Removing 2012 AC rear center console

It took me a couple minutes of head scratching to figure out how to remove the rear seat center console of the 2012 Tacoma Access Cab. I drink a lot, so this shouldn't be surprising. Still, I thought I would document the atrocities and share them with you.


The center console is held in with 4 large 10mm bots hidden under rubber mats. Carefully pry them up and undo the bolts.







Under that is a bracket held in place with 2 12mm bolts. Remove it.





Celebrate victory with a beer. Time for part two - what to do with the gaping hole ?

 

The hole that remains can be filled by 3/8 x 8 x 11 1/2 inch piece of something. Here, I used a scrap from my kitchen cabinets.



That only serves as filler, however. I want a nice, flat-ish platform to house the doggies while we roll. A piece of 3/8 24x48 B/C plywood does the trick. Cut it down to 22x48, however or it won't fit.




But, this sucks. The doors and storage area is covered. Also, I want to expose that tidy center area for storage. Take the spare two inch piece and bolt it on as reinforcement. Cut out space for the storage.



Take the center piece. Sand it down a bit, and add a hinge, some reinforcement, and a support.






Cover with a blanket, and add doggies. It seems they approve. They slept the whole way to get pizza and beer. We're all fat and drunk now.

 

Awesome! Way to go dude.

 

nice!

 

Thanks, before I broke it off!
Two lower bolts made sense cuz of the little slot to lift up the rubber. The upper two not so apparent. Thought it might be just clips. Good thing I found your post first. Putting XM sat receiver in there.

 

Reading the thread title, I wondered why in the hell anyone would wanna do this mod. Slowly, as I looked at your pics, the purpose became clear... both your best friends look very happy. Neat little extra hinged cubby, too. And you did a nice job of it.

 

There's no harm in leaving this bracket in place, right? At least it keeps the carpet down.

 

No, you can leave it in if you want.

It was in the way for me, so I took it out. I ended up building a bracket for the ham radio that used those bolts, anyway.

One last thing I did - I found that outdoor bench cushion that fits pretty nicely back there, and holds up much better than dog beds. It doesn't pick up the stink from the dogs being wet. It also dries and cleans way faster, too. And it's way cheaper than the dog kennel mats you can find.