Hi All! New here and need some assistance please!

[Planecrazy]

Hi, 2nd Gen Avalon Owners!

I am the new owner of a 2000 XL and am in the process of transferring my auto-dimming Homelink equipped mirror over from my old ride to the Avalon. I want to tap into the power running to the overhead console but don't see any obvious way to pull it down from the headliner.

I've searched all 41 pages of the 2nd Gen forum without finding any instruction on how to access the console without breaking it or the headliner. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Steve

[KoG506]

Originally Posted by Planecrazy

Hi, 2nd Gen Avalon Owners!

I am the new owner of a 2000 XL and am in the process of transferring my auto-dimming Homelink equipped mirror over from my old ride to the Avalon. I want to tap into the power running to the overhead console but don't see any obvious way to pull it down from the headliner.

I've searched all 41 pages of the 2nd Gen forum without finding any instruction on how to access the console without breaking it or the headliner. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Steve

ummm try opening the sunglasses holder and there should be two screws. Im never tried it but pretty sure its the only way to access the wiring for the mirror. I have an XLS and wires are wired up there. Hope this helps

[Planecrazy]

Originally Posted by KoG506

ummm try opening the sunglasses holder and there should be two screws. Im never tried it but pretty sure its the only way to access the wiring for the mirror. I have an XLS and wires are wired up there. Hope this helps

LOL!!!!!

Thanks for the obvious tip, hehe! Ok, here's the funny story concerning how a comedy of errors led to this almost unnecessary thread.

I am in the process of getting my 2003 Kia Sorento (which has been a fantastic vehicle, btw) ready to sell, but I wanted to swap the aforementioned mirror with the basic one in the Avalon. Initially I didn't know the proper procedure for releasing the clip on the Avalon mirror, so I searched the 41 pages to see if there was a 2nd Gen Avalon specific answer.

Once I had the mirror off and swapped with the Sorento mirror, I started looking for info on how to get the Sorento console down in order to retrieve the necessary wiring harness for the mirror, because the Sorento console doesn't have the screws under the sunglass holder (which is, of course, the first place I looked). In the process of researching this I forgot which vehicle I was looking for answers to, and posted this here instead of in the Sorento forum ... DUH!

Anyway, it turns out that the Sorento console is accessed by popping out the maplight lens (they hid the slots to do this VERY well), and I'm in the final stages of finishing the job. Thanks for the quick response! I laughed pretty hard when I opened up the Avalon console and realized I had posted about the wrong vehicle ... hard to miss those two big black screws, hehe!!!

Regards,
Steve

PS. It turns out that the Avalon console ALSO has a mounting screw behind the map light lens - I'm glad I didn't try forcing it out before removing the lens, just to be sure. So to clarify, there are THREE mounting screws holding the console in place, as well as some clips in the front and tabs in the back once the screws are removed. The procedure is:

1. Open the sunglass holder and remove two screws behind it.
2. Pry open the maplight lens (CAREFULLY) and remove the single screw behind it.
3. Carefully pry the front of the console (nearest the windshield) down, being careful not to tear the roof liner (which may get caught on the clips as you lower the front of the console).
4. Slide the console toward the windshield as you lower the front of it, which will allow the tabs to slide off of the roof liner.

Reverse this procedure to reinstall...

Hope this is useful to others needing to access the wiring or the mechanicals up there!