Mazda CarPlay/Android Auto Install Hack 

Thanks for this idea. For the record, the location of the four tabs are from 6mm to 19mm as measured from the side edges of the front plate. The tabs themselves are attached 20mm behind the surface of the plate, and you should not drill much deeper than that. Really the only item that you will run into is a capacitor on the right upper side (which I did, but backed off when I saw sparks). There is a lot of forgiving space in this, and my attempt reminded me of the hatchet job I did on that poor fetal pig from my high school biology days. To be on the safe side, disconnect the battery's negative terminal before you start. After vacuuming, test the CarPlay before your push the new USB Hub into place, otherwise you will need to remove all of the center console if you need to remove the new USB hub again. Good luck!

This was brilliant. But we didn't use the drill bit. I had help from a friend, I used a Philips screwdriver to push the two upper tabs in, from the center. You can see it by looking down, while my friend pushed from the back. Getting his hand through where the glove compartment was. Next you have to use your strength for the bottom tabs to push them up while the other person pulls the console forward. Worked like a charm. Done under 1 hour. Might make a video or do it for someone

Just used this method in my 2016 Mazda 3 and it took me 15 minutes to have everything out and ready to reinstall. This was a huge help.

Hi mate. I just wanted to say a HUGE thank you for thinking up this idea and posting it online. This is a LIFESAVER for a diy newbie like me. I just did it and it worked really well. Slightly fiddly getting the drill in and steady with the gearstick in the way, but was 10000x better than having to dismantle the entire middle console. You are the best, thank you so much

This is how videos should be made . Right to the point and time saving ! Awesome . Thanks man !

Just had to say, this video saved my day. Just swapped out my usb hub and thanks to you, I was able to do it in under an hour. Huge thanks man.

CAN CONFIRM: This installation hack works on 2015 Mazda 3 (I Sport Trim, but probably all trims). I was trying to install the new usb hub w/ Apple CarPlay on my 2015 Mazda 3 using the standard factory instructions, and I got to where I realized I needed to take apart the entire center console just to install this little piece of plastic... which I quickly realized was going to be a lot more work than I had imagined. Instead, I found this video. Followed these instructions and it worked perfectly. Saved a lot of time and a lot of headaches.

Did this earlier this week, wanna share my experience which is that it’s a bit harder (and more nerve wracking) than you may think to drill blindly here. What I ended up doing which I wish I had done from the beginning was drilled pretty close to the center of the box away from any desirable trim and used pliers gripped in that hole and the USB ports/six port to pull the entire faceplate off. Once that’s off, this thing is wide open and you can see the clips, and all you need to do is bend the very flimsy plastic down to remove them. Hope this helps

This saved me hours. What I did was insert a flathead screwdriver through the SD insert, twisted and brute forced the face panel off. From there it was much easier to locate the clips and drill through them. Thanks a lot. I’ll be sharing this video.

I did this to add CarPlay to my car and it worked perfectly. Another way to make this easier is to take needle nose plyers, grab the faceplate with the SD card reader and the USB hub and give a strong pull. The faceplate will come off and the clips will be exposed. You can easily drill right into the clips without guessing. Did this and the unit came right out. The faceplate snaps right back on if you wanted to do that for whatever reason.

If you use a couple of flat head screwdrivers and a small hammer and CAREFULLY tap the drivers with the hammer, you can then CAREFULLY pry it out without damaging the audio panel. The audio panel will pop out a little. My panel came out intact with little to no damage. This is what worked for me.

Thanks for making this video; I successfully completed your drill method on my 2017 Mazda3. I wasn't able to do the screwdriver or "reach through and snap down" methods mentioned in the comments, but the drill method was very quick. (Though be careful, I did drill one hole into my car when I wasn't double checking my positioning...) When you're ready to drill, do the top clips first because you can look down the exposed area and watch the drill bit snap the clips off. That way you're not drilling as blindly as you think, and then you have 2 guides for doing the bottom clips, which you can't see. I had to drill 2-3 holes per clip because sometimes my drill drilled a hole through the clip instead of breaking it off.

Worked on my 2018 Mazda 3 Touring. No disc player in 2018 models so the USB ports are always in the front. I only had to remove the glove box, the vent trim, and the screen had to be slid out slightly, but I only unplugged the old cable from the head unit. I ran the new cables onto the glove box area, behind a piece of metal there to keep it high and tight and went right up into the radio area. I coiled and dressed out all of the slack behind the HVAC controller. Total job...30 minutes including taking it apart, putting it together, dressing the cables out, testing Android Auto, and attaching the foam tape down the whole cable (except the coil I made). Your hack was super easy except that one needs a smallish drill (ideally a Milwaukee 12v) and my 6-speed shifter was a little in the way even in 6th gear.

