[ElNopal]

Nice 😁 what's the process of removing the driver's side small tray?

Quick and dirty:

LOTS of patience, commitment, small hands, basic hand tools, and your choice of curse words.

OR...

*remove scuff plate
*Remove push nut off of fire wall kick plate
*Unclip lower dash cover with slim pry tool
*Open glovebox and squeeze out top tabs from behind assembly
*release/disconnect glovebox damper
*unscrew three screws on dash assembly
*unbolt 10mm bolt above where kick panel meets dash

*unsnap shift boot from shift knob
*with a dental pick, unsnap retention wire clip from shifter and knob
*remove/pull up on shifter panel and un clip harnesses
*pry on edge of climate control knob and gently pull unit outward and unclip harness
*unbolt/unclip seat heater switch, airbag unit
*pop out center cubby tray
*unbolt 10 mm bolt near the cup holder inside where the shifter rests.
*gently/firmly pull up and un clip the center shift/console bezel
*there is a 10 mm bolt very much hidden toward the lower right back of the center console area
*gently pry the side panel of the console outward and use a ratchet and swivel head/knuckle attachment with super long extensions to unbolt

*now gently pull and pry on the glove box it should snap out and is held in by clips assembly Carefully, slowly do not break anything
*pry on the flat of the side dash (facing the door) there are tabbed like hinges that must be removed by opening panel toward front of the vehicle
*there is another 10 mm bolt to unbolt that was exposed after removing the glove box assembly
*this allows enough slack to “wiggle and wriggle” the cubby removal
*remove three screws from bottom part of cubby
*pry tool to unsnap two blade snaps
*wriggle lower half loose from top
*slightly bend metal square brackets away from lower cubby plastic/foam seat prongs

* OKAY
There are 5 Phillips screws that can be removed using a loooong screw driver. You will have to do finagle, pull, pry, to get a hand up there to place a light in there to “barely see” to “get” an idea of the general location to point your screwdriver because you will NOT be able to see it while you unscrew it. I would suggest to start with the easiest first, which is the screw closest to the door. As you gently pull down and away, after every screw, the remaining screws closest to the center console will be easier.

Again, gentle pulling as to not break anything...

Phwew!!!
Anyone still there? Let me know if I can provide any clarification or pics...

Best,
Matt

 

[ElNopal]

Damn!
I reread your question! I thought you meant for the passenger side ...

 

[ElNopal]

Okay...

Kind of the same process will be used for the driver side.

remove the scuff plate, firewall kick plate, and lower dash cover

unscrew the three screws of the cover
Unbolt the 10 mm bolt gently pull off switch dash panel and un hook wire harnesses

unclip the side dash panel

unscrew the two screws hold the bottom half to the upper and unclip the flat plastic blade from its housing.

using a very short, stubby Phillips screwdriver, very gently pull down on tray and “feel” for the two screws that hold the upper half in place. It took me 15 minutes to turn the stubby and “unscrew” the two screws because of the cramped area.

Very careful not to break plastic on this one. I almost did...

Best of luck!

 

[Dave19447]

Hi,
I just did this project about a week ago and retrofitted OEM lights into these spaces.

View attachment 162883 View attachment 162886 View attachment 162887 View attachment 162888 View attachment 162890 View attachment 162891

View attachment 162894

View attachment 162893

However, my rig lacked the wiring so I used the illumination circuit to power. This allows for the lights to come on with the rest of the dash lights and DIM at my personal preference!

I used a 1/8 drill but for a pilot hole then finished with a 3/8 drill bit. This size allows for the light to “snap-in” place and leave an almost perfect looking finish.

After cruising around for about a week, I have decided I am a glutton for punishment! I am going to add another two more lights to the passenger side cubby to avoid a “pooling” look. I still very much prefer the single led’s vs the kind of “tacky” look of the strip LED’s (IMHO).

I have pictures from the first tear down but I will add more and complete a write up for those that might be interested how I disassembled my dash...

Cheers!

Hey great job and where did you get the white connector heads that fit the bulbs? I've tried looking but I never knew what they're called. Also how did you access the driver side cubby and the passengers tray side and take them out?

 

[Dave19447]

Okay...

