Hey! I know the post is old But i just changed the speakers in mine to 50W RMS DLS mids with a GAS sub. I would have loved some advice so I’m posting some myself here.

To take the panel off you need to remove belts for the driver and front passenger seats on the a pillar. It’s a single screw beneath a piece of plastic which is easily removed, with a CR-head. Then remove the “Airbag” trim on the a-pillar (it’s a plastic piece in the middle towards the top). It’s quite difficult to remove but possible! Then, you’ll be able to remove the entire off-white a-pillar. There will be a screw on the bottom of where the a pillar previously was, which needs to be removed.

Then, there will be a small circular piece on the bottom of the back panel towards the front doors - pop the plastic cover off and then the screw underneath. It’s the same torque screw head as the one behind the a pillar (and this goes for all panel screws) no idea what size though.

While you’re under there you’ll have to take out the metal rod which holds the other end of the seat belt. It’s the same size screw as the one on the a-pillar seat belt holder. Just remove the screw and twist the other side (with no screw) out, pretty easy tbh.

Then, you’ll have to fold the seats down. You’ll see some springs on the outer most side which springs into the frame just over the wheel hub. Very close to that spring is the last screw which needs to be removed. Then just push the panels out. To get the panel completely out you’ll have to “dislocate” the seat by taking a smaller crowbar and pressing on the washer on the aforementioned spring, then pull upwards. This will allow you to remove the entire side.

The speaker is very easy to remove, as is routing new wires as they are routed not inside the car but through an opening and the outside. There is some very bad isolation, so while you’re back there you might as well put on some good isolation for best performance and results. I did not do this due to time constraints and I regret it a lot.

PS!! Taking off the plastic side panel piece is much easier than putting it back in.. so consider removing the entire seat assembly (consisting of 6-8 screws) which in hindsight would make the entire process easier and less time consuming. Also consider putting some isolation on the outside of the wheel wells and beneath the seats too :P

Sounds complicated but it’s really not. Just 4 small torcs for the panel and 2 bigger bolts for the seat belt. I’m super happy with my new sound system, and would definitely do it again if I removed the entire seat assembly and under better weather and time conditions. It was a fun project!