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Was the radio trim and AC control unit available in diff colors for 02-06?
I replaced my AC control unit in my 06 330 and noticed the radio trim is a tad bit lighter. The AC control unit is black. I'm OCD about my cars so was just curious ha. There's no way in hell I'm going to try and track down another AC unit, but I am going to install a double din and will have to buy the navigation radio frame piece. I'd prefer them to both match! After looking around on Google, I wonder if the radio trim was originally silver but faded from the sun...
Hey lexus2000, looks like the radio trim matches the trim color around the vents and door handles. I'm not sure if my old climate control unit was the same or darker. I guess I'm in luck because the radio trim piece will look better in black anyways. Now I need to see if I can match it in the same shade.
No, the trim colors are all the same. However, a few things affect the colors over time.
1. Sunlight. This particular piece gets lots of sun. Whatever car it came out of could have faded faster than your car, as a result the two shades are similar but not exactly the same. It matched whatever car it came out of, but wont match yours.
2. Plastic inconsistencies from year to year and car to car. The process of making trim isn't 100% perfect. Different lots may look slightly different over time. For example, my 2002 ES300 is Cyrstal White Pearl. However, no 2 2002 ES300's in CWP are exactly the same color. Hence the need to color match and blend in collision repair.
2 solutions:
1. Get an aftermarket panel from metra. Mine was a very close match. Close enough that it doesn't bother me (and I am **** about that sort of thing, yours would drive me insane looking at it all the time.)
2. Paint the entire center stack and all the trim in the car with paint to match, either black, or color match to your car for a custom touch.
Side note: I see your dash is warped around the airbag cover. Mine has yet to do that and it is older than yours (my ES was one of the first 2002's made in 10/2001). I wonder did they change materials later on? Mine has also been garage kept most of its life so maybe that contributes as well.
ES comes in different color interiors, you have a dark one, Mine is gray inside and the panels are lighter color like your radio dash cover.
Also, if you wanna fix the Airbag crack you can buy some white and black silicone, mix it to match the color and use a thin paint brush to put silicone in the crack. Do a very thin layer so you don't **** up with Air bag trajectory.
Originally Posted by funcrusher
I replaced my AC control unit in my 06 330 and noticed the radio trim is a tad bit lighter. The AC control unit is black. I'm OCD about my cars so was just curious ha. There's no way in hell I'm going to try and track down another AC unit, but I am going to install a double din and will have to buy the navigation radio frame piece. I'd prefer them to both match! After looking around on Google, I wonder if the radio trim was originally silver but faded from the sun...
08-30-18, 01:33 PM
Was the radio trim and AC control unit available in diff colors for 02-06?
