How do you remove the center dash console?

[SpectorV]

I want to remove the part around my radio to have painted... i am not about to go yanking with out some direction. I know how to do it on the older ones but what about the 01 up?

ty on info to get that sucker out.

[timpryor]

just pull it out

[STEVE]

Take my advice and just pull out.

[SpectorV]

i tried.. it didnt want to come and I dont want to break it, i got all of the top loose but the middle wouldnt budge and i dont want to bend/break it.

[STEVE]

take off the part that goes arond the shifter as well.

[lowflyn]

Take off the shifter bezel, it pulls out. Then what I do is just pull outwards on the bezel with the tips of your fingers, it takes some effort, but comes right out.

[WhiteStang99]

is there not a bolt in the back holding it like ours brad?

[lowflyn]

I don't have a bolt on mine...or at least not anymore. One sec, i'll go take mine apart real fast and look lol.

[lowflyn]

I'll be back in about 5 minutes with full pictures for you brandon, one sec.

[lowflyn]

Shifter bezel, center bezel, and radio removal for a 01-04 mustang with the din and 1/2 setup.

Tools needed:
A good set of hands

Here's a pic of what it all looks like to begin with.

First thing you want to do is put your fingers around the area of the circles, anywhere in there will work. Push towards the outside of the car slightly and pull towards yourself. There are 4 pins holding this part in. It may take a little effort if this is the first time for this piece to be removed, mine just kinda falls out now almost.
Once you get the shifter bezel unhooked you will have a cigarette lighter wire to unhook. Take a small screwdriver and push in on the spot in the circle and pull the harness out of the holder, ignore my wires I have tapped in, they are for other things.

Once you unhook this wire, set the shifter bezel off to the side and now you can start on the center bezel. It will look like this:

Push in with your fingers where the circles are and pull towards you, the bottom pins will snap out. Then move to the sides of the radio, put your fingers on that part of the bezel, push inward there and towards yourself. Then the easiest way to get the top out is to grab the bezel where it has came off the air conditioning controls and pull outward there on each side. Do not be afraid to put a little force into this, it is some strong plastic, and will not break very easily.
Once you have all that unhooked it will look like this:

You now have the defroster switch, the traction control switch (if equipped), and the fog light switch (if equipped) to unhook. Do these the same way you unhooked the cigarette lighter harness. Use a small screwdriver or something of that nature, push in on the pin, and the harness will pop right out. Repeat this process on each switch as equipped. You can then remove the bezel and put it somewhere safe to paint or do whatever with. The center bezel section will now look like this:

If you are removing the stereo, there are two bolts on the bottom of the cd player holding the cd player in. I believe they are 8mm bolts but they may be 7mm, I will check on this later. Unhook the harness from the back and the antenna wire from the back and you are good to go, it slides right out.

To reinstall all this just follow the steps backwards, it all pops right back into place.

[dark]

^wow, that should be a how-to

[WhiteStang99]

Jeez man, if you're gonna take sideways photos, either take them all the same side, or correct them before posting!

And it is different from mine.

[lowflyn]

I was tired, it was late, I'll fix them tonight sorry lol. And yes, it will be a how to after I rewrite it. That was a quick one with night pics.

[SpectorV]

ill get it up tonight IF you get it wrote out and all that for me and the pics will have to be fixed, I can do that so you dont need to screw with it. If you want to take more pics you can that up to you.

[SpectorV]