Kind of the same process will be used for the driver side.

remove the scuff plate, firewall kick plate, and lower dash cover

unscrew the three screws of the cover
Unbolt the 10 mm bolt gently pull off switch dash panel and un hook wire harnesses

unclip the side dash panel

unscrew the two screws hold the bottom half to the upper and unclip the flat plastic blade from its housing.

using a very short, stubby Phillips screwdriver, very gently pull down on tray and “feel” for the two screws that hold the upper half in place. It took me 15 minutes to turn the stubby and “unscrew” the two screws because of the cramped area.

Very careful not to break plastic on this one. I almost did...

Best of luck!

Sorry I just saw you post this. I highly recommend if you could please make a YouTube video on it because no one has done that before and so many ppl will watch the process. Thank you

 

[ElNopal]

Hey great job and where did you get the white connector heads that fit the bulbs? I've tried looking but I never knew what they're called. Also how did you access the driver side cubby and the passengers tray side and take them out?

Hi, there!

Here are the part numbers for the OEM lights for the cubbies and foot wells for our rigs.


81080-33280 (courtesy/footwell Lamps)
81080-42040 (Courtesy Lamp-Storage)
82285-42030 ( Wire Illumination)

However, I was able to pick up the whole OEM light with blue dust cover and wire harness plug at my local dealer for under $4! Talk about a steal because just the lights themselves were priced at $20 plus! One of those rare, rare times when the complete assembly is cheaper than a single part.

The part I am referring to is the one titled “wire illumination”.

I will have to give the video thing some thought. I am going to be dismantling the dash and whole center console again for other lighting and painting projects...🤔

Here are some flashbacks from the war... 🤣

 

[Dave19447]

Hi, there!

Here are the part numbers for the OEM lights for the cubbies and foot wells for our rigs.


81080-33280 (courtesy/footwell Lamps)
81080-42040 (Courtesy Lamp-Storage)
82285-42030 ( Wire Illumination)

However, I was able to pick up the whole OEM light with blue dust cover and wire harness plug at my local dealer for under $4! Talk about a steal because just the lights themselves were priced at $20 plus! One of those rare, rare times when the complete assembly is cheaper than a single part.

The part I am referring to is the one titled “wire illumination”.

I will have to give the video thing some thought. I am going to be dismantling the dash and whole center console again for other lighting and painting projects...🤔

Here are some flashbacks from the war... 🤣 View attachment 162929 View attachment 162930 View attachment 162931

Nice that's great was that regular price or was it a sale price? And I have all the lights in my xse already but they're way to dim. I've ordered aftermarket bulbs from AliExpress waiting for them to arrive so I can change the center console and the cupholder lights. But always wondered the steps it takes to dismantle the driver's cubby and the passenger tray. I initially went underneather thought about dismantling it from under the footwell like you did but I got scared when I saw the airbag set up there. I had a fear of triggering it by accident.

But ya if you can do a video that would be amazing I would be first to watch it for sure!

 

[ElNopal]

Nice that's great was that regular price or was it a sale price? And I have all the lights in my xse already but they're way to dim. I've ordered aftermarket bulbs from AliExpress waiting for them to arrive so I can change the center console and the cupholder lights. But always wondered the steps it takes to dismantle the driver's cubby and the passenger tray. I initially went underneather thought about dismantling it from under the footwell like you did but I got scared when I saw the airbag set up there. I had a fear of triggering it by accident.

But ya if you can do a video that would be amazing I would be first to watch it for sure!

Yeah, they were regular price for me...

I just got my last wiring components to do the last two lights I will be adding...

 

[ToRayBa]

Yeah, they were regular price for me...
I just got my last wiring components to do the last two lights I will be adding...

Thanks EINopal for the pics and ideas! I went a slightly different route, but your pic of the uninstalled tray gave me the confidence to go for it. Call me lazy and stubborn, but I decided to install my 3mm LED bulbs/Bezels without removing the tray. I decided to use 5 bulbs to try and get a more consistent illumination. And of course, just the single bulb in the driver's side tray. I'm VERY happy with the results, although there's still some tweaking to do between additional diffusing/light control and picking the dimmer settings that feel the most "factory" in appearance to me.

