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Home › Car clip guides › Getting started
Most broken clips are broken on the way out, not the way in. The good news is that a few habits cut breakage a lot. This guide covers the four clip styles you will meet most: push pin rivet clips, scrivets, Christmas tree clips and moulding clips.
These have a centre pin that locks the legs open. Lift the pin first: get the tip of a forked tool under the pin head and raise it a few millimetres. Then lift the whole clip out. Pulling the outer head while the pin is still down is the most common way they snap. Replacements: rivet clips.
If the centre has a cross or slot, it is a screw. Undo it a few turns, then lift the body. If it spins without coming out, hold the head with a forked tool while you turn the screw. Replacements: scrivet clips.
These have no pin; the ribs hold the hole. Slide a forked tool under the head as close to the stem as you can and lift straight up, a little at a time. On a door card, release each clip partly before pulling any one fully, so the panel is not bent. Replacements: Christmas tree clips.
Exterior mouldings often slide or hook onto clips rather than pushing straight in. Look along the strip for the direction it releases. Lift near each clip, not in the middle of the strip, and check which clips stay on the body. Replacements: trim clips and sill and rocker panel clips.
If the head comes off and the stem stays in the hole, push it through from the front if there is space behind, or grip it with pliers from behind. Do not drill a plastic panel hole bigger, as the new clip will not hold. Measure the hole and the old clip before you order: how to measure a car clip.
Clips that came out whole and still grip firmly can go back in. Stretched, cracked or loose ones are worth replacing. More on this in reuse or replace car clips.
A typical front liner has 6 to 12 fasteners: push-pin rivets along the bumper edge, a few scrivets or screws at the guard, and sometimes a speed clip at the bottom. Turn the wheel for access, remove the screws first, then the push pins, and leave the clips nearest the top until last so the liner does not hang on one clip and tear. Count what came out, and check which ones are cracked before ordering.
Sometimes, but a plastic trim tool or a forked clip remover is much less likely to snap the clip or mark the paint. Screwdrivers tend to bend the clip head and scratch the panel.
On some push-pin rivets the pin has to be pushed through or pulled up, not turned. If it is a scrivet with a screw centre and it spins, hold the head still with a tool while you unscrew it.
Push the broken stem through from the front if you can, or pull it out from behind the panel. Do not leave pieces in the hole, because the new clip will not seat.
Sizes and fitting steps in our guides are general. Check your vehicle's manual for anything specific to your car. Questions? Call 0499 001004.
When buying 2 or more packets of the same item
| Qty | Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 packet (25pcs) | $12.95 | $14.95 | $20.95 |
| 2+ packets (50pcs) | $11.95 | $13.95 | $19.95 |
| 4+ packets (100pcs) | $8.95 | $10.95 | $16.95 |
Price per packet. Packets sold in 25pcs per packet.
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