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15-16 Footwell Illumination Cheat

26K views 74 replies 31 participants last post by  Forever1337 
#1 ·
Hey guys apologies if this has already been covered somewhere but I couldn't find I and thought it might be useful. I just installed an OEM footwell illumination kit on my 16. Rather than spending $130 on the kit made for the 15-16s though, I took a chance and ordered the kit for the previous model years that the dealer and many owners said would not fit. Well, $40 for the H201SSC100 kit on Amazon was money well spent. Rather than plugging in to the hazards with the new kit, this one plugged right in to the cubby light and lit right up. No splicing, no hassle; literally plug and play. The install took less than an hour, and most of that was getting the panel that houses the cubby light to pop out. If anyone were looking to do this, I don't see any reason to pay $$ for the newer kit when the old one looks exactly the same for almost $100 less. Hope this helps. Pics to follow.
 
#37 ·
Just got this done yesterday on my '16. Like the others, it was not a fun time trying to get the bottom two bolts off of the headunit. That was the worst part, a ratchet with a longer extension would make it easier.

Also thought it would be a little bit brighter. Maybe the placement of the LED lights wasnt the best. I did not bolt it on to anything. I just used a zip tie and tied it to existing wires underneath.

 
#40 ·
looking into this package, ill be checking out the spots everyone is talking about to see the work needed to be done before I buy tho. I need to get an idea of total install time and effort lol
 
#44 ·
It sure is! I really hope these are still available from Amazon when I finally order /purchase a WRX!

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#46 ·
I really should have read this more carefully. 2016 bezel removal is way more disassembly then I wanted to do on a brand new car.
All went well except for the driver side radio bolt. That fell during reassembly. Sure hope it doesn't rattle or jam something up:rolleyes:

There really isn't a lot to mount onto. anyone happy with their mout points please share. Not quite dark enough yet to see how well I did...
 
#49 ·
I did not need to drill at all.

On driver side, I mounted to a hole under the knee airbag
View attachment 247553

And on the passenger side, there are holes in the plastic trim.
View attachment 247569
View attachment 247561
Hmm.. Weird, I didn't find that hole on the driver side. However I used the same one on the passenger.. I'll have to look again later, and see if the holes in the driver side. I was looking as I did not want to drill.. But, ended up anyways. Not like anyone will see it


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#51 ·
I didn't realize this kit consisted of only 2 bulbs. I was thinking it was more like a string or rope.

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#53 ·
I didn't even bother with the bolts. I just used the 3M. Like it was said before, getting at the cubby light was quite involved on my 2016. Love the results though.
Can you be more specific? What 3m product?

The one supplied sticky pad and the similar mystery stff that had been sitting in my junk drawer for who knows how long didn't want to stick to anything down there.

Also when i was setting the clock this morning I checked my hazards :rolleyes:... They're connected now :D. I guess I didn't fully snap that connector back in.
 
#56 ·
I wonder if a few really hot days will soften the adhesive enough to fail.
Please let us know.

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#64 ·
Just did mine last night. Nothing too challenging or technical about it, but definitely a pretty high PITA factor. As others have mentioned, it is loosening the lower bolts that support the head unit that is the single most challenging part ('16 Premium w/o nav). I ended up removing both the glove box and the glove box surround in order to have a little more space to work. That adds 7 or so screws, removing the carbon fiber trim to get at one of the screws, unplugging the glove box light, and pushing out a couple of plastic plugs that support the wiring harness behind the glove box.

Of course, I ended up dropping both the lower bolt AND my socket back in there (both passenger and driver side - probably should have forgone the pint of IPA before starting this), which then necessitated pulling back the lower trim along the bottom of the center console to retrieve them and proceed. Removing the top A/C vents provides easy access to the top two head unit bolts, which then allows the stereo to slide out just enough while leaving the wires connected. At this point I could finally see the infamous red cubby light plug.

It was at this moment that my wife came home from work, with a giant hole in the dash and everything torn to **** in our new car (that she loves too). Good thing she didn't look inside the car as she went in, or I think she might have freaked a bit.

The good news is that I was able to reach behind the stereo and actually access the red cubby plug without the need to unplug any of the stereo wires themselves. I also found the hole in the beam below the steering wheel that allowed me to screw the driver's side light right into place. By removing the glove box surround I also found another pre-drilled hole in exactly the right location for the passenger-side led light.