^ I pre-painted the bulbs with a solvent based white car paint to help diffuse the light.

^ Inserted in to their bezels with a dab of super glue as they're not a super tight fit

^ I hate soldering, so I chickened out and went with unshielded butt connectors and heat shrink. Wrapped those suckers up with electrical tape after the fact. As you can see, I offset the connectors so as to not have a bulky spot in the wire - I needed to be able to fit the wire leads through a 1/4" hole.

^ I removed the glove box - as you can see down below, I had already previously pre-run my lead wire, which is tied in to a 12v dimmer (installed in my arm rest). I used masking tape to help protect the surface from scratches and make my marks more visible. I found center, and spaced the bulbs 3 inches apart.

^ With the help of a 90 Degree drill extension and a stubby pilot bit, I was able to get these suckers drilled out. Switching up in size to the 1/4" bit was admittedly challenging, as I had to come at the holes from an angle, but nothing a steady hand and a firm grip couldn't handle.

^ Some wires were easier than others to phish, but for the most part, it wasn't that bad. I was sure to test all the LED's before fastening them in to place. After that, super glued them in place and added a bit more white paint after seeing they were still a little too intense and "spotty".

^There's more light control work to be done, but overall, it's working well

^ Right now the light hits the front/lower lip. I'll be masking off the bulbs and painting the front halves of them black in order to get rid of that effect. That will have to wait though, as I need the white paint to dry.

^I'm pretty happy with the little driver's side cubby and will leave it as is.

Thanks again to everyone's hard work and sharing - lots of great product ideas and suggestions that led to a very successful project for me!

Cheers

 

[ElNopal]

Thanks EINopal for the pics and ideas! I went a slightly different route, but your pic of the uninstalled tray gave me the confidence to go for it. Call me lazy and stubborn, but I decided to install my 3mm LED bulbs/Bezels without removing the tray. I decided to use 5 bulbs to try and get a more consistent illumination. And of course, just the single bulb in the driver's side tray. I'm VERY happy with the results, although there's still some tweaking to do between additional diffusing/light control and picking the dimmer settings that feel the most "factory" in appearance to me.

View attachment 162977

^ I pre-painted the bulbs with a solvent based white car paint to help diffuse the light.

View attachment 162978

^ Inserted in to their bezels with a dab of super glue as they're not a super tight fit

View attachment 162979

^ I hate soldering, so I chickened out and went with unshielded butt connectors and heat shrink. Wrapped those suckers up with electrical tape after the fact. As you can see, I offset the connectors so as to not have a bulky spot in the wire - I needed to be able to fit the wire leads through a 1/4" hole.

View attachment 162980

^ I removed the glove box - as you can see down below, I had already previously pre-run my lead wire, which is tied in to a 12v dimmer (installed in my arm rest). I used masking tape to help protect the surface from scratches and make my marks more visible. I found center, and spaced the bulbs 3 inches apart.

View attachment 162981

^ With the help of a 90 Degree drill extension and a stubby pilot bit, I was able to get these suckers drilled out. Switching up in size to the 1/4" bit was admittedly challenging, as I had to come at the holes from an angle, but nothing a steady hand and a firm grip couldn't handle.

View attachment 162982

^ Some wires were easier than others to phish, but for the most part, it wasn't that bad. I was sure to test all the LED's before fastening them in to place. After that, super glued them in place and added a bit more white paint after seeing they were still a little too intense and "spotty".





View attachment 162984

^There's more light control work to be done, but overall, it's working well

View attachment 162986

^ Right now the light hits the front/lower lip. I'll be masking off the bulbs and painting the front halves of them black in order to get rid of that effect. That will have to wait though, as I need the white paint to dry.




View attachment 162987

^I'm pretty happy with the little driver's side cubby and will leave it as is.

Thanks again to everyone's hard work and sharing - lots of great product ideas and suggestions that led to a very successful project for me!

Cheers

Nice job 👍!!!

No worries about your approach. I also thought about going this exact route as well. I decided to do the tear down because I have some other wiring that I will be doing for the glove box pin switch light and center console pin switch light as well. During this tear down, I also ran relay harnesses and a front camera lead through the firewall so it just made sense to tear out and drill comfortably...

