2002 Quest - rear panel removal?

[cgilley]

Maybe someone can clue me in - I am in the process of replacing the sound system in this minivan including front and rear speakers (not worried about the itty bitty tweeters). How are the rear panels removed allowing access to the speakers?

thanks

[cgilley]

Well, I managed to get them off, so I'll answer my own question for the help of someone in the future. FWIW, there is a lot of misinformation out on the internet regarding the sound system in my 2002 Nissan Quest SE. All left/right references are facing to the front of the car. FWIW, my 2002 was the family car - be prepared to be grossed out by what kids put down vents

What I have learned using my eyes:

• - It's trivial to access the itty-bitty tweeters up front - they are exposed when you remove the front door panels.
  - the front speakers are 6x8. Easily removed once the front door panels are off.
  - the back speakers are 4" co-ax. There are mounting brackets for 6x8" as well.
  - surprisingly, there is a subwoofer on the left side (I never new that).

Okay, so back to rear panels and access to the speakers. Note - the ONLY way the speaker covers are coming off is to either break them , or remove the panels and unbolt them (you'll see how they are fastened at that time). Right side first:

• - remove the seat belt bolts;
  - remove the rear plastic cover over the carpet. This is held in place by metal clips. Just pull.
  - My Quest has two tie down knobs - these unscrew, but you'll need something like a small set of pliers to get them started;
  - there are some plastic plugs that need to be removed - on in the back, one up near the passenger sliding door;
  - up at the passenger sliding door, remove the kick plate. This is held by metal clips, but the front of the plate is plastic latches. Lift from the inside, releasing the plate, then rotate the part off the edge of the frame.
  - at this point, the right panel is ready for removal. It's only held in place by the standard panel plugs, pull from the bottom back edge and work around.

The left side panel is pretty much the same. The only difference is that I had a cupholder interfering with the subwoofer bracket. Remove the cupholders if you run into interference.

Hope this helps someone.