I needed to remove the driver's side kick panel in my '87 300D Turbo to do some electrical troubleshooting (it's a long story). The right side kick panel is probably similar and this technique should apply to later 124s as well (but no guarantees!).

After a fair amount of wiggling and pulling, I discovered the secret fastener that Mercedes used and managed to get the panel out without breaking the panel. I couldn't find anything about removal of this panel in my CD-ROM FSM and thought it would be worth sharing.

As the first photo shows, the kick panel is held in place by three fasteners and a molded hook (where the red star is). Two of the fasteners are plastic push-on nuts that can be pulled off or unscrewed (or a little of both). You have to take off all of the floor coverings to get to them (including the piece of styrofoam). The third fastener is a sheet metal screw, cleverly hidden under the trim strip as shown in the second photo. The hook on the back side comes loose once you have the three fasteners off – just pull back on the kick panel. You will have to experiment with the position of the emergency brake pedal as it is in the way.

Once the panel is off you will be able to access all of the wiring underneath, including the wiring from the driver's door, and all of the wires going to the back of the car. One of the accessory connectors is under there, too.

Replacement of the panel is not difficult. Be gentle with the plastic hook, don't lose any of the fasteners, and notice that the panel goes over the carpet.

BTW, my electrical problem turned out to be elsewhere so all of the work I did was for naught – and I still have to put the door skin back on!

Jeremy

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970