Tonight, I tried to remove some plastic trim to free up extra room in the hatch area. I thought it would be nice to do this on occasion so I can take my dog on road trips. What I found out was that the plastic just covers a cross member that is spot welded in. The midranges are bolted to this as well as the small compartments in between. It would be nice to know if this cross member has any structural load on it or if it's just there to support these accessories. I wouldn't want to remove it now while the car is new but may want to pull it one day. I don't think it would have any structural importance since it is only spot welded but who knows?

Regardless, this is applicable to anyone who wants to access the rear midranges. Pull one plastic trim piece off of each side of the car that cradles over the center trim that covers the midranges. Plastic plugs hold them down. These two pieces extend down the length of the seatbelts and meet the door sill trim that holds the carpet down at the threshold of the doors. Then work along the seam between the upper trim piece (covers midranges) and the lower piece in the hatch area. The upper piece just pulls back towards the hatch area from the lower piece. Next you need to pull the trim on the front part of the compartments that traces around the sub area and glove box. I didn't do this step because I could see the structure in there and didn't want to go any further. Next pop the upper trim piece off by pulling straight up. It will requre more force because it is held in to the crossmember by 4 or 5 metal clips which are tighter than the plastic plugs. This should expose the midranges and the power source in case you need it. I tried to take pictures but my dig. cam. is on the blink.

Interesting fact: The small compartments where the CD changer and NAV DVD drive go will pop out (just tug them) and the braces that hold them can be removed. You might want to do this if you buy an aftermarket DVD, CD changer, etc. and it won't fit into the compartments as is.