Lighted vehicle interior accessory assembly and method

A method for installing an interior accessory on a vehicle interior panel, comprising:

• providing an interior accessory having a rim structure including an outboard peripheral corner facing toward the vehicle interior panel and a mounting flange peripherally inboard of the outboard peripheral corner;
• providing a mounting plate for optional interpositioning between the mounting flange of the interior accessory and the vehicle interior panel so that the presence of the mounting plate creates a peripheral extending gap between the outboard peripheral corner of the interior accessory and the vehicle interior panel, said mounting plate having a mounting channel extending around the periphery of the mounting plate and located inboard of the outboard peripheral corner of the interior accessory so that the mounting channel is recessed within the gap between the outboard peripheral corner of the interior accessory and the vehicle interior panel;
• providing a light pipe configured to emit light along the length of the light pipe, said light pipe being mounted in the mounting channel of the mounting plate so that the light pipe is recessed within the gap between the outboard peripheral corner of the interior accessory and the vehicle interior panel and the light pipe is not directly viewed by a seated occupant;
• and optionally inter-positioning the mounting plate between the interior accessory and the vehicle interior panel prior to mounting the interior accessory on the vehicle interior panel so that the presence of the mounting plate will create the gap between the interior accessory and the vehicle interior panel through which the light is emitted and the omission of the mounting plate will abut the outboard peripheral corner of interior accessory with the vehicle interior panel without a gap.