anyone taken the dash off to install an aftermarket head unit?? it looks like it will be pretty hard to get it off, step by step would be nice, or you can just point me in the right direction
Here are some instructions for the '05 up. 1. Open the center console and remove the two phillips screws that are on each side by the hinge for the top. 2. If you have an manual trans you need to remove the shift knob. Also, the e-brake needs to be pulled as high as possible to get the top console off. Lift the upper console plastic, starting from the back and working your way forward. There are only clips, so it just snaps off. Once all the clips are removed there may be a plug that you will need to undo under the console. Lastly, work the console off the e-brake handle. It's easy to mark up the handle if you're not carefull. 3. There are two panels that are about 2" wide and extend back toward the dash on either side of the radio/climate control bezel. Again, these are held in by clips, so they simply pull straight off (towards you) to expose the bolts that hold the dash bezel on. 4. Once the side panels are off, you will need to uplug the climate control harnesses. Starting on the drivers side, there is a plug which has several large guage wires in it that is attatched to the back of the climate contol panel on the left (drivers) side. I usually use a flat head screwdriver to pop the plug off. There is another plug on the passenger side that needs to be removed. This is a safety type plug and the clip can be broken fairly easily. You need to press a tab that is on the back of the plug. (The side that faces the firewall.) While pressing the tab in, the gray clip needs to be rotated upward, which realeases the plug. For me this is the hardest step because the plug is in a tight area. 5. With the two climate control plugs removed, you will next remove the 7mm screws that hold the dash bezel on. I believe there are 3 of them on either side of the radio/climate controls. Once these are removed pull the radio bezel off, starting at the bottom, as there is a tab that extends off the top of the bezel into the dash pad. Once the main radio bezel is free, there will be two to three plugs at the top that need to be unplugged. 6. With the radio bezel removed, the four 7mm screws that hold the radio in are exposed. Remove these and pull the radio out and unplug. From here you would install a dash kit for the new deck using the same screws, then reverse steps 1-5 to reassemble the dash/console.
