Dismantling Dash Board.

Looks like that is part of the main dash. The good news is that the stereo surround, center vent, side vent and the silver dash panel all pop off with just a gentle pull. Those pieces are just clipped in and will allow access to see under the part you wanted to remove.

 

Big hammer will get you in <sarcasm>


Good question, I have a small rattle in my dash as well. I will pop those panels this weekend.

texting from Luke's old jalopy Red 5

 

There is very detailed instructions for disassembling the dash on Toyota TIS. The parts guy at my local Toyota dealer printed it out for me. I was suffering from dash rattle last year, I took apart and reassembled the dash probably about 5 times total. I can detail what I found and how I fixed my dash rattle, if anyone is interested.

 

You will need a non-marring pry tool, and a trim removal tool, both can be found at automotive stores. Looking at the picture posted above, you must remove the parts in this order:
1. Pull out the left and right vents
2. Remove 55405B with soft pry tool
3. Remove 55474B with your hands
4. There will be a bolt connecting the passenger airbag to the frame behind 55474B, remove it. Also unplug the two electrical connectors you see.
5. Pull out 55670A
6. Using the edge of the soft pry tool, push in the center of the two retainers right above the meter. Use the trim removal tool to remove them.
7. Lift up and pull out 55404D. You will see the metal frame that the meter is attached to. Remove the two screws holding the meter in. There is a third screw on the left side of the metal frame here that also needs to be removed.
8. Now you must remove the plastic covers on the A pillars. There is an airbag behind each of them. This is tricky. If you struggle with this I would get help from your dealership because I had a lot of trouble with this step.
9. Once the A columns are out you can remove the two black plastic retainers found at the far left and right side of the dash, where the A columns were. Use the trim removal tool.
10. Assuming I'm not forgetting anything you should be able to lift up and remove the entire dash. Lower the steering wheel as far as it will go, and lift the dash upwards and towards you (there are many tabs holding it in).

Reverse the steps when you want to put it all back together. You can also reconnect the meter and drive without the dash on at all, this may help you find the rattle, and the car will drive perfectly fine as long as the meter is connected. As I mentioned, the problem that I found was the metal tabs right below the windshield. My solution was to cover each of these tabs with black fabric tape (such as hockey tape). Once I did this and reinstalled the dash, the rattling noise was virtually gone.

EDIT: Here is a video that shows the first half of my instructions

 

Thanks for the updates. I'm sure it will help out others in the future.