Replacing your car carpet can be a quick way to customize or upgrade your car. It’s also an easy way to get rid of nasty stains, burns or damaged carpet. This can be done by any car enthusiast who has an afternoon to spare.
Take out the car’s seats and seatbelts. The front seats are generally bolted to the floor at four points. You can access the nuts from underneath the car through holes in the floor. For rear seats, you may need to release the bottom of the seat, which may require you releasing the seat via a clip or latch. The rear seat back should hang from brackets at the top and be attached to the bottom by fasteners. Once the seats are removed, the bolts for the seatbelts should be visible.
Remove any items that are in your way. The interior trim, kick panels and sill plates may need to be removed. You want to remove any screws and then gently pry pieces with the blade of a flat-head screwdriver. If a pushpin is holding an item in place, you need to get under the head and pry up and out. For consoles and shifters, first remove what you can see and then feel around for any attachments hidden by trim caps or attached to the floor pan.
Pull out the old carpet. Now that everything is out of your way you can pull the carpet up at one end and roll it up. You want to use the old carpet as a template for the replacement carpet. It’s easier to replace the carpet if you trim the new carpet and mark any holes with chalk according to the template.
Install the new carpet. The easiest way to do this is to lay the carpet on the floor and center it. The heal pad should be under the brake the gas and brake pedals. Some people find it useful to install the screws into the floor pan to help you know where the holes should be in the carpet. Smooth the carpet from the center out to the edges to ensure a tight fit and cut the holes in the carpet as you go along.
Trim the edges as you go. If you used your old carpet as a template, the new carpet should be slightly larger than the template. You want to use a utility knife to trim any holes that need to be larger and to trim the edges of the installed carpet. Be careful not to over cut or catch the threads of the screw in the carpet.
Reinstall your car parts. You need to be sure to secure everything properly. Double check that your nuts are tight. If you have any leftover attachments you might want to check the floor pan for holes you missed. You can poke a hole into the new carpet with an awl and adjust the size of the hole with a utility knife.