NOTE: in the process of uploading pictures so bear with me.

So what started as an ambient lighting LED mod turned into a (what I thought would be quick) semi-lengthy disassembly of the entire center console. I hate how the only ApplePlay USB is the one in the little storage area in the center console so I looked to see if I could relocate it to the underside of the “tunnel,’ whether it custom mounted or just taped somehow to the underside. I thought it would be quicker than it was but it just showed this piece had to move to get to this piece and this piece had to be removed to get to that piece and on and on and on. I’ll try to put this in the most efficient order I can for you guys.

Lets get into it….



There’s tons of plastic tabs that snap the trim pieces into place. They’re pretty sturdy but, as with any plastics and automotive applications, be gentle but firm. If it doesn’t pop out or pop back in nice and easily, reassess and see if its aligned properly or something is hindering its movement. Never force it, if it seems like its excessive force, you’re probably right. Other than the tabs, there’s about 10 screws of various lengths (make sure you pay attention to where they go) and 4 10mm bolts.



First remove the trim below the glove compartment by pulling the very front lip of it straight down towards the floor (about 4 clips) then unplug the ambient light plug and pull it towards you and out of the way. There’s 2 nubs that go into its holders when you reinstall.



Pull the trim piece starting from the rear and work your way forward towards the glove compartment. Again, just give a firm tug to pop out the tabs and when you get to the very end, the final two tabs face inward towards the driver side so pull/slide to the right TOWARDS the glove compartment. Open the glove compartment first obviously.



Do the same on the driver side now with the leather trim, start from the back and make your way towards the start button. Unplug the start button before you fully pull that trim piece out. The trim just below the start button needs to be popped out just in that area though, not the entire thing. See picture below. You’ll need it to be loose to remove an upcoming piece.



Pop up the area around the vent on the driver side just next to the center dash. Just pop it up enough to just around the front of the center screen.



Reach around the left side of the climate control unit and pop that section out, there’s a tab on each corner of that unit. Im a scrawny dude so it may not be easy for everyone, it’s a pretty tight fit here. Trim tools would help Im sure. You can place some masking/painter’s tape on the glossy black parts so you don’t scratch it. Once I got that left side out, I worked my way along the top and popped the upper right corner forward and the bottom came with it. Again, finesse it, don’t overpower it.



From here, I went down to the palm rest/trackpad and pulled up to relieve that area and create some more working room…and cuz…you have to in order to get the center console out.



Back in the passenger seat now, pop out the piece forward of the tunnel, the piece that contains the glove compartment button. The button isn’t attached to anything on the backside, it just protrudes and activates the glove compartment switch. Set that piece aside.



Now you can pull down the “ceiling” of the tunnel. 6 tabs on that piece. Unplug the ambient light plug on that also before setting it aside.



Open the armrest into the upright position. This next piece is probably the most fragile piece you’ll deal with in all of this. Its not incredibly brittle or anything but just be aware of how thin it is. Probably best to use a trim tool for this. Pry it up and work your way around. The front piece that lies under the palm rest has 3 tabs to pull straight up.



Unfortunately I didn’t take a pic but there are about 8 short screws facing upwards that are now exposed from removing that trim piece, remove them. Make sure you remove these 2 screws circled here;



Close the armrest and slide it all the way forward. Next piece to remove is the back piece of the center console. This piece is all tabs so pry along the edges and work your way around. Unplug the green plug and undo that wire retaining clip to give you more free movement. While youre there, look down at the base of the center console and you’ll see two 10mm bolts. Remove those.







With the armrest still forward and the back panel removed, pop this small trim piece straight up and set it aside. You’ll notice this piece and the back panel holds the two huge, long side pieces together so it has to be in this order of removal/installation.



Now for those huge, long side pieces, look towards the front of the armrest area on this piece and you’ll see these screws, remove them before pulling on ANYTHING. The rest are all clips so start from one end, doesn’t matter which, and tug firmly and move your way along the length of the piece. There’s clips on top AND bottom and some in the middle so make sure you move evenly up and down the piece as you go.



With the side pieces off, you’ll notice these long brackets on both sides of the console. I only needed to remove this front screw. BEHIND this screw, on both sides, is a 90 degree piece that holds the center console section to the front section where the palm rest and dash is. AS YOU PERFORM THE NEXT STEP, MAKE SURE THIS PORTION IS NOT STICKING IN AND HOLDING THE CONSOLE IN.



Now youre ready to pull the rear section out. Take a quick look around and make sure there’s nothing obvious holding it down. There’s a few plastic nubs/guides that connect the front and rear sections. Also, be mindful of the air tube that supplies the vents on the back of the center console towards the rear passengers. Make sure to reinstall and connect those properly. Wiggle and jiggle and pull the entire piece while making sure the 90 degree pieces in previous step are in the outward position ( you can stick something non abrasive in there to keep them outwards) while you’re pulling the console back/out. Once you get it back a few inches so you can see the backside of the CarPlay USB port, press in the small tabs on the sides to remove it from the center console. Set that console aside.