Dude, life saver! Thank you! I installed this on my 2017 mazda 3 today. Worked like a charm. I had no idea on how to take the middle console out and was a bit lost, then found this, made life so much easier.

Just finished installing the AUX Hub and cables in my 2016 Mazda3. Drill trick made such a difference and saved me from having to take apart several additional panels. Did NOT go far enough on the first attempt to knock out the tabs. Try to feel all the way to the back with the drill bit until you hit the flat, curved surface of the tab. You'll hear it snap when you get it right. When you go to insert the new AUX Hub it will make a satisfying snap when it latches itself into place, just make sure your cables are correct first or you'll be screwed!

dude! installed in my mazda yesterday and this hack is heaven sent! tagged your profile in my video I posted, so thanks so much!

This hack is great combined with the easy removal of the touchscreen by popping off the plastic pieces around it up the top in the CX-3 2016 model. No need to pull any trim off apart from the one at the feet to feed the new wires through... all up took me around 30 mins if that. Thanks again!

Got it done today in my 2017 Mazda 3. I struggled getting the hub out but realized after I didn't drill deep enough. I had to get creative but eventually pried it out. Thanks for taking the time to make this video it saved me a lot of headaches.

Great idea, the only thing that has been holding me back from doing this modification myself is the headache and time of that center console removal. I think I'll give this a go, thanks for experimenting and posting a video!

Thanks for the tip! Finally got around to do the update. huge time saver.. Right ones worked. Left side tabs held on, ended up pulling the face off exposing the inner components. Then I was able to get to the left tabs. Got the module out and finish my install. worked out well!

In my Mazda the ports are located in the arm rest. Where you show I have a CD

Worked perfectly for me in my 2016 CX-5. You're a lifesaver!

THANK YOU!! Saved so much time, did the hardware install in less than 40 minutes. I was dreading this when I watched another video first. Actually had to rip off the faceplate by gripping the SD slot with needle nose pliers, and breaking the tabs a bit more. Drilling, I just kept missing I guess.

I did my retrofit today and the drill I have is too bulky to do a clean drilling using your method. So I came up with another method. From the footwells, with the trim panels removed, I took a very long, thin flat screwdriver and snapped the tabs off. I was able to do 3 tabs from the passenger footwell and the bottom left tab from the driver's footwell. It was a pain but it can be done. Then the USB hub popped right out. I would have never thought to snap the tabs off without your post so thanks! Hope this helps someone with their retrofit.

This is incredible, so glad I stumbled on this video. I’ve been putting off doing this for months because I didn’t want to take my entire dash apart. If you could make an entire walkthrough video I’d sincerely appreciate it, but even if not, thank you for this!

Excellent vid. Balked at doing this when I saw the other guys' videos, but this is massively more simple. I'm familiar with those types of tabs so this is brilliantly logical. Well done and thank you.

Thanks for posting this video! You saved me a lot of time with the installation. It would have been a nightmare having to take apart the entire center console!

Thank you for this video. It helped me immensely with my 2017 Mazda3. Even though I removed the center console enough to reach the usb hub unit I was unable to get the bottom clips out. The bottom left clip is at least accessible with a screw driver, but the bottom right is pretty much unreachable without some kind of a flat tool. I ended up drilling holes for the bottom clips. It was still a struggle but eventually I was lucky enough and the clips finally gave in. That box is the worst design ever. Once in it seems almost impossible to remove again. Anyway, thank you, I would have never come up with this idea myself.

Worked great on my 2015 Mazda 3! Was a little challenging with the Manual shifter there but a compact Milwaukee drill did the trick.

Dude, nice job! This made it so easy to get the old dock out.

Great hack! I switched it up by using a wood screw and a screwdriver instead of a drill to pop the tabs. That way, I could go slow and it was easier to fit in the space than my drill. I clearly heard the click as the tabs broke and I used the screw as a handle when pulling the unit out. The whole thing probably took me about an hour and a half but only because I was slow and cautious with the wire routing and the taping.

