Pics And How To Access Ls430 Ml Subwoofer (2004)

[DClK]

first off, the title is misleading. it should say how to access the subwoofer from the trunk. i did remove the subwoofer but you have to take it out from inside the car; yes remove the backseat and panel to get to it. other posts describe how to do that in detail so i won't recreate the wheel here. sorry if i've wasted your time.

i did this post because my subwoofer sounded blown but i couldn't see any damage from inside the car so i decided to take a look from underneath, by way of the trunk, before deciding if i needed to take it out. from underneath i discovered the cone was separating from the basket (common problem with paper speakers over time). see boblexus430 post on glue gun repair if you decide to go that route, it worked for me. anyway, i hope the pics make it a little clearer to understand how to get to the sub from inside the trunk if you ever need to.

- the grill cover for the sub is held on by 4 x snaps (pic 1). you can stick your fingers underneath and pull up and it should pop (i did one side at a time). pulling straight up is probably best because the snaps slide into the grill cover ... one of mine slide out of the cover as i removed it and i had to work it back into the cover to get it out without potentially damaging it. when you put it back on, note it only goes on one way. underneath the grill you'll see F and R with an arrow, which means Front - Right this way.

INSIDE THE TRUNK

- most of the trunk liner, minus the sides and a portion of the bottom, is one big puzzle piece of sections (pic 4)riveted together (sort of). i'm not sure if it's possible but don't recommend unriveting it unless you have a way to reattach. there are a total of 12 clips/snaps and two sections of velcro that hold the linear in place in addition to the trunk access door above the rear armrest.

- (pic 2) remove 2 x black slider clips and 2 x black grocery hook pop out snaps (i think that's what they're for) in the top part of the liner. on a portion that connects to the passenger side wall is a pop out clip (i think, mine was missing but i can tell some type of clip is supposed to be there). also in the top are 4 x flip out clips (pic 3) that hold the liner from the inside right under the rear interior brake light (2 black and 2 white), flip them out as you work your way across the liner edge. you might have to remove the trunk light also, the clip on mine is partially broken so it isn't seated fully in the slot.

- the liner bottom edge is held in by 3 x pop out snaps (you can see them in pic 4 and where they came from in pic 5).

- now work the liner out from around the black lid for the trunk access that's above the armrest. the trunk should now look like this (pic 6).

be cool,

[01LS430Blk]

Now if someone could just hook me up with a ML subwoofer for my 2001 LS430 I'll be in business...*crosses fingers*

[Mark In Phoenix]

I replaced my subwoofer with the Polk DB840DVC 8 inch Dual Voice Coil Subwoofer available on Amazon.com for about $60. This speaker fit in perfectly as a replacement for the O.E.M. Speaker in my 2003 Lexus LS430. It has much more base response than the factory speaker. The factory speaker had a light weight magnet and was basically a cheap speaker. I was surprised by how cheap the factory speaker seemed. The Polk was heavy and much higher quality and it sounded like it. I think you would definitely be getting ripped off if you pay the dealer $300 for a factory replacement speaker that sucks. Don't fix that old piece of junk, replace it.

Replacing the speaker wasn't an easy job. I had to take out the entire back seat, unbolt the seat belts, disconnect a couple of electronic connectors going to the rear seat, and unbolt and lift up the center of the rear deck. My arms got scratched up working under the rear deck when unbolting the speaker and removing it. I recomend wearing a long sleve shirt. There are two speaker coils with two sets of connections, unlike the original speaker that has one set. You have to read the Polk instructions to determine how to wire the speaker for your car. I wired mine so the two speaker coils were in series for an 8 ohm load on the amplifier, which I think was correct for my car from what I had read on other posts. All you need is a soldering iron, solder, and a foot of 16 gauge wire. It's easy.

I had some difficulty figuring out how to take the two plastic mounting brackets off the original speaker and put them on the new speaker. I advise you to closely study how the original speaker was mounted before you disassemble it so you can put the new speaker in without trouble. Take a few pictures of the intact assembly from various angles before disassembly for reference later. I had to find a picture of a factory speaker for sale on EBay to figure out how to put mine together. Be sure to route the speaker wire through the slot on the mounting brackets so you don't have to pull the speaker back out like I did to reroute the wires.

I hope this helps you have an easier time than I did with the work. I had some problems completing the job, but it isn't extremely difficulty. Just somewhat difficult doing it the first time for a "Shade Tree Mechanic". With some time, tools, and determination you can probably complete the job and save yourself several hundred dollars by doing the work yourself instead of taking the job to the Lexus dealer.

Good luck.

[Mark In Phoenix]

Polk, the manufacturer of the DB840DVC speaker said this speaker was NOT intended for a free air installation, like in the rear deck of a car without a speaker enclosure. A speaker box is recommended. But they said this speaker will work OK if free air mounted. It would perform best if there is no opening in the surface it is mounted on that allows the movement of air between the front and back of the speaker. Your rear deck may be solid with no openings which will be optimum. Plug any holes in the deck if you can.

The speaker sounds very good in my car even without an enclosure. So if you want use this speaker it will work good. When considering other speakers look for one intended for the type of installation you intend, free air or enclosure mounted.

[AttilaTheHun]

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