[atropine]

What am I doing wrong? Trying to pull down the map/dome light console from above the rear view mirror in order to hardwire my Valentine radar detector. I have read all the DIY's here and watched a youtube video... seem like you just put the plastic spatula tools in at the front, press the base of the metal clips inward, then pull the console down. I did that, and I tried the other method where you pull the headliner down slightly and stick your hands in from the windshield side and try to feel the metal clips and push them in and down. No matter what, I cannot get the freakin clips to release and the console will not come down. I have worked on it for over an hour! Any other tricks?

[08njSTEP]

So here's the really story. The TIS instructions can work if you're really lucky. I worked in body shop at BMWNA and needed to do this. Tried for hours and so did 5 or 6 other techs. No luck. So we get the boss, who's been a tech with BMW for nearly 30 years. He worked at it for about 15 minutes then.......

Smashed it and removed the broken pieces and put in an order for a new one.

Not much help but that is one of the trickiest removals on E90 platform.


Good luck and keep trying. You pretty much need to release all 4 simultaneously.

[atropine]

Thanks- I sure felt like doing the same thing! I went out and tried one more time but gave up again after about 15 min and just ran the wire down the passenger side a-pillar to the fuse box. Should have just done that from the start- would have save a lot of time!

[Ugosplodes]

I had a few battles with this. I had to pull that module three times. I found that combining the spatula and sun visor methods worked. Get someone with tiny hands to press on the clip and press down, and wedge the spatula in so the clips don't slide back into place. It's a bitch, but I got it down to a 5ish minute process. It sounds like you found a solution that's a little more simple though.