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How to Remove the Front Bumper on a 2015-2017 Volkswagen GTI (MK7)
Watch the full video on YouTube
To remove a MK7 GTI front bumper on a 2015-2017 car you need a T20 Torx bit on a ratchet, and the car up on stands so you can get underneath. The bumper is held by T20 screws in both front wheel wells, seven along the bottom and four along the top. Two more sit under the top grille, so the grille has to come out before the bumper will. Then you unplug the two fog lights and it's off.
We filmed this on a 2016 GTI in our shop. The video runs 7 minutes 20 seconds, and every step below links to its moment so you can jump to the screw you can't find. One warning up front: on camera we start pulling the bumper before we find the two screws under the grille. The steps here are in the order we'd do it now.
What tools do you need to remove a GTI front bumper?
A T20 Torx bit and a ratchet are the only tools Rolando names, and every screw in the video comes out with that bit. You also need a way to get the front of the car up.
- T20 Torx bit, on a ratchet or a short bit handle (he uses a short handle for most of these)
- A jack and jack stands
- A cup for the screws. There are a lot of them, and they look alike.
What has to happen before the bumper comes off?
Raise the front of the car and pop the hood. "I jacked up the car because the car is kind of low, so we can get underneath the car also," Rolando says at 0:27. The GTI sits low enough that the seven screws along the bottom are hard to reach otherwise.
We did the lifting off camera and the video doesn't show where the jack goes, so use your owner's manual for that. You can see the stand under our car behind the front tire at 0:43. Nothing else has to come off first. The headlights stay in.
Where are the screws on a 2015-2017 GTI front bumper?
The screws holding a 2015-2017 GTI front bumper are T20 Torx, and on our car there were 18 of them in five places. Here they are in the order you take them out.
In each front wheel well, a few screws hold the front edge of the liner to the back corner of the bumper. Our driver side had two. The passenger side had three, because it had a screw at the top that the driver side didn't. Check the top of the liner's front edge on both sides.
Under the car, seven screws run along the bottom edge of the bumper where it meets the plastic undertray.
With the hood up, there are two screws on each side along the top edge of the grille, out by each headlight. These also hold the top grille down.
Under the top grille are the two that are easy to miss. "Actually, there's going to be two more screws right inside the bumper," Rolando says at 4:55, after he'd already started pulling. They're along the top edge of the bumper, in the opening the grille leaves.
The last thing holding it is wiring, not a screw: one fog light plug on each side, behind the bumper.
How do you remove a MK7 GTI front bumper, step by step?
Work from the wheel wells to the bottom, then the top, then the grille and the two screws under it. Only then pull the corners and bring the bumper forward far enough to unplug the fog lights.
Getting the car ready
1. Raise the car and open the hood
Jack the front up, set it on stands, and pop the hood.
Hood up, car on stands. The red jack stand is just behind the front tire.
The wheel wells
2. Remove the driver-side wheel well screws
Start at the driver-side front wheel. At the front edge of the wheel well, where the liner meets the back of the bumper, there are T20 screws. "We're going to have two torque bits to take off right here," Rolando says at 0:45.
Hands at the front edge of the driver-side liner, right where it meets the bumper.
3. Remove the passenger-side wheel well screws, including the top one
Same spot on the passenger side, with one more. "There's actually a top screw the other one didn't have. So, you're going to have actually three screws to take off over here." That third one is up high on the front edge of the liner, so look for it on both sides of your car.
Bit on a short handle, partway up the front edge of the passenger-side liner.
Watch this step at 1:16 (he finds the top screw at 1:41)
Under the car
4. Remove the seven screws along the bottom
Get under the front of the car. Start on one side and work across. "There's going to be seven of these screws," all along the bottom edge of the bumper where it meets the undertray. This is the slow part, and the reason the car needs to be up.
From underneath: the bit on one of the bottom screws, front tire at left.
The top
5. Remove the two screws on each side along the top
With the hood up, take out the screws along the top of the bumper. "There's going to be two of them on each side." They hold the top grille down as well as the bumper.
Working the top screws at the corner by the headlight.
6. Lift out the top grille
The top grille is the piece with the red stripe and the GTI badge. With the top screws out, pull up and it comes off. "It's just these things pushing down on it, and when you lift up, it comes right off," Rolando says when he explains it at the end of the video.