The bad news: I couldn't ever locate the driver's side bolt for the lower head unit support that I dropped, so I'm now running only three (although nothing seems to move or rattle). I also ended up bending a couple of the clips on the lower passenger side center console trim while searching and finding the bolt and socket I dropped on that side, so that it now doesn't fit as flat as it did before. No one will ever notice it but me, but, it bugs me. I think I will go back in and try to find the missing bolt and fix the clips over the weekend.

All in all, I spent about and hour and a half working on this, and I think it was highly worth it to save the $100. I am the furthest thing from being mechanical, and there was a moment or two of panic when I worried about getting it all back together again (like when the wife came home, for example). This thread, another similar one on NASIOC, and this YouTube video on general interior disassembly definitely gave me the confidence to give it a go, and I'm very pleased with the final results:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hwc_IvxD59Q&index=70&list=PLPDke7_AJJwicv6fJCIDw1EATHjh69LTg
 
#65 ·
My LED lights I installed. Used a universal kit with (4) 9 inch leds. 2 under dash 2 under front seats facing rear. Tapped into my illumination fuse so they only come on at night when lights are on. Best $ 32 I've spent so far.. Mulitple different settings and brightness as well a flashing options.

http://www.ledunderbody.com/4pc-Interior-Lighting-Kits.aspx
 

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#66 ·
I finally did the install after all these months. Wasn't as bad as I thought. Taking off the driver side screw for the radio was the toughest. I am attaching some pics fir guidance.
 

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#67 ·
Took 6 hours, but I did this! As others have said, it took more disassembly than expected. Lots of stressing about breaking clips, but all in all, I am very pleased with the results!

Other than stressing about breaking clips, the worst part was the quantity of screws involved to get the glovebox, radio, shift boot, etc. out. Only lost one though!
Light Vehicle Car Auto part Family car
 
#69 · (Edited)
Ok, so I've finally completed this install.
I had the kit before the car arrived and I've had the WRX now, for about 2 months.

It took about 2 hours, but I took my time, watched tutorial videos and tried to figure which cable is the phone home antenna on the Starlink module. I couldn't find conclusive info about which antenna to disconnect and I couldn't pull the HU out far enough to see the back, so I gave up on that.
I dropped the lower, passenger side HU mounting bolt into the netheryaha, due to over confidence in a magnet attached to my socket extension. I looked for a while and pulled the carpet out some and felt thru the carpet and dove around with a magnet stick. No joy, but I did have another, similar bolt, laying around for a replacement.
I used spackle putty to hold the HU bolts in the socket, for the return trip.
I mounted the passenger side light on a pre-existing hole on the bottom of the globe box surround, after straightening out the bracket on the one with the mostly straight bracket.

I mounted the driver's side light on the knee airbag bolt, that is in line with the brake pedal, after reshaping the L- bracket.

I removed the globe box & surround & carbon fiber-ish black trim, both side dash end covers, air bag cover and the knee cover to the right, console, shifter surround, upper AC vents, HU and upper cubby.
I used this opportunity to also install the Perrin shift stop.
After all was said and done I had one screw left that had smaller diameter threads, than all the others. \_0_/

The wife, I and the pups got in the car, in the garage, after turning out all the lights and gave it a look. I thinks it's good to go. We'll know more, next night drive.
 
#70 · (Edited)
Well, a week later and my in dash GPS cannot find enough satellites to get a position lock. I reckon I pulled the HU out too far. I'll have to go back in...ugh.
The lighting looks nice and all, but I can't really see the drivers side, because the steering wheel is in the way. I think this mod looks better in pictures that in person.
What are the benefits, because I'm not seeing any?

ETA, will, I ripped into the dash, again yesterday, and while I didn't see any disconnected plugs on the rear of the HU, the one that I think (can't really find any definitive info on the interwebs) is the GPS connector seemed to push in a bit when pressed. I put everything back together, after finding a spare bolt for the bottom of the HU, because I dropped another into the nether regions, that couldn't be located, and low and behold GPS functionality was experienced. So at least I "fixed" what I "broke" during the footwell illumination install.
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