How-to guide
How to trim the dash tabs when fitting a 9 inch head unit
Quick answer
A 9 inch unit that will not stay in and keeps popping back out is almost always the four plastic tabs in the dash opening, not a faulty unit. They hold it proud, so the lower clips never reach far enough to engage. Check the lower clips are intact, then cut the four tabs flush with side cutters. It is the same four tabs on the MK3 and the MK4.
What this gives you
The unit sits back far enough to seat properly and clicks in, instead of springing out again, and the fascia clips down flat rather than standing proud on one edge.
Before you start
- The factory radio and centre trim already out. Removing them is covered in the fascia guide.
- Side cutters or flush cutters. No power tool is needed and none is wanted this close to the loom.
- The battery negative terminal off, because the dash is open and the loom is exposed.
- A 2008 onwards 70 Series with the 200 mm opening. The early narrow steel dash is a different job.
Step by step
- Check the lower clips before you cut anything
If the lower clips are broken, trimming the tabs will not hold the unit in and you will have cut the dash for nothing. Look at them first. Broken clips are their own repair. Intact clips and a unit that still pops out is the case this guide fixes, so carry on from here.
- Get the opening clear first
The factory radio and the centre trim have to be out before you can see what you are cutting. Pull the loom forward out of the opening and rest it on the tray below, so nothing is sitting between the cutters and the side wall.
- Find the four tabs
Look at the inner side walls of the opening, not the face of the dash. There are two moulded plastic tabs on the left wall and two on the right, one above the other on each side. They held the cage the factory single DIN radio slid into. All four are circled below.
The four tabs to remove, two on each side wall of the opening. - Cut them flush with the wall
Side cutters, one tab at a time, cutting at the base so nothing is left standing proud. Close the cutters through the plastic rather than levering or twisting them, because levering loads the side wall and can crack it. A stub that still catches your fingernail is still tall enough to hold the unit forward and stop the lower clips engaging.
- Catch the offcuts as they come away
A cut tab drops straight down inside the dash. Hold each one as you cut it, or fish it out before you move on. A loose piece of plastic in there turns into a rattle you cannot reach later without pulling the dash apart again.
- Check both walls by hand
Run a finger down each side wall from top to bottom. It should be smooth the whole way. This takes a few seconds and it is the last easy chance to find a tab you only half cut.
- Dry fit and feel for the click
Offer the unit up with nothing connected. It should go back far enough to click in and stay there, with the same gap down both sides. If it still springs out with all four tabs gone, stop and look at the clips and the loom rather than cutting more.
If it does not work
- Still pops out with all four tabs cut flush: the lower clips are broken, or a harness bundle behind the stack is holding the unit forward.
- Gap down one side only: one tab on that side is cut short rather than flush. Run a finger down that wall again.
- Rattle in the dash afterwards: an offcut went down inside. It has to come out.
Worth knowing
The tabs are not structural. They located the cage the factory radio slid into, and that cage is not going back in. Cutting is one way though, so rule out the clips first and cut flush the first time.
The MK3 and the MK4 are both 9 inch units and foul the same four tabs, so the job is identical either way.
Still need help?
Tell us your vehicle and send a photo of the opening, and we can tell you what is fouling.