Remove the rubber “floor” of the tunnel area in front of the other USB/USB-C/12v ports are. You’ll see two small pass-through holes on the back edge. Straight through those holes, down on the floor, you’ll see two 10mm bolts. You don’t have to use an extension, you can just use a socket and ratchet right at the base where the bolts are.



FINALLY we can pull the tunnel out. Don’t forget to unplug all the plugs in the back of the ports, etc. Crazy, right? All this just because I couldn’t get the USB out through here.



SO…take the assembly out, you can leave the air tube intact. I took it off because I didn’t know it could stay. Its just a screw so you can take it out if it makes it easier to work with. There’s 5 retainer clips (as circled in the pic) to mess with to separate the 2 trim pieces. I used a small screwdriver to undo the retainers and wiggled and pried from side to side. Again, don’t force anything, little by little.

Now we’re here and I decided to route the cable up through one of the passthrough holes and am expecting to do a little drilling/Dremel work somewhere in the tunnel to route it nice and discreet somehow. As pictured, I had to pry those two blue plastic retainers and undid the attached zipties. I didn’t want to take em out so I just put them back where they belong.



Held the wire loom down with some gorilla tape.



And this is what we got so far.



Now………put it all back together!! Just go in reverse order and REMEMBER, GENTLE! Don’t just keep smacking the piece if its not going in willingly – NO means NO!! Guide the pieces and they’ll slide into place and then set them in with a firm bump then press down with more pressure to seat them properly if needed.



I went into this thinking Id have to carve something up a bit but after installing the tunnel back together but as I put everything back together to get a good look at the tunnel, I decided I didn’t need to do anything. I put the little rubber mat back in and I thought Id have to trim THAT somehow also but it lays just fine in there even with the wire in the way. I plugged my iphone cord in and hid it behind the trim piece that has the start button on it and again thought Id maybe run it up and have to drill a half circle right in front of the screen on the top of the dash to make it clean but I figure there should be plenty of slack for mobility and stuff so here’s my final product! Hope you guys enjoyed. Like and subscribe. Just kidding but hope you guys find this useful and please show your project if you do something similar and don’t hesitate to ask any questions. As my kid says, “pizza out.”

 

NOTE: Sorry, dont mean to double post but it wouldnt let me edit. This is proper order of the pictures. I'll combine all this in original post when able.

So what started as an ambient lighting LED mod turned into a (what I thought would be quick) semi-lengthy disassembly of the entire center console. I hate how the only ApplePlay USB is the one in the little storage area in the center console so I looked to see if I could relocate it to the underside of the “tunnel,’ whether it custom mounted or just taped somehow to the underside. I thought it would be quicker than it was but it just showed this piece had to move to get to this piece and this piece had to be removed to get to that piece and on and on and on. I’ll try to put this in the most efficient order I can for you guys.


Preface; there’s tons of plastic tabs that snap the trim pieces into place. They’re pretty sturdy but, as with any plastics and automotive applications, be gentle but firm. If it doesn’t pop out or pop back in nice and easily, reassess and see if its aligned properly or something is hindering its movement. Never force it, if it seems like its excessive force, you’re probably right. Other than the tabs, there’s about 10 screws of various lengths (make sure you pay attention to where they go) and 4 10mm bolts.

Lets get into it........

First remove the trim below the glove compartment by pulling the very front lip of it straight down towards the floor (about 4 clips) then unplug the ambient light plug and pull it towards you and out of the way. There’s 2 nubs that go into its holders when you reinstall.
Sorry, no pic for this but I used this tutorial on the ambient lighting and it applies so if you need to see which panel it is and how to remove it, look here starting at 2:14 mark;

Pull the trim piece starting from the rear and work your way forward towards the glove compartment. Again, just give a firm tug to pop out the tabs and when you get to the very end, the final two tabs face inward towards the driver side so pull/slide to the right TOWARDS the glove compartment. Open the glove compartment first obviously. Ignore the red circles in the pic, thats for later. The piece youre removing is what would go here.



Do the same on the driver side now with the leather trim, start from the back and make your way towards the start button. Unplug the start button before you fully pull that trim piece out. The trim just below the start button needs to be popped out just in that area though, not the entire thing. See picture below. You’ll need it to be loose to remove an upcoming piece.





Pop up the area containing the vent on the driver side just next to the center dash. Just pop it up enough to just around the front of the center screen.



Reach around the left side of the climate control unit and pop that section out, there’s a tab on each corner of that unit. Im a scrawny dude so it may not be easy for everyone, it’s a pretty tight fit here. Trim tools would help Im sure. You can place some masking/painter’s tape on the glossy black parts so you don’t scratch it. Once I got that left side out, I worked my way along the top and popped the upper right corner forward and the bottom came with it. Again, finesse it, don’t overpower it.



