It’s always a great feeling when you know you’re getting a new stereo or sound system for your vehicle. However, in these days of DIY, Blog posts and YouTube helps, we desire to save money and complete simple projects like this on our own. To accomplish getting a new stereo in or seeking to fix a wiring issue unseen behind the stereo, we have to remove the car stereo from the dash before accomplishing our task.
In this article, we are going to break down the simple steps it takes to remove your car stereo from your dashboard (see for Pioneer stereos).
Table of Contents
Parts of your stereo inside the dash
According to YouTubes’ Lessco Electronics understanding the main components of the stereo in the dashboard is of the most important as to not do damage to your system as you seek to remove it.
Amongst these components are
Dash Kit (holds the stereo in place and displays the front plate on dash)
Chassis (houses the actual stereo)
Trim Panel (goes around the face of the stereo)
Detachable Face (some models have a front facing display that can be removed)
and behind our trim panel is called The Sleeve (houses the chassis/body of the stereo). The final component that you will need is The Keys (these unlock the sleeve holding in the stereo).
Safely Remove the Car Stereo: (The tools to get the job done)
Now that we know the components we have to accomplish getting the things apart in the best condition we can.
There may be a couple of tools you can purchase for a low cost that will assist in the safe removal of your stereo. They suggest – Trim removal tool (including nylon prying tool) and – Socket/ratchet set. These are a great solution for this simple task because the trim panel can be sensitive and break if one is heavy-handed and just squeezes the trim in trying to take it off.
Step 1. Remove the trim panel
Pry out the trim panel with the nylon prying tool. If your panel has bolts behind it, be sure to remove those as well.
Step 2. Release the stereo from the sleeve
Take the two keys associated with your stereo. Push them between the left and right side of the stereo between the chassis (body of the stereo) and the sleeve until you hear a click and feel a disconnect from the sleeve.
Step 3. Pull stereo from dashboard
Making sure you do not break any cables, carefully pull your stereo from the dashboard. You may need something with a hook or grip for the initial release of the stereo.
Viola!! Now you have accomplished what seemed to be a daunting task. You are thinking to yourself, “This was a lot simpler than I thought.” Yes. It was.
Video tutorial
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