The only wonder I have though is why not just use the factory dimmer switch like I did? It makes for less “hardware” to account for and is already there and will work in sync with the rest of the dash illumination...

Again, nicely done and cheers!

 

[ToRayBa]

Nice job 👍!!!

No worries about your approach. I also thought about going this exact route as well. I decided to do the tear down because I have some other wiring that I will be doing for the glove box pin switch light and center console pin switch light as well. During this tear down, I also ran relay harnesses and a front camera lead through the firewall so it just made sense to tear out and drill comfortably...

The only wonder I have though is why not just use the factory dimmer switch like I did? It makes for less “hardware” to account for and is already there and will work in sync with the rest of the dash illumination...

Again, nicely done and cheers!

That's an excellent question. I had considered that early on, but I decided against it. Right now, I have my OEM center tray light, front storage tray lighting, cupholder lighting, and rear seat lighting all running to the same power source. The OEM tray light is way too dim for my liking when not at 100% Lumens, so I've actually bypassed my own dimmer to keep it at full. However, the aftermarket bulbs are quite bright, and although they've been subdued by the diffusion of the paint, they're still way more intense. Also, I don't want them to be tied in with the rest of console lighting, as I like my console to be set to full brightness at night and wouldn't want to have to turn it down in order to control the ambient lighting. Your approach is way more of a professional/factory angle, and I have lots of respect for that, it just didn't quite give me the customization I wanted.

This approach isn't for everyone, in fact, I have the LED strips on order and was going to just go with the stick-on lighting, but once I saw your pic of the tray, I knew I had a shot at getting the look I wanted. If I get the light under better control, I'll post an update!

EINopal, I'd be interested to see your work on the glovebox lighting. I'm not sure how it's done and I'm not keen to have wiring attached to a moving part. But maybe you can inspire me a second time, lol!

Cheers

 

[ElNopal]

That's an excellent question. I had considered that early on, but I decided against it. Right now, I have my OEM center tray light, front storage tray lighting, cupholder lighting, and rear seat lighting all running to the same power source. The OEM tray light is way too dim for my liking when not at 100% Lumens, so I've actually bypassed my own dimmer to keep it at full. However, the aftermarket bulbs are quite bright, and although they've been subdued by the diffusion of the paint, they're still way more intense. Also, I don't want them to be tied in with the rest of console lighting, as I like my console to be set to full brightness at night and wouldn't want to have to turn it down in order to control the ambient lighting. Your approach is way more of a professional/factory angle, and I have lots of respect for that, it just didn't quite give me the customization I wanted.

This approach isn't for everyone, in fact, I have the LED strips on order and was going to just go with the stick-on lighting, but once I saw your pic of the tray, I knew I had a shot at getting the look I wanted. If I get the light under better control, I'll post an update!

EINopal, I'd be interested to see your work on the glovebox lighting. I'm not sure how it's done and I'm not keen to have wiring attached to a moving part. But maybe you can inspire me a second time, lol!

Cheers

I hear you. Thanks for the answer!

Albeit on my Tundra, I will be taking the same approach with the RAV4...

A constant power source for an OEM pin switch that feeds a bright white to each(independently- when opened) center console and or glove box...

 

[ToRayBa]

I hear you. Thanks for the answer!

Albeit on my Tundra, I will be taking the same approach with the RAV4...

A constant power source for an OEM pin switch that feeds a bright white to each(independently- when opened) center console and or glove box...

Very cool! Where will you be mounting the light for the RAV4? As it's a very different type of glove box from the Tundra. Is there an ideal spot or even, factory location, where it gets mounted? I'm hesitant to mount it to the moving glove box itself, but maybe there's no way around that?

 

[ElNopal]

Very cool! Where will you be mounting the light for the RAV4? As it's a very different type of glove box from the Tundra. Is there an ideal spot or even, factory location, where it gets mounted? I'm hesitant to mount it to the moving glove box itself, but maybe there's no way around that?

First of all, I am unaware of any trim having a “factory” location for a glove light. It is just unfortunately an end result achieved by the manufacturer bean counters...

