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Hello to all the Civic owners around,

I have a 2001 5-Doors Civic. Since I don't live in the US, the trim's name won't mean anything to you and most likely they haven't sold such a configuration in the US, so i'll just describe it (the relevant parts) to you: it's a 7th gen 5 doors automatic. The gear lever is located on the dashboard and there is no console between the front seats (like in the Type-R sold in the US). It has A/C (not climate control) with the three dials located above the DINs. The car's (original) stereo is a radio-tape (with no brand name on the panel) and a "Honda" CD receiver (controlled from the radio-tape).

I've bought me a new stereo HU and tried to instal it myself and, to my dismay, I discovered that the car's setero is bolted into the slots and that in order to remove the bolts I must disassemble the entire dashboard (or, hopefully, just the central console).

I've search the web far and wide (including this site) for a guide or a DIY, but all the DIYs I've found dealt with the sedan/coupe Civics, which have a completely different dashboard.

Can you please help me?

Thanks in advance,
Jake.

 
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upload pics. help us, help yourself

 
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Right you are.

 
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damn wow...that car in USDM is labeled as Civic SI..or EP3 at least the center console shape looks like EP3...

the radio is in different position than USDM...i dont know what your car looks like on the outside....being a 5 door civic...and USDM EP3 comes in 3 door only...how about the outside pics??

 
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I think that this particular car from the picture is a 2005 model - from after the 7th gen has undergone a facelift - but essentially it's the same car I have. This car is a bit longer than the 3 doors version, mainly due to the increased space in the rear, but it has the same dashboard.

Anyway, does anyone has any idea as to how I remove that stereo?

 
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First things first, I am not sure about any of this but I'll throw some things out that might help. In general there are only two possible ways I think this is gonna come off.

The first way is similar to a lot of other Hondas out there, usually two bolts holding the radio in from the bottom. So you have to drop the driver side and passenger side underdashes and also remove the glovebox. Then you want to look up and see if there are two bolts holding the radio in that you can access. If so, remove them and the unit might just pop out the front.

There is also the possibility the entire panel (radio and heater controls) all come out at once. This could start with the two bolts like above or it may just “pop” off.
Does the trim around the shifter feel like it wants to pop off at all? That silver circle may come off after you pull the shift ****. The shift **** is usually held on with a set screw of some sort. If you’re able to get that out can you remove the black shifter bezel? This may give you access to screws or clips.

I know this isn’t specific but it might get you on the right path.

 
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http://www.ephatch.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50438
you may have to join the site...

i got here only because your console shape is that of EP3...
and hope that it is the same with your car as well...

 
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i don't know anything about putting a stereo in there, but holy crap i didn't even know that car existed! pretty sweet.

 
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I was looking through my digital manual for the SI version and came up with nothing. EPhatch.com ftw!

 
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twist the shift **** off
pop the shifter plate off
2 silver 8mm bolts
and the radio should slide out

 
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^^^yeah what he said sounds like he's done it before?

 
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USDM Si = CDM SiR
USDM EX = CDM Si

 
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First, thanks to all of you for your interest and help.

I tried all of the suggestions I got here and in the RP3 forum DIY, but to no avail. The panel is tightly attached to the dashboard, so prying it out with a screwdriver (like I've seen done is some sedan Civics) was not an option, removing the underdashes did not give me any access to the bolts holding the HU and I couldn't remove the shift lever or the silver plate around it.

Eventually, I decided to go to a professional installer who knows this car, which wasn't that easy, because the Honda official dealership's people wanted too much money and few private installers have had any experience with this car The Civic hatchbacks are almost as rare here as they are in the US - the other day a gas station worker tried to convience me that my car is not a Civic but a Honda Jazz (I think it's called Fit in the US)

Anyway, I found a guy who's familiar with this car, and I must tell, it was a good idea to give up on the idea to remove the stock HU myself. In order to access the bolts holding the HU and the changer, you need to pull out the entire central console, unplugging the A/C first - which is a bitch!

It didn't occur to me to take pictures at the time (and I really don't want to go through that process again) so I can't really write a comprehensive guide, but for the benefit of whoever may come looking for a way to remove the 7th gen hatchback Civic's stock stereo, I'll briefly explain how it can be done.

First, you must remove the lower black plastic panel, the one around the shifter (the one with the cigaret lighter). It's hard but possible to gently pry it out from the upper-right corner (note that neither the gear lever nor the silver plate around it can't be disassembled). There are cables connecting the ligher and the emergency light button to the car, but you can unplug them. Once that plate is removed, you can see above the shifter two or thee bolts holding the main console. Remove them.

Now the underdashes and the glove compartment should be removed and from there it's possible to access the bolts holding the console on the sides. The passanger side bolts are pretty easy to unscrew, however, the bolts on the driver's side are extremly hard to access (or even spot).

Now, the hardest part of this whole process is unplugging the A/C (and plugging it back later) without breaking it. I wouldn't even begin to describe you this part because I didn't understand it myself. All I know is that the installer asked me to constantly play with the rightmost (temperature) dial for him to even find where to unplug it and the dial had to be in the same position when pluged back as it had been when we unpluged it. The bottom line is that unless you know something about connecting and disconnecting this car's A/C unit, you really shouldn't try to remove the stock stereo yourself.

Once the central console was disconnected, it popped right out a few inches and we were able to unscrew the bolts holding the stereo and from there on, installing a new HU was as easy as on any other car. Hope that replacing the stock speakers wouldn't be this hard...

Again, I want to thank everyone here for their help.

And on a side note, I think that connecting a HU (especially the stock HU) to the dash is an extremely stupid idea - if someone breaks into my car, I prefer they just take the stereo and not ruin the entire dashboard, central console, A/C and gearbox (which is entirely possible in this car).

 
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I love my Honda too, but they do some stupid sh*t sometimes lol. They build the cars as modules and looks like that whole section was one of them...