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As part of the I-CAR Repairability Technical Support (RTS) OEM linking pin activity, we are helping to connect the collision repair industry to the vehicle makers. We’ve had technical inquiries that asked about sectioning and removing the outer uniside only, without the reinforcement and inner uniside.
In this article, the 2018-2024 Kia Rio (SC) is being used as an example. However, with approval from our contact at Kia, the following information applies to other Kia models.
Figure 1
When looking through Kia Body Repair Manuals (BRM) you notice that several procedures require sectioning a window in the outer uniside in order to remove the outer, the reinforcement, and the inner B-Pillar, for example, as an assembly (Figure 1 and 2). In other words, if the procedure specifies sectioning the outer uniside, it is only for accessing the next layer below.
This leads to the question; “Can these sectioning locations only be used as shown in the BRM?” The answer is no. 
Figure 2 This means that if only the outer panel is damaged, only the outer panel needs to be replaced.
To accomplish this, use any of the outer uniside window sectioning locations shown in the repair procedure to remove the damaged outer uniside. One of the window sectioning locations on an outer rocker panel can be combined with one of the window sectioning locations on an outer A-pillar to remove a damaged portion of the outer rocker panel, for example. This, however, does not mean that sectioning can be done in-between (within) the window sectioning locations. Depending on how the part is serviced, this may require disassembling the service part to only use the outer panel.
Figure 3
For reinforcements and inner panels, different rules apply. For example, if the B-pillar reinforcement and/or inner B-pillar are damaged, the procedure shown in the BRM must be followed to remove these parts. This is because the components are removed together and need to be installed as an assembly, as Kia does not permit disassembly of an assembly. In many procedures, the only way to remove the inner B-pillar at factory seams is to remove the B-pillar reinforcement (Figure 3).
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Article validated in 2024