[iBrian]

Hiyall - i've been hanging around the past couple of weeks since researching the Odyssey and now, actually owning one (2012 EX-L RES in Plum-something color).

I dug into her today as I thought my wife would prefer plugging her iphone 4S in at the center stack vs reaching over into the glovebox. I wanted a clean install with no wires visible outside of the cubby drawer so, I began to disassemble...

this shows the glovebox removed - typical of most gloveboxes in that you squeeze the lower panels together to release and it is hinged at the bottom...pull straight out to remove from hinge...that door close looking cylinder is just that - a soft-eject feature for the glovebox door. it is easily removed from the door upon removal

this shows the center cubby drawer with integrated cupholder after i pulled it past the stop. you basically are doing the same thing as the glovebox - where the white felt stops are located (highlited in the spotlight in the photo along the drawer glide) are two tabs that need to be pushed in to release the drawer from its catches (believe me - i searched for a route for the cable above / below / around the drawer to simply drop the cable in from...it doesn't exist without drilling, or, as you're about to see - routing the cable thru the side glide gap...

here is the cable shown coming thru the rail on the right-hand side of the center cubby drawer with enough slack to come over the top of the drawer lip with little if any friction felt afterward!

this is the final look with wife now able to connect iphone (she has the 4S and it works fine so, i assume previous gen ipod phone products do as well only limited by the internal stereo capabilities - this is merely an extension of the usb feature) inside the cubby drawer (I'll look into adding a dock inside the drawer in the future to hold the phone upright).

here is a look at the final product inside the glovebox - note the pre-existing slit in the backside of the glovebox allowing safe passage of the iphone cable thru to the console's innards...

here is a look at the proprietary (or one i'm otherwise unfamiliary with) USB connection coming from the radio (this connects to the usb port inside the glovebox)

this is a look at the underside of the front / center console that is easily removed by pulling on the handle at the front of the console at floor-level then lifting up on it. I'm not sure how handy this is nor why it has a handle included (shhhh..i haven't read the manual fully yet)...and, what else could this console mount be used for other than extra cargo space?

anyway - hope it has been of assistance as I didn't see anything related during my brief search...

Brian

 

[MotoFanatic]

Nice write up!

Thanks for posting.

-Moto

 

[iBrian]

It's like volunteer firefighting - community involvement perpetuates the forum...I'll continue to write as things come along. My first minivan - fun

 

[stpierrewm]

Just so you know, I think that thing you called a handle is actually the trash ring. It's really handy, as you can just put a plastic shopping bag in it and your kids can throw away their trash.

 

[BigBoat]

I think this what the 4th gen section needs, more good write-ups . You seem handy, good job.

I'm not sure how handy this is nor why it has a handle included (shhhh..i haven't read the manual fully yet)...and, what else could this console mount be used for other than extra cargo space?

Just so you know, I think that thing you called a handle is actually the trash ring. It's really handy, as you can just put a plastic shopping bag in it and your kids can throw away their trash.

. Our sales lady also pointed it out, but it usually goes unnoticed. Very useful though

 

[stpierrewm]

I think this what the 4th gen section needs, more good write-ups . You seem handy, good job.

+100 Write ups with pictures and details are great, and they really contribute to the community. Thanks!

 

[caprirooster]

iBrian good write up. I am trying to take out the center cubby drawer but I am having a hard time trying to get the white felt stops pushed in. How were you able to do it if you don't mind my asking?

Thanks in advance,
Cap

 

[iBrian]

Hi, Cap - stick a flat blade screwdriver in the slot with the blade oriented vertically then once resistance is felt push it back and away from the drawer as if a tab were there while simultaneously pulling out on that same side of the drawer. It should release enough for you to let it go and focus on doing the same to the other side which, once done, should fully release the drawer from its slot.

Installation is merely pushing the drawer back in place... Make sense?
Oh, and BigBoat - preshate it! I was wondering why they wanted me to carry the console around

Brian

 

[Young]

iBrian, thanks for the nice DIY write up.

In some your picture you have RCA cable hanging around, do you want to do some sort of floor TV console or something? Just wondering, hehe

 

[codex57]

Awesome writeup.

For the life of me, I just can't understand why manufacturers put the USB/iPod connection in the glove box. How in the world do they expect anyone to access it? It can't possibly be that hard to have an exposed connector somewhere on the dash or even to route it to a center console or something (sorta like that one BMW option).

 

[caprirooster]

iBrian,

Got it removed. Had to push on the black tabs back that was blocking the white tabs. Once that was done I was able to pull it forward.

Thanks again!
Cap

 

[Raistlin]

Awesome writeup.

For the life of me, I just can't understand why manufacturers put the USB/iPod connection in the glove box. How in the world do they expect anyone to access it? It can't possibly be that hard to have an exposed connector somewhere on the dash or even to route it to a center console or something (sorta like that one BMW option).

At least the Honda one is a USB port so that you can plug in the ipod cable to get some length for it. On my ML350 it just has the ipod connector with less than six inches of slack in the glove box, that is a PIA. I also hate the glove box usage for the ipod cables in cars but manufacturers may be doing this to set it and forget it, they don't want us to have access to the device while driving.

 

[codex57]

Yeah, I prolly shouldn't be complaining too much. The Odyssey is major progress. My Lexus ES350 just has an aux jack. At least that's in the center console though.

 

[jsquared816]

Yes, thanks iBrian for doing this write up. I too had trouble getting the middle cubby out....bad lighting made it hard for me to see those black tabs. Nonetheless, I got it out.

 

[amigajoe]

Do you live near SoCal ? I'll pay you to come over and do mine !! I'm kidding. Sort of.

 

[jpcommons]

Thanks for the ideas. I attempted this yesterday but was unable to remove the center console tray. Is there anyway you could describe in more detail how to get that tray out. I am unable to find the area to push in on in order to release the tray. Thanks.

 

[eyeshade]

I just used iBrian's technique and it worked like a charm. I'll add a couple things that helped me. Remove the center console to give you more room to work on the center drawer. When you remove the glove box pull up as iBrian noted. When you remove the glove box damper arm pull up on it at the glove box door. The retainer clip is shaped like a "U" with the open part facing the inside of the glove box door. It just pulls up to release. When you remove the center drawer, look for the white felt pieces. The white felt is attached in front of a black catch piece. The black catch piece is what you want to press in toward the center (away from the outside slide rails) so they will move past the block on the slider. Do one side at a time. The whole thing worked great. Thanks iBrian.

 

[codex57]

The instructions are accurate. Once you've done it once, it all makes sense. Yes, look for those white tabs. My biggest problem was fishing the iPod cable from the center cubby area to the glove box area. Couldn't do it with bare hands. I ended up taking a stick, putting some tape on the end and using that to grab one end of the cable and fishing it out.

 

[Rebs]

Thanks so much!!!!!!!!!! I found my missing $100 bill. Put it in that drawer on way to make a deposit and when I got there it was gone. Now I know I'm not crazy!!!!!

 

[Mpheisner]

So we found this thread trying to figure out how to remove the cubby drawer because my credit card was stuck behind it and ended up relocating the USB cord into the drawer. We also removed the cup holder because I hate that thing! We found that removing the panel on the right side of the cool box helped the "fishing process". It just snapped off, pretty easy. Thanks for the awesome instructions and the inspiration