Anyone remove their Headline (The interior Roof Trim)?

First off, if one of the really qualified folk don't answer....
http://techinfo.toyota.com/ is a place where you can register and pull down repair manuals and wiring diagrams for the prius (well most toyotas).
it's a for fee service....

i was poking around tonite because i'm slurping data to see what i can do about installing a 144/440
ham rig.

as i recall headliner dropping was covered in the repair manual and it involves rmoving interior trim
all the way around. but i haven't done it.

BTW if you have side curtain airbags, you're gonna want to be carful about this. (or i' misreading a lot of the warnings on mine... also a possibility)

cas

 

if your going to install a ham rig in your Prius, I'd contact Toyota and see if they have any specific information about rf shielding for the up to 14 computers in the car. I'd be very leary of doing it personally. But to each his own, but I still recommend you talk with Toyota.

 

Very good point. which is why I'm taking it slow and poking around the
service website too. I'm talking VHF/UHF so max power is 35 watts or less
(since SF Bay Area is repeater rich.... typically much less) so leakage
shsould not be much more of an issue than what the car puts out on its own. Of course since I'm driving a #7, I also get to worry about side air bags so no auxspeakers hanging off shoulder belt attach points.

I did see a white '04 with what looked like a Larsen Glass mount headed the other way about a week ago. If I didn't have my kid with me on the way to her class... I might have flipped a U and chased the car...

Might have made the news.... lunatic prius driver stalks other prius owner over ham antenna... <wee>

Thanks Frank.

 

I'm not sure how the headliner is removed in the Prius, but the instructions to remove the headliner from many vehicles require that the windshield be removed first. However since the Prius has a hatchback, I think you can run it out the back once removed. This should at least be a 2-person job, as you don't want to flex the substrate material very much.

I would begin by removing all the oh-sh** handles at the seating positions (usually these help hold the headliner in place). Now, I am talking to this without actually looking at the vehicle. Remove the trim panels that lip over the headliner (be careful to replace the door seals over these trim panels properly when reinstalling). You should now be able to pop the clips holding the headliner in place. One thing to watch out for is whether the dome lamp holds the headliner in (if it does not, then you will need to unseat the wiring clip before removing the headliner from the vehicle). Now the headliner can be removed.

Note: read the insturctions as to the proximity of the XM antennae. I'm not sure if it can be mounted near the regular radio antennae.

Hope this helps. My experience has been with other vehicles, not the prius. If you don't feel comfortable doing this yourself, pay to get it done. It will be cheaper than replacing your cracked headliner.