around the edges, which makes seeing through the rear view mirror very difficult.
There’s a gap in the back where the fabric surrounded the rear reading lights, and I can see up between the fabric and the metal roof. The metal is covered by yellow stuff that must have been the glue holding the fabric up.
It’s a black car, and I have been parking at the airport for 3 days almost every week for almost four years now. Until very recently I always parked outside so I guess the heat eventually wore the glue out.
Any ideas how to fix this and still have it looking right from the inside?
Thanks, paul
If you want it to “look right,” the only solution is to have the headliner replaced, and it will cost some money.
For a few dollars, however, you can buy upholstery screws at a fabric shop and they will hold the headliner up.
This is one of the disadvantages of owning a black car.
“it will cost some money.”
Some, but maybe not all that much. Cost me about $250 about 5 years ago (old Buick Century), and it looked great. Find an auto upholstery shop and get a quote.
I redid the one in my Chevy Celebrity with polar fleece held on by contact cement. Didnt cost much. Its been a few years and still looks good.
well before you do that, try ironing it. An iron on low will generally remelt the glue and make it sticky again.
I sed a staple gun on my old chevy not very pretty but it’s not on my head anymore .They make a fabric glue that comes in a spray can i’m not sure where you can obtain that.But i’ve heard it works well
I purchased the upholstery screws from Advance Auto Parts. If you space them correctly, it will look o.k. I have tried the spray glue meant for this purpose, but the results weren’t entirely satisfactory because some of the glue bled through the fabric.
I would agree that an auto trim and upholstery shop is the way to go to keep the original look and if you want top dollar if you trade or sell the car in the near future… I went this route the first time the headliner came down in my 1978 Oldsmobile. I think it cost about $125 at that time. The second time–about 12 years later, I fixed it with the upholstery screws from Advance Auto Parts. This cost me under $10.
An upholstry shop will do the reair in about two days, most of which is drying time. Don’t do it yourself, you want to keep up the value of the car. Parking for extended periods in the heat will cause the fabric to fall. The repairs use foam backed stuff that may hold up better. It will look good too.
I can sympathize with your problem. I wish someone could explain to me why automobile manufacturers use this method for the headliner. I’ve had this problem as I noted in an earlier posting. My 1965 Rambler had a one piece stiff headliner (I think it was fiberglass, but I’m not certain) that couldn’t come down and this car was the bottom of the line (Classic 550). This headliner could be cleaned with a damp cloth. I wish that the later model cars that I owned had this feature.