Step by step complete dash disassembly with pics..

Bought my 2013 TRD OR in March and I'm fairly new to this forum as of a couple months ago. Like many others I came here in search of all things Tacoma. I quickly learned that there are TONS of great posts, instructions, tips etc for just about everything you can do. Also learned that this information is usually spread out all over hell and is sometimes difficult to find, even with the search function.

There have been several mods on my to do list that include the complete tear down of the dash. I searched over and over and found bits and pieces here and there but nothing ever just in all one place.

I also noticed a whole bunch of posts that said "I'd love to do this but I'm not sure how" and "I don't truck myself to rip that apart" and similar post.

So here it is. One single post that will outline step by step with pictures of just about everything. I will outline everything you need to do to remove every piece from the drivers side kick panel all the way across to the radio and down to the center console. Only thing missing is the glove box instructions. Simply because I haven't taken it apart yet! Haha.

Remove the long plastic piece along the driver side door. No screws. Just start at the ends and give it a tug.

Next is the little kicker panel in the corner under the dash. There is a small cap that unscrews that is partially hidden by the little footrest thing.

Give that footrest a hard pull and it will pop off exposing the cap. Unscrew the cap.



Give the panel a little tug and it should pop off exposing a 10mm bolt facing the seat. Here is a pic of said bolt with the panel still on. It is not necessary to completely remove this panel to get to the bolt. I'm only letting you know how if you need to access anything fuse related or relats, wires etc. If you don't want to remove it, simply give it a slight pull to expose the bolt and remove.



Next find the little verticle door bottom right of the steering wheel. Open said door to expose the bolt and remove.



The entire bottom panel is now ready to be removed. Nothing left but tabs/clips. Start on either end and with a firm grip give er a tug. Work your way to the opposite end until it breaks free. If you want it to be completely out of the way simply unplug all the wiring harness plugs. Here's a pic of the tabs/clips you are dealing with to give you an idea.



Beer break

Next step is the upper piece which includes the rings that some people like to remove to paint. Start with CAREFULLY popping out these two plastic plugs. As you can see from this pic mine broke. First time I took them out it was fine. Second time not so much. Haha.



Once removed it's again just a matter of giving a few slight tugs and it pops right off. You'll need to drop the steering wheel down and do some careful maneuvering to get it out. As far as getting the rings off there are multiple small tabs holding them in. Very gently push them back and the rings will pop off. Here's a pic. Mine are white because I already painted them



From here if you want to remove the gauge cluster it's a matter of 4 bolts, 2 on each side





On to the radio area!!! First start by taking off the 4WD and the 3 climate control nobs. Just grab and pull. Yes I just said grab and pull your nobs.

Should look like this.




The assembly is just held in with tabs at each corner. Use a tool of your preference and start at a corner.



Takes a little wiggling and you'll feel it start to pop out. Pull it out, unplug and set aside.

This will expose the four bolts that hold in the radio.



Remove said bolts. Grab a lip at the bottom of the radio and slight tug. As it starts to come loose grab ahold of the top and pull with equal force. Radio will pop out. Again, unplug all the plugs and set aside.

Beer break? Sure why not!

Now you can pull out the big piece that surrounds the vents if you want to paint it it whatever. Like the rest of the pieces just pull at the corners and it will come right out.

If you are painting it and want to remove the vent pieces find the two small tabs at the top of the vent.



Very gently pop out the recessed one and apply a small amount of pressure with one hand to hold it from popping back in. While applying pressure pop the other one and the vent will come right off. Remember there are two other tabs just like that at the bottom of the vent so don't crank on it too hard. You shouldn't have to even touch those other two tabs.

Next is the console which is super easy. Unscrew your shift nob. Use your flat tool and start at the corner and gently pry up.



Repeat on all four corners and that piece pops off.

Open your console and remove contents. Pull up the bottom pad to expose the 2 bolts. Remove said bolts. Now remove the two screws exposed when you popped off the other flat piece.



You can now access the inverter to do the 400W anytime mod and in car outlet.

Congratulations!!!!! Your truck now looks like the bedroom of a 2 year old after play time.



I hope this thread helps some people out. Any questions or comments please feel free to ask or let me know. At some point I'll tackle the glove box and then add it to this thread.

 

Wish I saw this before I took the dive into my truck lol

 

....wish I would have had this two weeks ago.....

Nice job and well done. Thanks!!!

 

Good job. Very detailed. I'm sure this will help many in the future.

 

Continue the whole dash haha. Need to do my evaporator core

 

You don't "need" to pull the knobs off of the 4WD, Climate Control when taking out that part. It doesn't hurt, but it isn't required to pull out that component.

If you get around to pulling out the glove compartment, you might want to look at "fixing" the crappy plastic clip that mounts the damper. After removing my glove compartment twice, the damper would never stay on. I stumbled upon a thread that mentioned some fixes. It bugged me enough that I finally did the 3M tape fix.


Mention of a screw fix.

And then there was the 3M tape fix.

Pulling the glove compartment out isn't all that tough. Getting the rest of the dash out...can't comment on right now.

Thanks for the write up on the rest of the dash.

 

Good stuff^^

Thanks for letting me know.

 

Nice.

 

Well done @AZ2013

 

So you pulled the 4WD knob out before removing the big HVAC/Stereo surround piece? I need to do this eventually to end up installing a 4Runner knob and was under the impression I needed to tear the entire dash apart to get to it.

 

Just the nob itself. The actual unit with the plug comes out with the large piece that covers the vents and goes back behind the stereo. It's just held in with small tabs that snap in. Very easy to remove.

 

Thank you for the write up. Going to try and follow it tomorrow to get some projects done.

 

No problem. It's really very easy. Take your time and you'll be good!

 

Awesome write up @AZ2013, thanks brother!!

 

Sub’d!!!

 

@AZ2013 great guide. When you do up date the post can you please add removing the lower dash where the cigarette 12 volt ports are.

I’m trying to figure out how to change out the power ports but I don’t know exactly how to remove the panel. Thanks

 

You will need to take off everything the OP did and also remove the center console to get that panel off.

 

What are these circle things within the switches?

 

They should be the light bulbs for the switch.