I have several ideas of securing 3-5 small LED’s in the actual area that houses the glove box. This is still stationary and allows for plenty of light to shine down onto the open glovebox. The other area is inside the actual lower tray area of the lid. There is a lip that would also support an angled flush mount led (3-5).

The pin switches would be mounted in the areas outlined with black squares and lights with the white circles... It still appears easy, at least I think so. Here are the LED’s I use for these types of spaces.

LED Bolt Flush Mount Lights | Bright + 12 Volt | Oznium LEDs

Flush Mount LED Bolt from $5.99. Oznium LED Bolts and Pre Wired LEDs: ✓ High Quality Products ✓ Best Customer Service ✓ Fast Shipping ✓ Order now at Oznium.com!

www.oznium.com

 

[ToRayBa]

First of all, I am unaware of any trim having a “factory” location for a glove light. It is just unfortunately an end result achieved by the manufacturer bean counters...

I have several ideas of securing 3-5 small LED’s in the actual area that houses the glove box. This is still stationary and allows for plenty of light to shine down onto the open glovebox. The other area is inside the actual lower tray area of the lid. There is a lip that would also support an angled flush mount led (3-5).

The pin switches would be mounted in the areas outlined with black squares and lights with the white circles... It still appears easy, at least I think so. Here are the LED’s I use for these types of spaces.

LED Bolt Flush Mount Lights | Bright + 12 Volt | Oznium LEDs

Flush Mount LED Bolt from $5.99. Oznium LED Bolts and Pre Wired LEDs: ✓ High Quality Products ✓ Best Customer Service ✓ Fast Shipping ✓ Order now at Oznium.com!

www.oznium.com

I was hoping that upper area of the glove box could be an option! This would work great for me, as all my wiring is sitting to the left of the glove box and it would be a quick and easy splice to tap in to. Thanks for the tip! I'll just need to run a test to see if a slightly bumped out LED bulb would get in the way of the glove box closing properly. Thanks for the ideas/pics. These bulbs I have are so damn b right, even when diffused, that I may just test out one in the middle. I can always add two more if I'm unhappy with the illumination. Keep us posted on your amazing work!

 

[ToRayBa]

I was hoping that upper area of the glove box could be an option! This would work great for me, as all my wiring is sitting to the left of the glove box and it would be a quick and easy splice to tap in to. Thanks for the tip! I'll just need to run a test to see if a slightly bumped out LED bulb would get in the way of the glove box closing properly. Thanks for the ideas/pics. These bulbs I have are so damn b right, even when diffused, that I may just test out one in the middle. I can always add two more if I'm unhappy with the illumination. Keep us posted on your amazing work!

Just a quick update. I ran the one bulb for the glove box and am very pleased with it. It's plenty of illumination and matches well. I didn't go the route of having it triggered with a switch, as there are no light leaks when the glove box is closed, also, I like having it tied in to the same dimmer switch as everything else.

Last two items on my list (I think some parts are arriving today) are illuminated window switches for the passenger doors and illuminated door handle panels, then this bad boy will be all lit up like a blue christmas tree!

Cheers

 

[ToRayBa]

Just a quick update. I ran the one bulb for the glove box and am very pleased with it. It's plenty of illumination and matches well. I didn't go the route of having it triggered with a switch, as there are no light leaks when the glove box is closed, also, I like having it tied in to the same dimmer switch as everything else.

Last two items on my list (I think some parts are arriving today) are illuminated window switches for the passenger doors and illuminated door handle panels, then this bad boy will be all lit up like a blue christmas tree!

Cheers

Just a quick update: Door handle lighting customized to match colour/lumens of tray lights + extra lighting for door storage cubbies. I'm very happy with the results. Thanks again to everyone who contributed to this thread and gave so many great ideas and tips!

 

[ElNopal]

Nicely done!👍

I was able to finish my glove box light and add another two more lights to the paso dash cubby this past weekend.

 

[ToRayBa]

Nicely done!👍

I was able to finish my glove box light and add another two more lights to the paso dash cubby this past weekend.

Dude that looks amazing! Very well done!

 

[ElNopal]

Dude that looks amazing! Very well done!

Thanks a lot for the kind words!
I will be doing the center console once I map some more wiring routes. I hit a little bit of a snag in my previous plan. However, it will still very much be like the glove box as well.