Thank you for sharing this hack and for the others that commented about other options. This saved me so much time and frustration when installing the USB HUB on a 2017 Toyota Yaris (Mazda). Much appreciated. You and 888 WERKES saved me $100's!!

just did it myself. But drilling didn't work for me. Reading through all the comments, I went through this hassle free route: 1. With plier, pull the front cover of SD card with bit of force. It'll open nicely (didn't break anything) 2. Slip in flat screwdriver on the exposed clip and do this way: - for bottom clip, tap the plastic down until it breaks - for top clip, slide in through the clip and twist until it breaks You'll know all clips break when the panel got loose and you can pull without effort. If it's stuck, most likely there's still clip hanging.

it worked amazing for me. but since it is Mazda2, the challenge was to transfer the cable from the intertainment screen (which I disconnected by the two screws) to the small window where I disconnected that USB box. So what I did was first: I only removed the glove box, and passed the two cables down using electrition's pulling line cord, and found it via the back of the glove box. and then I inserted the electrition's cable via that small window until I caught it also beyond the blobe box, and tight the USB wires to that elect cable and pulled - it worked!! alltogether - with your advice and my addition it took 15 min

But then you have tiny bits of plastic shaking around adding weird cabin noise... I get it but it seems like a weird risk to take getting a bit of plastic landing somewhere impossible to get to without removing all of the dash that makes an annoying rattle every time you drive.

This saved me tons of time on my 2018 mazda3 touring

What the?!?! Really?!?! I just spent 1 hour trying the screw driver method as I wanted to “save” the old unit (I have the manual temperature control so was trying to put screw driver into small cracks and opening). Failed miserably and then “succumbed” to drilling it out. Took my 10-15 minutes and it was out! Thank you!

Dude, this video save me so much time of work, Thanks.

Thank you - Very Much...saved me a huge head ache...worked wonderfully on my 2015 Mazda 3

Thanks a lot Aj Hawk this thing made it easy installed it in my mazda 3 2016. Remember for me I had to drill 2 holes instead of one to break the clip . u gotta keep trying to until it comes lose

I tried this method and started to get frustrated when, after three holes at each spot, the dang thing wouldn't come out. Turns out my drill bit was going to shallow and didn't break off the tabs. I ended up using a pair of long needle nose pliers to insert into the holes and pull the face plate of the HUB off. One the face plate was removed, I was able to use a flathead screwdriver to pop up the tabs and pull it out. Unconventional, but it worked. I also had to put the car in drive to make room for the drill.

You sir are a genius. I just got done doing this install on my 2019 CX3. With this "drill hack" the whole install took just a tick over half an hour. Everyone should do it this way, because honestly wtf are you going to do with the old usb hub anyway?

Awesome freaking video man you saved me tons of work. Cudos to thinking outside the box bro!

What good is the old removed part? If none that opens up possibilities on removing it with no concern. Good video! To the point...Thx...

Thank you for this video. I was stuck because I couldn't break the clips with a flathead. Drilling was a bit scary but worked out well.

I got a Mazda3 Sport 2016 and that part you are showing that you drill the 4 holes , mine is located in the central cabinet, because there’s a CD player where yours is located on that video , so no choice for me right to disable everything thing ?? (The 2 hours you were referring) correct?

This should go viral..

Thank you! I used a long thin flathead screwdriver to pop the clips, but your video was a huge help.

Can anybody Tell me - If i run Maps in Android Auto / Apple Car Play, will it bei shown on the HUD Like the "Stock" navigation?

Can you put a photo of what kind of drill did you use?

What type of tool can I use for to take out the bit in the middle? That’s stomping me

I have a 2018 which has the USB in the front. What if I want to move it to the Arm rest area? what do I plug the existing front hole with and how do I move it to the back (i.e what cables?)

Nice video. I was a little uneasy taking out the whole console. I will refer to this when my fit comes in. Thumbs up!

You're a genius! Thanks for sharing this with everyone! Did you update the firmware yourself? And to clarify, I guess the firmware has to be updated first, before you install the kit?

Thanks! Installed mine today and used your trick; worked great

Thank you this is excellent - saved me a ton of time!

Thanks so much for posting this! I drilled the holes and successfully broke the upper two tabs. Then I ended up brutally ripping the faceplate off as suggested below. After the faceplate came out, it was easy to flex the bottom and top of the hub to then remove it. No damage at all was caused to surrounding trim and I also didn't need to remove the glovebox. I can thoroughly recommend this method. My car is a 2018 M3, with the hub mounted in the dash. The kit I used was the aliexpress one as quoted by auxauto 412 below, and it is working great with firmware version ADR_70.00.100A and Android Auto.

Must use this method for anyone who do not wish to remove all the console trims, but more importantly for anyone with a manual climate control like myself.

This is great hack! But i have manual climate control and there’s more stuff back there. Will it still work for me? Will i have enough room to feed the cables?

