Tech: Upgrade from standard radio to the Navigation unit

[kcrnmale]

Here goes:
Factory manual suggest to disconnect the negative battery cable which I admit, I didn't. You need to remove the silver plastic radio bezel by opening the tiny storage bin that looks like an ashtray between the heated seat switches. Grab the bezel here by the edge and pull: should come away fairly easy. Gently remove the bezel from the dash completely. Unplug all the electrical plugs attached to the bezel. This includes the clock, ESP/Airbag module and climate control center as these items are still connected to the bezel. Basically, everything is connected to the bezel except the radio itself. The plugs are all different, so don't worry about labeling them.



Remove the 4 black screws that hold the radio in place. You may need to shift your car into drive now to give you more room without the shifter knob in the way. The radio slides out and you need to unplug the 2 connectors on the back and the antennae cable.



Remove the white plastic support bracket by removing another 4 black screws. Discard. Not needed for the Nav radio. Reach through the dash between the AC vents until you feel the center speaker tray (cars without a center speaker). Push upward and the speaker grille will pop out. Grab the black cardboard tray in the speaker well from the top of the dash and mount your GPS antennae using double sided tape. Poke a hole in the tray and pop your GPS antennae cable through and place the tray back into the speaker well and snap the grille back into place. I apologize for no pics here, but this is very simple. If you have a center speaker, you will need to mount the GPS antennae elsewhere inside the dash. Reach back through the dash between the vents and pull the cable through. Take your new Nav radio and connect the two plugs, main antennae and GPS antennae to the back of the radio and slide into place. If you didn't disconnect the battery like me, you will hear the CD changer cycling. Reinsert the 4 black screws. Turn the radio on and grin.



Take your old bezel and remove the climate control panel, clock and ESP/Airbag module using a 4mm socket (Sears) on the tiny black bolt head screws. Transfer each to your new bezel plate and reattach. The AC vents are held in place by tension clips. You simply gently pry away the clips to remove the vents. It's easier to do with a second person helping. The tabs will snap right in to the new bezel. Place the new bezel plate in place and gently snap into place starting from the top. Finished! I hope this helps.

[Mr.DJ]

Great walkthrough...thanks.

[DJJT]

KCRNMALE,

Thanks for the handy info.

I just upgraded to the MP3 6 Disc changer.

It took about 15 minutes to do, thanks to your nice instruction manual!

The only trouble I had was getting the radio antenna unplugged from the original unit. No big deal, though.

Thanks again.

[steve 300c]

Question!
Do you loose the steering wheel controls through the upgrade and/or do you also have to get a softwear update from the dealer for use with the evic?