How To Remove or Replace the Head Unit / Radio / Stereo on a PT Cruiser

Removing the radio from a PT Cruiser is quite straight forward but due to hidden clips and screws, it's one of those jobs that's easy to do, when you know how.

Skill level:

• Easy

Time required:

• Ten minutes the first time around, five minutes when you've done it a few times before

Tools required:

• Pliers
• Old rag
• No. 2 Sized Philips / Crosshead Screwdriver

Health and Saftey says you should always disconnect the battery before removing the radio. I've never needed to do this, but consider yourself advised accordingly.

Start by removing the electric window switch bank which is simply clipped in place. Hold the two top buttons and give them a tug straight outwards - the switch assembly will pop out:

With the switch assembly removed, you'll see the wiring harness attached to the back. To stop the multiplug falling off (I can't see this ever happening to be honest, it's not loose), it is held in place by a red locking clip:

Simply slide the red locking clip upwards with your thumb, then hold in the black catch on the right and disconnect the multiplug:

The next step is to remove the single philips / crosshead screw that is keeping the centre dashboard console / fascia in place:

With the screw removed, you then need to remove the heater dials. They are simply pushed on and will pull straight off. To avoid scratching them, place an old rag over the dial then pull them off with the aid of some pliers - they're quite tough to get off due to them being curved:

Now with the window switch bank removed, the philips screw removed and the heater dials removed, your dash should look like this:

The entire fascia is now just held in place with a series of clips. Put your fingers inside the opening where the window switch was and pull outwards. The clips are strong so you'll need a sharp tug. The top of the fascia should pop out like so:

Once the top of the fascia has popped out, run your fingers down the outsides of the fascia and try to pull the fascia off as "square" as you can. The clips that hold it in place are large and won't take kindly to being pulled at an angle so keep it square / straight as you remove it. Don't pull it from the top down, something will snap. Keep it straight. Once the fascia is removed, you'll be left with something like this:

Now the really easy part. The radio is held in with four screws, one at each corner. Remove all four:

You can now pull the radio out. As per the fascia, keep it straight. There is not a lot of slack on the cables behind the radio so go gently. The first wire to disconnect is the antenna cable on the right hand side (as it's the one with the least slack). To disconnect it, pull the black plastic part, not the silver part:

With the antenna disconnected, you'll have more room to reach behind and disconnect the multiplug. This photo shows just one multiplug. Depending on your radio spec, you may have two (one will be for the cd changer if fitted). Depress the white clip in the middle and pull the plug off:

You'll now be left with an empty dashboard:

Re-fitting / re-assembly is a direct reverse of the above.

If you have any comments or questions, ask in the box below.