I'm trying to figure out what the 9 down votes are for? I read all the comments and don't see anyone saying this doesn't work. I was confused when I watched the center console version because I just got a 2018 Touring Maz3 and after being told the dealer won't upgrade me because (excuse, excuse, excuse) I ordered a kit to save about $300. Please tell me if since my car already has firmware 70.00.100A installed, will simply installing the hub automatically enable Android Auto? The dealer told me the firmware needs to be upgraded after the hub is installed, but that doesn't sound right. I don't have a long screw driver and forcefully poking around inside my dash might be a little dangerous so I am probably going to try this method.

I removed it without breaking the tabs in 5 minutes using this method.... though you do need skinny hands/arms Remove the side wall panel (www.mcx5.org/side_wall_removal_installation-624.html) At the aft end around the clip B area, reach in between the panel and the plastic duct. From there my hand was able to reach all 4 clips

Hi thanks for your viceo. I have a 2020 CX5. Do I have to replace the media hub?. In general, why it is necessary to replace it? where to buy it? thanks

I really recommend NOT using this method, or any of the other "shortcut" methods for this installation. I wish so badly I had just followed the dealership guide from the beginning and removed the center console instead of tearing up my trim with a stupid drill or my hand reaching inside with a screwdriver. Follow at your own risk.

Greetings, I have a yaris mazda, I am looking for a way to update the software, how can I update the car, what you have is that the name says yaris, but the rest of the bodywork is all mazda

I was under the impression people only needed to take apart the entire console if their model had the module in the armrest console compartment instead of forward under the screen and controls (I think in cars that have a CD player, it's pushed back there). Otherwise it's just pushing those top tabs down and doing a good bit of wiggling/prying, and you can pop the old module out by forcing the bottom clips.

Hello, I have ‘17 Mazda 3 and just order the kit for Apple CarPlay. Thanks for the helpful tip to make this whole process way easier. I just have one question, where did you download the new firmware from? Do you have a link? Thanks again!

Now where did the plastic bits go? Are they rattling in the car because of this?

Can be used for toyota avalon 2019?

Doing it the American way...fast, efficient, and better. Ride on cowboy!

Does this part enable wireless car play or is it normal wired car play?

Interesting shortcut. I’m going to attempt this on a Miata after having watched your vid. Do you foresee any issues? The less trim I have to take apart the better I think.

Do you think it's possible to reach up through that side panel and snap off the tabs without drilling? I can get my hand up there and feel the tabs etc.

What if the plastic bits fall off and make rattling noise?

Why not put the file to update the video is incomplete

tk78-66-9u0C work with Mazda2 (2018 Thailand zone) or not? and where I can buy these genuine parts?

I use a heated screw driver..melts the shit out of everything and stinks the car up but quick AF..

That's Exactly What I Did I pulled the old hub with pliers and installed it quickly how ever I had to get it out in pieces

will this work for the mazda 2?

2014 is in the glove box :( Will be one of the oldest cars on the road with stock Apple CarPlay.

How many inches from the sides are the tabs you drilled out?

Anyone have a vid on how to remove trim?

Would this work in a 2017 mazda 6 gt?

what type of drill did you use ?

Quick question I can’t seem to find an answer to: how long of an extension is required to remove the 10 mm bolt holding the CMU in? I have a 6”, is that long enough?

can be used on mazda 2???

Need help in NYC for my 2016 mazda 6 touring.. anyone? :)

where to buy?

What size drill bit did you use?

this is a horrible idea. one slip up and your entire center trim will look ruined. I don't recommend anyone to do this. if you're willing to take the effort of installing yourself to save some money, then take the extra effort to do this properly. that way you can make sure the cable gets routed properly, there aren't loose pieces of plastic potentially getting stuck in your car, and you have a clean old car piece which you can sell or keep in case the replacement piece doesn't work for whatever reason. removing the trim really isn't that bad. it's a couple of screws at most and just clips.

This is a textbook definition of "redneck repairs". Please DO NOT do this. It's just painful to watch. Why ruin a perfectly good part just to save a minute or two? Taking apart the central console is not hard, if you have a working pair of hands and ability to follow on screen instructions, you can do it. It takes no more than 5 minutes to take apart and assemble back. And if you can't or don't want to do it yourself, it is fine, too. Ask a friend, pay a professional, it's all good. I don't judge. BUT PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DON'T DRILL HOLES.

Did you ever stop and think that maybe the other videos say you have to remove the center console because the USB ports are in the arm rest?