I have a 1997 Maxima GLE that came with stock wood trim. How do I install an aluminum dash kit? I took off a piece of the dash to see if i could remove the wood trim, but I can't figure out how to remove the wood trim. Anybody got any ideas? I tried a heat gun and it didnt seem to do anything.

the wood trim/finnish in the GLE is actually molded into the plastic and cannot be removed.

you cant. you would have to switch the dash to the black plastic and then put the dash over it. i have the same problem. i have both 99 and 97 maxima gle black on black leather, and want to change one of them because they look exactly the same. you gotta switch to the black plastic dash found in the lower models.
-vinny d

I ran into the same problem, I just ended up painting it. Alot cheaper than the dash kits and imho looks better.

Any ideas where I can get the black dash for cheap?

Im sure there are plenty of GXE, SE owners who would jump on a even trade. Post something up in the For Sale forum or something. The people most likely to want to Swap will more than likely be looking around there stuff.

Good luck!

i heard that that was incorrect, i was told that you could actually sand down the wood finish and it would wear down to the black plastic. has anyone tried this?

I am not sure about this, but I heard from someone that you could use a heat gun to heat up the wood trim and remove it. Instead of getting a dash kit, I am going to paint my dash gunmetal gray. I think it looks better and its a lot cheaper.

I don't think you can do any of the methods mention above if you have a real wood dash kit that came stock with the maxima. By just lookin at the kit u can tell its not black under the wood. The heat gun method doesn't work either.. Theres nothing to lift up. I may be wrong, but I had no success with the heat gun.

do the trade and make some gxe, se owner a happy camper

IM a 98 max GLE Owner with the Aluminum Dash kit. The woodgrain can not be removed from the plastic, its molded. Do what I did, Sand all the woodgrain pieces down, Buy some Flat Black Spray Paint and paint all the pieces, then stick on the dash kit. Mine looks fine, and there is no spot of woodgrain anywhere. Had it like this for almost a year now.

Nick