Cowl Retainer

Your vehicle's cowl retainer is a simple component that's responsible for attaching the cowl to the rest of the car's body. Although generally made from high-quality materials, it's still not resistant to damages. If you've somehow damaged the cowl retainer of your car, you need to replace it as soon as you can. It's a good thing that you don't need professional help just to get this done. Using just the basic hand tools, you can change the damaged cowl retainer in no time. To help you out with this procedure, check out these following steps:

Difficulty level: Easy

What you'll need:

• Flathead screwdriver
• Replacement cowl retainers
• Owner's manual
• Flashlight
• Towel

Step 1: Park your vehicle on a level ground to make sure that it won't budge while you're working on the cowl retainer. Make sure that you're also in a well-lit and well-ventilated area to ensure maximum comfort while you're doing the rest of the procedure.

Step 2: Locate your car's damaged cowl retainer. Finding it should be no problem since the retainers are usually located just underneath the cowl of the car. If you're having trouble with this step, try consulting your owner's manual to get vehicle-specific instructions.

Step 3: Once you've successfully located the damaged cowl retainer, see if there any car parts that are hindering your access to it. You need to get them out of the way in order to easily carry out the rest of the replacement procedures. In most cases, the wipers and weatherstrip seal are the only components that should be taken off.

Step 4: Carefully remove the wiper arms of your car. To do this, you first need to detach the locking tabs below the wiper arms using a flathead screwdriver. Make sure that you do this cautiously to avoid damaging the wipers. You also don't need to separate the wiper blade from the assembly.

Step 5: Once you've detached the locking tabs, pull the wiper arms off the vehicle and set them aside on a clean and organized area.

Step 6: Now that you've got the wiper arms out of the way, the next thing you should remove is the weatherstrip seal. Pull it off the hood using your hands. Be extra careful when doing this step to avoid the rubber seal from breaking.

Step 7: After you remove the wiper arms and weatherstrip seal, you should now be able to access the cowl retainer. The procedure to disengage this component may vary for every vehicle, so make sure that you have your owner's manual with you for further guidance. You may need to use a screwdriver to pry it off. Make sure you apply just the right amount of pressure to avoid damaging anything else. You should also place a towel over the windshield to protect it from abrasive debris.

Step 8: Once you've successfully disengaged the damaged cowl retainer, remove it from the vehicle and install the replacement cowl retainer in its place.

Step 9: Reattach all the components that you removed earlier including the weatherstrip seal and wiper arms.

This easy replacement procedure only takes around 30 minutes to finish.