Is it safe to drill 2012 Fit Base Dash here?
 

Hi,
Does anyone have a Fit base 2012 full shop manual? I have had problems getting a secure mount for my cell phone holder. (please.. I did use 3M molding tape and it will not hold). I need this mount as I use my cell as a GPS and this is essential to me. I'm going to try to upload a pic showing where I intend to drill. I'm planning on using 3M molding tape and 3 plastic rivets to secure the mount. Any ideas or opinions would be apprecaited!ezdealz@woh.rr.com

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Depends on how deep your going. There's the radio and some wiring to worry about. Have you tried mounding your phone to the windshield or ac vents? You don't want to drill into a perfectly good dash for a phone mount :rolleyes:

http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/imag...205e23f9c4.jpg


http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Car-Vent-Moun...h5w~~60_35.JPG

reply to dash drilling
 

Rivets are abut 5/8" long and when I draw them up they will shorten. I have no use for vent or windshield mounts I have found them to not be reliable. Thanks for the suggestion though.

You should pull out you radio so you can get eyes on the wiring in there. I don't suggest drilling with it fully assembled.

Can you tell me how to remove radio?
 

Can you tell me how to remove radio?
PS: Thanks for your Servcie

Having done a radio swap, I can assure you, its far from the radio itself. And there aren't any wires right there either.

But, as you can see, the grey trim meets the rest of the dash right there... and there is a mounting tab under it. So if you drill to close to the grey dash piece, you'll end up chewing through that mounting tab.

You will have to go further back. If you drill in perpendicular to that surface, you'll want to be at least an inch to an inch and half away from the grey trim.

Best bet is to go to tthe DIY for the head unit swap, see how to remove the radio... then, take the radio out (as a previous poster mentioned) to see how far back you will have to go.

Aw man, drilling a hole in a brand new dash :/........that's a good way to ruin a car and it's resale value. Well it's your car.

Fit Resale
 

Well my last car was a 1996 Ford Taurus with 205,000 miles that I would still be driving except the upper rear strut tower were rusting out. No way to fix that without dropping some serious bucks. I'm 59 so I really plan on having this until it dies so resale is not an issue for me!
However I still need to resolve this. I had previously used Goo gone when I had removed the 3M tape mounting and did not notice the residue until I saw my pictures. I re-cleaned the area with alcohol and I think I have removed the residue now.
I think I may give the 3M tape one more shot but my cordless drill trigger finger is really itchy right now....
:rotfl:

Thanks for the link!

Aw man alcohol too?! Now that you mention it that does look like alcohol discoloration so now that's messed up. Well if you aren't going to sell it and you don't care about the way the interior looks to you personally, have at it. hahaha.

Ok well here is the full story. I was goiing to make a trip over to the next state for my grandsons highschool graduation. The 3M tape kept coming loose so in desperation I used black duct tape to try to secure the mount. the discoloration is the residue from the duct tape glue after I attacked it with GOO Gone. Several alcohol applicaions resolved the Gooo Gone residue and it is as it was in the beginning. I just re-mounted the holder one more time with the 3M tape time will tell.

Have you attempted installing the mounting disk with double sided tape?

I removed the original tape with a heat gun and installed double sided tape from home depot.

It holds a Garmin with a 5 inch screen so it's pretty strong and I'm sure will handle a cell phone.

Also, no marks or damage when removing. Just heat the tape up and it will come right off.

I have this set up on both my Fits without issue. If you live in a cold climate where it may harden the tape, you may need to replace it once a year or so. I'm in S. FL so I don't have that issue.

It's very simple to do and much better than drilling a dash even if you do plan to keep it.

Original Tape:

Attachment 25771

Tape Removed:

Attachment 25772

Installed:

Attachment 25773

Great idea Shora! I'd try that idea.

Pretty much as you have shown, I used 3M molding double sided tape originally. That failed after a bit so I was looking for a permanant solution. Last night it occured to me that maybe the residue from using Goo Gone to clean the dash was causing the tape to come loose. I cleaned it twice with alcohol and have re-installed it last night. As of this evening it was holding in place. I'll update this once some warm weather hits. I think the other culprit may be expansion / contraction of the plastic dash when the temperature goes above 80 degrees. Time will tell...

I hear that, damn north east. It's been raining here in Maine for a week, cold, clouds and that's it. Yeah good luck and yeah I have trouble with my radar detector and gps system, the heat likes to remove it from my windshield so I'm also trying to think of other things. Only if cars just came standard with these things!

Mission Accomplished
 

Well I have been busy, so I'm just now going to post my follow-up on my original topic. After trying everything I ended up using the trusted 3M molding tape AND drilling my dash. I added three plastic pop-rivets for extra measure and can tell you everything is well locked down now. I have had this in 100 degree plus temperatures where the tape alone failed and this mounting has not budged yet so.. Mission Accomplished..finally! I'm attaching pics of the completed project.

on my car i mounted the motorola droid4 cradle above the cup holder area. details in my blog here post#2889:
https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...-blog-145.html

im using a Motorola Roadster2 BT speaker phone and commands are by voice. i dont really look at the screen.

plus, i dont like empty cradles up on the dash. just ugly imho seeing it.

here's the roadster2. it has auto on/off, detects door open/close.

im currently borrowing one for my G35C in my '12 GE, but i have another coming to me in a few days dedicated to the '12.

roadster 2 | B&H Photo Video

You have a point so...
 

Maybe I should put a picture in it when it not being used?
I hear what you are saying; but as I use my car mainly in my business I see it as a functional tool, I suppose if looks were important to me I would have gotten a sport but this is a functional feature for me. I used to race SCCA so I do appreacite where you are coming from. I do miss my sports car days. Ah the joy of owning a Fiat or an English sports car (Gee, I wonder what is going to break today?)
:D