Hey Guys!
New CMS owner here! Used to have a MCS 1st Gen back in 2003 and sold it off a while back. Well, I caught the bug again and picked up a 2012 Countryman S in White. And now I wanted to start making some changes. it is a disease!

I already did some window tint and now I want to install a Valentine 1 remote display in the dash trim to the right of the steering wheel just above the key. I had this in my Cayenne and liked its position so I thought I would do the same here.
I did some searching for this topic and I found a little info, including the exploded schematic on the ECS site. However, I would like to know if anyone knows how to pull off this strip (about 3-4" long) without breaking it.
Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

Here is a photo that I photoshopped to show what I am trying to do.
The Valentine One Concealed display will be flush mounted in the short dash trim piece. I have circled it.

So, does anybody know how to remove the trim piece without breaking it?

 

Pretty sure it's not possible to remove due to the type of fasteners they use.

 

Chrunck,
Thanks for your reply. I thought people were painting these? How are they removing them to paint them?
How is the entire panel removed, onto which they are attached?
Thanks!
Ken

 

I'm not sure how the dash comes apart. If no one else chimes in, you might try yanking down the knee bolster and seeing what you can see behind it.

I wrapped those pieces with vinyl but I did it in place. They use the same fasteners as the door trim, which you can see with a mirror and a flashlight if you're curious.

 

I don't know anything about what you're trying to mount, but I'm assuming there are wires you need to run?

 

Hey Chrunck,
Thanks again. That was going to be my play to see what I can see. When I pull on the trim piece, it flexes, which leads me to believe that it can be detached. I also saw an exploded view and the trim pieces were definitely separate. You could barely make out the attachment tabs on the back.
The part I am attaching is the Valentine One Concealed Display. It's function is to turn the suction cup mounted radar detector dark and move all the visuals to this display. That way, you cannot see the radar detector lights when you are behind the vehicle (in hot pursuit....Lol). The connection is a simple snap in telephone cord on its side. My goal is to cut a rectangular slot into the trim piece and recess the concealed display in it. The back part of the concealed display "housing" can be removed to make the unit quite thin, but the circuit board would be exposed on the back if I went that route. Here is an internet photo of the unit that shows what it is....

 

Here is a link to the exploded view of the dashboard pieces...

http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...28&hg=51&fg=30

 

So, I bit the bullet today and tried pulling some of the panels off to see what I would run into. I started by pulling off the knee panel under the steering wheel. This panel contains the key rest and Start/Stop button. There are three screws along the bottom edge that hold the panel in place. There are a few pop-on connectors that hold the panel tight against the dashboard. Pulling the panel outward releases them. A simple harness connection (for the key and Start/Stop button) sets the panel free.
The glossy trim strips are attached to the upper part of the dashboard. I tried to pop one of them off but it was futile. They are really on tight. I decided rather than damage them, I would look at the fallback option of mounting the V1 Concealed display under the key rest and Start/Stop button. With the panel off, it was easy to see the back of it and there was a clear area to mount the Concealed Display (V1CD). The V1CD would fit tight to the underside of the key rest module and that would keep it correctly positioned and tight.
So, I traced the opening on masking tape, drilled the 4 corners of the rectangle and used a coping saw to cut the rectangle shape. It was perfect on the first shot!
I attached a telephone cord to the V1CD and ran it to the passenger footwell against the firewall. I mounted the V1 to the right of the rearview mirror and ran the cord inside the headliner to the A pillar and then down to the fuse box.
I used the right hand glove box screw for the ground and #45 fuse to tap into 12V.
Voila. Done. 20-30 minutes including the panel cutting.

Here is a shot...

 

Great job!

 

Looks like it turned out pretty good!