Top grille out. The opening behind it is bare down to the radiator.
Watch this step at 4:44 (explained at 6:26)
7. Remove the two screws under the grille
These are the ones we missed. In the opening the grille left, along the top edge of the bumper, there are two more T20 screws holding the bumper to the car. Take both out before you pull on anything.
Grille off, the ratchet going down into the bumper's top edge at the outer end of the grille opening.
Pulling the bumper
8. Pull each corner off its bracket
Grab the bumper at the wheel well, just under the headlight, and pull it out from the fender. It unclips from a bracket there. Our video description says to pull each end off but not all the way, then pull from the middle. On camera Rolando does this before step 7, which is why the bumper doesn't come free at first.
The corner coming away from the fender, below the headlight. On camera this came before the grille, so the grille is still on here.
9. Bring the bumper forward and hold it
With both corners free and no screws left, ease the bumper forward. Don't walk off with it yet. "Hold on to the bumper because you're going to have to take off the fog lights, too." The fog lights are still plugged in.
Grille out, a hand in the lower grille, ready to bring the bumper forward.
10. Unplug both fog lights
Reach behind the bumper at each fog light. "You press down on this lever on this point right here. It should come right off." Then the other side: "same thing on this side." Rolando calls it "a little tiny plug," so go easy on the tab.
Behind the bumper corner, hand on the fog light wire.
11. Take the bumper off
With both plugs out, nothing is holding it. Lift the bumper away and set it somewhere it won't get scratched.
Off the car. You can see the back side of the lower grille.
Putting the new bumper on
Install is the same list backward, so the fog lights get plugged in first, while you hold the bumper up to the car. Then seat each corner on its bracket, put in the two screws under the grille, set the top grille back in, and run the four top screws, the seven along the bottom and the wheel well screws. The video stops once the old bumper is off, so match each screw to where it came out.
Which painted bumper fits your GTI?
The 2015-2017 Volkswagen GTI front bumper is the one for the car in this video. It fits 2015, 2016 and 2017. On the listing you choose a body option and your factory paint code. Reflex Silver Metallic (LA7W) cars have their own entry on the listing, so pick that one first.
The listing has three body options:
- Aftermarket, without park assist sensor holes
- OEM, without park assist sensor holes
- OEM, with park assist sensor holes and a tow hook cover. The option text says "[Must Drill Holes]", so read that line before you order this one.
If your car has parking sensors in the front bumper, that last one is the option to look at. If you aren't sure, our guide to ordering a painted part correctly says to have your dealer confirm the part from your VIN. The same guide covers finding your paint code. Please don't guess it.
Other years are different bumpers, with their own listings: the 2018-2021 GTI front bumper and the 2010-2014 GTI front bumper. The Golf SportWagen and Golf R of the same years have their own listing: the 2015-2017 Volkswagen Golf front bumper.
Frequently asked questions
What tool do I need to remove a MK7 GTI front bumper?
A T20 Torx bit on a ratchet. That's the only tool Rolando names in our video of a 2016 GTI, and it takes out every screw: the wheel wells, the bottom, the top and the two under the grille. You also need a jack and stands, because the car sits too low to reach the bottom screws.
How many screws hold a 2015-2017 GTI front bumper on?
On our 2016 GTI there were 18 T20 screws: two in the driver-side wheel well, three in the passenger side, seven along the bottom, two on each side along the top and two under the top grille. The passenger side had a screw at the top of the liner that the driver side didn't, so check both sides for it.
Do I have to take the top grille off to remove the bumper?
Yes. Two screws under the top grille hold the bumper to the car, and you can't reach them with the grille in place. Take out the top screws, pull the grille up, and take out the two screws under it before you pull the bumper.
Is the 2018-2021 GTI front bumper the same as the 2015-2017?
No. We sell them as separate parts: a 2015-2017 GTI front bumper and a 2018-2021 GTI front bumper, each with its own listing. Our video covers the 2015-2017 car only.
Will a painted bumper match the rest of my GTI?
We paint each bumper to your factory paint code, and it's backed by our paint match guarantee. The guarantee has one exception: the car can't have been repainted before, including an earlier accident repair, because body shops usually blend paint onto the panels next to the one they fix. If yours has been repainted, read our paint match guarantee before you order. The same page has a section on sending in a paint sample.
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