All I can say about this is that I am sure glad that we have discovered that it is NOT necessary to take this cover off to retrofit paddle shifters. It is a very frustrating and difficult task, and the instructions provided in the Phaeton Repair Manual (including the VESIS documentation) are not very clear or helpful.

So - just in case anyone has to remove this cover in the future, I have posted some photos below in an attempt to better explain the process. I think that if - before you start the work - you have an idea of how the plenum chamber cover attaches to the retaining channel in the bottom of the windshield glass, then it will be a bit easier to comprehend what you have to do to remove it.

Michael

Instructions provided in the Repair Manual
not very explicit, in my opinion.

The Plenum Chamber Cover, showing where the attachment point is.
The attachment point runs the full length of the bottom of the windshield.
The thin strip of rubber between the bottom of the windshield and the plenum chamber cover is attached to the windshield, not the cover - so, it remains in place after you remove the plenum chamber cover.

First, you remove this part, which is described as the 'additional cover' on page 64-7 of the Repair Manual.
This is easy. The fasteners rotate symmetrically on either side. They only rotate about 45 degrees, no further.

It helps to know where the retaining hooks for the 'additional cover' (shown above) are before you try to remove it.

Once you have the 'additional cover' off, remove these three clips from the plenum chamber cover.

This picture shows you the edge of the plenum chamber cover that snaps into the bottom of the retaining channel in the windshield.
It requires a remarkable amount of upward force to get this clip removed from the bottom of the windshield. It was designed to stay in place at speeds of up to 300 km/h.

Once you get the edge out at the very end of the windshield, everything becomes much easier. But, it is really difficult to get the first part of the plenum chamber cover out of the bottom of the windshield.
The trick is to lift the plenum chamber cover straight up (in other words, at a right angle to the windshield) using a lifting tool.

Once you have the first 6 inches released, the rest is easy.
After you remove the whole cover, flood the clip at the base of the windshield with soapy water before you re-install the cover. This will flush sand, dirt, etc. out of the retaining clip, making re-installation MUCH easier.

When you re-install the 'additional cover', pay attention to how you tuck the rubber flaps on the plenum chamber cover underneath the 'additional cover'. It's easy to get it wrong. The rubber flaps go on top of the 'additional cover', as you can see in the first photo at this thread: Yikes...Water in Footwell

Michael

Modified by PanEuropean at 11:58 PM 3-24-2008