I know that people have been removing these to paint or leather-cover them, so if anyone has a walk-through of removing the 3 plastic dash trim peices on a 2005 or 2006 car, can you please link me? Please note the vehicle year - the 2002-2004 versions use screws to hold the peices together, but I'm pretty sure that the 05 and 06 models use different fasteners. Also, if anyone has any tips (order of removal, etc.) I'd love to hear them.

Thanks in advance!

 

i'd love to know too, along with the top dash pad for '05+

 

Removing the entire dash on the 05 and 06 is a HUGE PITA, I'm afraid - see the TIS listing halfway down the lniked thread. Be sitting down.

 

Can't give you exact info, but I've got an '05 dash in my garage, and actually installed the left and center sections in my car (avoided the right due to the airbag.) The '05 had virtually the exact same clips as the '04. Obviously the right side is different, but I'm pretty sure it just snaps in. I can check out the back of it tonight.

 

I think the OP is asking about jus the 3 pieces of the dash panel, not the entire dash and top. I'm pretty sure just removing the 3 pieces is fairly straight forward from what I have heard. Don't know for sure though but maybe we could concentrate on just that.

 

It's simple.

First, remove your tachometer from above your steering wheel. To do so, put the steering wheel in its lowest position, and then look behind the tach. Remove the two torx screws. Then unclip the tach from the wiring harness.


After that, get in the passenger seat, and open the glove box. You are going to be removing the passenger dash panel first. To do so, get a firm grip on it from the bottom, and simply pull it off. It is held on with friction clips, nothing else. Don't be afraid to use some force (be reasonable though).

Then move on to the driver side panel. It helps to pull down the knee bolster before doing so, so you can get a grip on the panel from the bottom. This piece also pulls off.


The third piece, the one in the middle, also is held on with friction clips. Same thing, just pull it off.

 

Awesome - you guys are the best! Thanks...

 

I knew someone had the answer. Thanks skitelluride531.

 

the center piece also has two screws holding it
they are located along the top edge

 

Yep, saw those - thanks.

According to a MINI service guy I talked to, the trick is REPLACING them... I guess the upper edge is somewhat sharp and can cut into the dash cover if one isn't careful. He recommended putting a bit of tape on the underside before replacing the peices just to be extra sure - sounds reasonable to me. I'll be sure to document everything.

 

Strange...mine certainly doesn't. Mine is an 05, so perhaps that is something new in the 06's.

 

The only trick I've found is that there are small tabs on the top of the center piece (there are no tabs on any others.) On the early models it's easy to tilt the dash up, but even on the '05+, it's not egregious. I managed to break the tabs (slots) on mine (before I knew there were tabs ) but it's not a big deal. Just FYI.

 

I know this is an old thread, but I have a question about this. I want to remove these pieces, so I can have them painted. I've had some bad experiences with other cars in the past when doing things like this. There have been times I've been known to break off tabs and what not. I was wondering if anyone has some pictures of the backs of these trim pieces. That would help me know where all the tabs are, so I can get a better idea of where to pull. Thank you.

-Seth

 

hopefully not too naive a question, but i just want to make sure i do this right...

how does the driver's side panel (below steering wheel) come off? does it just swing down/pop off?

 

If you have a '05-'06 just pull from the BOTTOM edge of the painted peices. Start with the peice over the glove box, do the peice above the steering wheel next and save the center peice for last. When replacing, replace the center first then do the sides in reverse order.

The tabs that secure the lower edge are wrapped with felt-like material and so will not break (unless you go nuts on them - honest). Just be careful after you have the bottom edge totally unhooked - you'll notice that the top edge fits UNDERNEATH the leather dash - just wiggle it gently back and forth to disengage. I'll warn you- the center sounds scary as it disengages, because that component consists of two seperate plastic peices in a sort of layered "sandwitch" - be sure when removing the center panel to pull the entire peice off - that includes the center speedo ring, the two center vents and the painted peice all together (they're one unit). As stated, be sure to remove the two screws securing the center panel to the underside of the dash peice - they're next to the hazard and dimmer switches.

Grasp the top edge of the knee bolster and pull firmly down - the unit pivots on the bottom edge. there are two clips, one in each top corner, that secure it.

 

wow that was fast. thanks matt... yeah, i'm not doing major dash work - just wanted to move the panel out of the way so i could remove the left downtube to get to the radio

thanks again

 

If all you want to do is access the radio, it isn't necessary to completely remove the downtubes (and actually if you did want to remove the downtubes, removing the dash isn't part of the process anyway).

Remove the 2 torx screws holding each of the downtubes, then they can be dropped down and spread apart. This will expose the screws holding the center stack components. Here's a photo from GBMINI:

 

Thank you Matt! I can't wait until I get all this taken care of...I'm so excited. I feel like a giddy little school girl!

 

I have that affect on people... I'm used to it.

Good luck and let us know how it all comes out!

 

I have the door panels off...and the trim above the glove box. I started to remove the trim above the steering wheel when I realized that the rubber that's between the wheel and the dash is connected to the trim piece. Am I just imagining things? Also, the bottom is lose, but it seems like it would be pretty tricky getting the top lose even without the rubber there. It's an odd shape and not as rigid as the passenger side. Do I just keep pulling back and forth until it breaks free like I did on the one above the glove box? Thank you.

 

When I did mine I didn't have to totally remove that peice - I just pulled the lower edge free so I could remove the center peice. When the center peice was back in, I just pushed the driver's side trim peice back in.

The MINI tech I talked to said to just carefully wiggle it out though, if you want to totally remove it.