From here, I went down to the palm rest/trackpad and pulled up to relieve that area and create some more working room…and cuz…you have to in order to get the center console out.



Back in the passenger seat now, pop out the piece forward of the tunnel, the piece that contains the glove compartment button. The button isn’t attached to anything on the backside, it just protrudes and activates the glove compartment switch. Set that piece aside.




Now you can pull down the “ceiling” of the tunnel. 6 tabs on that piece. Unplug the ambient light plug on that also before setting it aside.



Open the armrest into the upright position. This next piece is probably the most fragile piece you’ll deal with in all of this. Its not incredibly brittle or anything but just be aware of how thin it is. Probably best to use a trim tool for this. Pry it up and work your way around. The front piece that lies under the palm rest has 3 tabs to pull straight up.



Unfortunately I didn’t take a pic but there are about 8 short screws facing upwards that are now exposed from removing that trim piece, remove them. Make sure you remove these 2 screws circled here;



Close the armrest and slide it all the way forward. Next piece to remove is the back piece of the center console. This piece is all tabs so pry along the edges and work your way around. Unplug the green plug and undo that wire retaining clip to give you more free movement. While youre there, look down at the base of the center console and you’ll see two 10mm bolts. Remove those.






With the armrest still forward and the back panel removed, pop this small trim piece straight up and set it aside. You’ll notice this piece and the back panel holds the two huge, long side pieces together so it has to be in this order of removal/installation.




Now for those huge, long side pieces, make sure armrest is in open/upright position, look towards the front of the armrest area on this piece and you’ll see these screws, remove them before pulling on ANYTHING. The rest are all clips so start from one end, doesn’t matter which, and tug firmly and move your way along the length of the piece. There’s clips on top AND bottom and some in the middle so make sure you move evenly up and down the piece as you go.


With the side pieces off, you’ll notice these long brackets on both sides of the console. I only needed to remove this front screw. BEHIND this screw, on both sides, is a 90 degree piece that holds the center console section to the front section where the palm rest and dash is. AS YOU PERFORM THE NEXT STEP, MAKE SURE THIS PORTION IS NOT STICKING IN AND HOLDING THE CONSOLE IN.



Now youre ready to pull the rear section out. Take a quick look around and make sure there’s nothing obvious holding it down. There’s a few plastic nubs/guides that connect the front and rear sections. Also, be mindful of the air tube that supplies the vents on the back of the center console towards the rear passengers. Make sure to reinstall and connect those properly. Wiggle and jiggle and pull the entire piece while making sure the 90 degree pieces in previous step are in the outward position ( you can stick something non abrasive in there to keep them outwards) while you’re pulling the console back/out. Once you get it back a few inches so you can see the backside of the CarPlay USB port, press in the small tabs on the sides to remove it from the center console. Set that console aside.

Remove the rubber “floor” of the tunnel area in front of the other USB/USB-C/12v ports are. You’ll see two small pass-through holes on the back edge. Straight through those holes, down on the floor, you’ll see two 10mm bolts. You don’t have to use an extension, you can just use a socket and ratchet right at the base where the bolts are.

FINALLY we can pull the tunnel out. Don’t forget to unplug all the plugs in the back of the ports, etc. Crazy, right? All this just because I couldn’t get the USB out the backside...




SO…take the assembly out, you can leave the air tube intact. I took it off because I didn’t know it could stay. Its just a screw so you can take it out if it makes it easier to work with. There’s 5 retainer clips (as circled in the pic) to mess with to separate the 2 trim pieces. I used a small screwdriver to undo the retainers and wiggled and pried from side to side. Again, don’t force anything, little by little.


Now we’re here and I decided to route the cable up through one of the passthrough holes and am expecting to do a little drilling/Dremel work somewhere in the tunnel to route it nice and discreet somehow. As pictured, I had to pry those two blue plastic retainers and undid the attached zipties. I didn’t want to take em out so I just put them back where they belong.




Held the wire loom down with some gorilla tape.



And this is what we got so far.



Now………put it all back together!! Just go in reverse order and REMEMBER, GENTLE! Don’t just keep smacking the piece if its not going in willingly – NO means NO!! Guide the pieces and they’ll slide into place and then set them in with a firm bump then press down with more pressure to seat them properly if needed.



I went into this thinking Id have to carve something up a bit but after installing the tunnel back together but as I put everything back together to get a good look at the tunnel, I decided I didn’t need to do anything. I put the little rubber mat back in and I thought Id have to trim THAT somehow also but it lays just fine in there even with the wire in the way. I plugged my iphone cord in and hid it behind the trim piece that has the start button on it and again thought Id maybe run it up and have to drill a half circle right in front of the screen on the top of the dash to make it clean but I figure there should be plenty of slack for mobility and stuff so here’s my final product! Hope you guys enjoyed. Like and subscribe. Just kidding but hope you guys find this useful and please show your project if you do something similar and don’t hesitate to ask any questions. As my kid says, “pizza out.”