Today I discovered I have some damage to the faceplate. It looks like something scratched it in a downward motion, leaving marks on the right-hand side in at least 3 places. I know this means the rubberized coating will start peeling.

Is it possible to replace the coverplate? If not can it be removed for refinishing? Anything anyone can share would be greatly appreciated. The rubber finish on these parts is a nightmare. Once it goes, it looks like hell.

There are many threads on refinishing the console but I cannot find anything addressing the actual coverplate of the head unit.

Thanks

 

Id hate to say it, because im in the same situation with my radio and i've just learned to ignore it. it sucks, but trying to touch it up would make it worse i think.

 

Had the same problem along with the window switch panels, touch ups looked like hell and didnt blend at all. Had a paint shop spray the switch panels gloss black and replaced the headunit. From what I was told by the dealership the faceplate is not removable. I inquired about that when I asked what could be done about the "Check Disk" error and they basically said throw it in the trash. You'd be surprised how much better the Bose speakers sound with just a new headunit though. Just installed an AVIC-X920bt last weekend and it's night and day.

 

I've been extra careful with the door handles after replacing one of them less than a month after I bought the car. I didn't know about the rest of the car being treated with the dumb rubberized coating. What genius came up with that?

Anyway, I'm pretty crafty at refinishing things. I may try to restore the faceplate by removing the head unit and doing it while attached. If that fails then I may just go for an after market unit as you did.

Did you have any trouble integrating it with the existing Bose harness and amp?

Thanks

 

No not a single problem except being absent minded and completely forgeting about the Bose being powered by amps and not connecting the amp remote wire from the pioneer harness. If you do swap your Bose make sure to get the PAC ROEM-NIS2 module. It will connect straight to the vehicle-side Bose wiring on one end and you can remove the other end to wire it up to your aftermarket unit. As long as you use the PAC its as simple as installing any other unit. The only little part that annoys me is the dedicated subwoofer control on the headunit doesnt control the Bose woofer so you dont get as much control over that specifically, which I assume is because the headunit sub control is for one thats connected directly through the RCA output and the Bose gets its signal through the regular harness. Other than that the integration went seamlessly. I was thinking I would need to rip the entire stock setup out and do some serious re-wiring but unless your a real audiophile you'll most likely be content with the sound after fiddling with EQ settings for a day or two. Heres a link for the PAC: http://www.amazon.com/PAC-ROEMNIS2-I.../dp/B000CE9OY2

And if youd like a headunit to test your refinishing on before you go ripping yours out for no reason you can have my Bose for the cost of shipping lol. Its pretty beat up on the front and doesnt play disks but it might save you from taking ours out only to find out it doesn't turn out right n have to put it all back in until you get a new headunit n take it out again.

 

Thanks for the offer. Don't throw the old head unit away as I just might take you up on the offer. I've read on a couple threads about using "Bumper Paint" and also 3M Di-Noc Vinyl wrap. I think the paint would be the easier of the two since the faceplate cannot be removed. I might just refinish the two door handles and get that over with while I'm at it.

I just can't believe Nissan putting out a car with such delicate finishes where people would be touching the car daily. It really makes no sense. It won't make people buy more Nissan's...and only serves to anger those who already have. Dumb...just plain stupid.

Forgot to ask if you had any trouble removing the console and any tips if you have some.

 

no real trouble removing anything just follow one of the DIY threads and you should be okay. One thing that doesnt get mentioned though, it's a good idea to have either a magnetic screwdriver or extendable pen-style magnet handy cuz if you start dropping the little screws they are hard to find again. actually still have one stuck somewhere between my passenger seat haha. Looking at you sig I assume you have an auto tranny? If so that little trim ring needs to come off first. All of the removal threads show manual tranny consoles so I wasnt sure and started trying to pry the whole thing at once. Take the trim ring off the top (just tug and it comes out) and it'll leave some room to get your fingers under the bigger piece which takes a slightly stronger tug. Dont worry you wont break anything, just be careful when putting that trim ring back on when your done. It only goes on one way so take a close look at the tabs before you go pushing it back down. I ended up breaking three of the 4 tabs because it was late and I got a little careless at the end but even still it stays in place just as good as before. Oh and when you get to pulling the top panel off where the gauge pods are dont pull it out too far at first, the wiring plug for those is on the left hand side and does not have much slack at all maybe a couple inches.

 

Thanks for the advice. The more I think about this, the more questions come to me. How does the stereo/radio controls on the steering wheel work with an aftermarket head unit?

 

The only way to keep your steering wheel controls is to use an adapter. Axxis (check spelling) and PAC both make one and there specific versions for the different aftermarket brand. For instance, I have a Pioneer headunit so I used the PAC SWI-PS which works with Pioneer and Sony units. The wiring was a little confusing to me, it requires adding two different size resistors into the wiring, so I am letting a local shop put that in next week. If you have some experience with that sort of thing it doesn't look to difficult I just didnt feel like taking the time. I bought my adapter from a forum member and he said the only change in controls is the power button on the steering wheel functioned as mute for the headunit, which in m opinion makes more sense anyway seeing as I can't recall the last time I even powered off the radio while driving. The seller didn't mention anything about it but I believe the Mode button is rendered useless but I could be wrong, I know the Volume/Seek buttons remain though.

Also if you have the factory navigation I know you'll lose voice guidance but I think I read somewhere a navigation speaker can be added separate from the regular wiring to regain that function.

 

Thanks for that information. If I go with replacing my head unit I will definitely be doing some research.

I sent an email to the Bose Automotive Division asking if they could help me with replacing the face plate on the unit. I just received their reply. It turns out Bose does not make the head unit at all. It's made by Clarion.

With that I think I will give a try repairing the damage...if that doesn't come out to my satisfaction, I'll get an aftermarket head unit as you have.

 

Nice find on the stock radio being a Clarion product. I found it hard to believe the folks at Bose personally developed that P.O.S.

But definitely read some of the threads here about the aftermarket replacement. I'm still fairly new to the Z only had it since February, I'm fresh out the Lexus IS platform and still getting a feel for this one. Everything I told you is from the probably 3 hours it took me to read through here and get a handle on this Bose fiasco. I bought the Z used and if it wasn't for being the exact color and trim (Le Mans Sunset, Grand Touring, w/ Stillen exhaust added by former owner) I would have passed on it just because of the Bose. Guess we can't get everything we want haha.

 

It looks like you can remove the faceplate after all. I found the thread below on another Z forum with pics.

http://www.350z-uk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=21318

This is good news. If I can remove the crappy rubber coating and retain the labels, I will refinish my OEM head unit and keep things stock. I like the aftermarket stuff as much as the next guy but have other things I would rather put my money into. Besides, I only drive the car 5000 miles a year so it's not like I'm out there all the time listening to tunes.

 

i know we can remove it but where do we get the replacement?

i was thinking of getting it spray but then it will just be black for everything on there.
i need some printed words to make it eye pleasant. anyone know how to do this? repaint and repainting the words too? ebay sell this stereo but all scratch up though