Fatherpain’s 2018 Type R

[fatherpain]

*Whelp* it’s been a few months and RL got in the way of completing this write up. Apologies if you were following along, didn't intend to leave on a cliffhanger.

In a perfect world, time is taken to document along the way. However, this adventure was a bit rushed as my buddy @boosted180sx was on a tight schedule to sell his R and I wanted to swap for his upgraded Sweidit interior parts. Then the holidays hit and it has been an unusually cold and wet SoCal winter. Also during this time, was selected for a new role at another facility that started January 3rd.

All the while, the car has sat undriveable. Making matters worse, was dreaded the reinstall and figuring how to put things back together after the (3) month break, with my wonky memory, haha. Fortunately, still had plenty of pictures to refer back to.

But ready to finish this out as time permits. Definitely one of the more challenging writeups to do.

Next to remove was the start button, which is held in place by plastic tabs. Gently pulled it off.

Revealing this electrical plug.

Pressed the release and off it came.

Voila, start button removed.

Next was to undo what I believe is the GPS bracket.

Instrument display was next to come off. It's held by (3) phillips screws.

A slim screwdriver does the trick.

There are (2) plugs to undo.

Not sure why this plug doesn't appear to be used for anything.

Instrument cluster removed.

And this is what is left behind.

 

[fatherpain]

Apologies for the laggy reply. By garnishes, are you referring to the J's Racing sidewing and canards? If so, yes they fit very well.

Don't know if you mentioned it ... but how was the fitment with the Js Racing side bumper garnishes ? Compared to OEM.

 

[Blazindominican]

*Whelp* it’s been a few months and RL got in the way of completing this write up. Apologies if you were following along, didn't intend to leave on a cliffhanger.

In a perfect world, time is taken to document along the way. However, this adventure was a bit rushed as my buddy @boosted180sx was on a tight schedule to sell his R and I wanted to swap for his upgraded Sweidit interior parts. Then the holidays hit and it has been an unusually cold and wet SoCal winter. Also during this time, was selected for a new role at another facility that started January 3rd.

All the while, the car has sat undriveable. Making matters worse, was dreaded the reinstall and figuring how to put things back together after the (3) month break, with my wonky memory, haha. Fortunately, still had plenty of pictures to refer back to.

But ready to finish this out as time permits. Definitely one of the more challenging writeups to do.

Next to remove was the start button, which is held in place by plastic tabs. Gently pulled it off.

Revealing this electrical plug.

Pressed the release and off it came.

Voila, start button removed.

Next was to undo what I believe is the GPS bracket.

Instrument display was next to come off. It's held by (3) phillips screws.

A slim screwdriver does the trick.

There are (2) plugs to undo.

Not sure why this plug doesn't appear to be used for anything.

Instrument cluster removed.

And this is what is left behind.

The plug that isn't used because they probably use the same cluster shell for all 10th gen. If you had an auto, you'd probably have a plug there for the shifter positions.

 

[fatherpain]

Whelp... Finally have time to start catching up on this odyssey of a write up. Unfortunately, in the form of a positive Covid-19 test, so I've been put off work 10 days. Other than a sore throat and slight cough doing ok, just waiting to get better. My wife and youngest son also have it. Here is a look back at the center console, with the ultimate goal of removing the entire dashboard.

Carefully pried the center speaker.

And lifted up and out.

Then disconnected the audio connector and set the speaker aside.

Not quite sure what this little gizmo is but it has a recess for a flat screwdriver to pry it. This picture shows where the rat gnawed away the defroster vents and can see the shavings.

And it has an electrical connector as well.

Press the tab and off it comes.

Made sure to note how the wires are routed for when it's time to reinstall.

Moved to the center console and lifted the rubber mat to expose the tabs to release the USB and cigarette lighter housing.

Pried loose inserting a pick or flat screwdriver in this tab.

Separated the housing exposing the electrical connectors.

And undid them.

 

[fatherpain]

Used a pry tool to separate the lift the center console winglets.

Then undid all the electrical connector holding clips. First in the shifter housing.

Then moved to the rear seat. Pulled this plastic cover off the back of the console.

Exposing this electrical connector.

Undid it and released the holding clip.

Undid these screws securing the center console.

Front section ready to go.

Undid the holding clips for these connectors inside the center console.

And made sure the USB charge port was free and any connector clips. I didn't capture it, but there are a couple bolts to remove inside the armrest area of the center console that have to come out also.

With all wiring and bolts confirmed separated and removed, lifted the center console.

Center console removed.

 

[fatherpain]

Next was to remove the steering wheel.

Remove this Torx security bolt on the side.

Believe it's a T-30 torx bit.

And remove from the other side.

Which then releases the driver side airbag.

Pry both white plastic tabs at the same time to release the connectors.

Both connectors undone. Believe the remaining wire connector is the ground.

Release it by pressing the tab with a pick tool.

Air bag removed and put away for safe keeping.

Undo the ground wire from this holder then undo the white connector next to it.

Use a breaker bar to loosen the center bolt that holds the steering wheel to the column.

And remove the bolt. Note the orientation of the steering wheel before pulling off. In a perfect world, I'd have had the wheels straight with no offset. But I should be able to get it close enough when it goes back on.

Steering wheel then pulls off easily. For removal of the dashboard, I learned afterwards it may be helpful to remove the (2) stalks on either side of the column. I skipped doing this step.

 

[fatherpain]

Next it was finally time remove the bolts for the dashboard to be physically removed.

Carefully locate all bolts that secure it and undo.

There is one here.

And one on each corner by the windshield.

A long extension is needed for the driver's side.

And the passenger's side.

There's also a bolt inside here.

And a larger bolt underneath by the passenger airbag.

And anothe in the center. Rechecked to make sure I'd gotten them all.

 

[fatherpain]

Separated this plastic piece.

And disconnected the plug behind it, then moved it out of the way.

Before pulling the dash, it was important to note where all of the electrical connectors were plumbed, so took numerous photos.

Some wiring had to be separated from inside the dash.

A needle nose worked good for this one.

Took note of where this one was.

This connector had to be released also.

And this one.

Noted how this wiring was routed.

From underneath the glove box area, disconnected the passenger side airbag.

 

[fatherpain]

Continued to undo wiring clips.

There are several on the passenger side.

Underneath the dash as well.

What a hassle! At this point I was hating on that rat that forced me to do this, lol.

When I was confident that I'd gotten all of the connectors and bolts, gently began pulling the dashboard away.

Felt something hanging up, so immediately stopped to check what it was.

From underneath could see this connector still attached.

Reached up with a picktool and released it.

Pulled a little more and it the dash hung up again. This time it was this spot, where the loom fed through a molded plastic holder on the dash.

The loom seperated easily just by gently tugging on it.

Then the dashboard was finally free! Worked it loose and pulled it out through the passenger side door.

Dash board removed! Finally

Another angle. *whew*

 

[fatherpain]

With the dashboard finally removed. Was able to replace the rat chewed vents. Turned out both of these pieces needed replacement. Man, I'll never leave my windows cracked like that again.

The (2) pieces will eventually fit together like this. However, the top piece has to attach to the dashboard before the defroster vent duct is added.

Lined up the top vent piece to the dashboard.

Then pressed together aligning the screw holes and dowels.

Then installed the screws.

Next it was time to line up the defroster ducting.

Then pressed together.

Aligned the screw holes and dowel pins like earlier.

And fastened with screws as well.

Dashboard ready for reinstall. Won't go too much into detail as it's just the reverse of what was covered previously. However I probably will share some tidbits of wisdom and he’s lessons I learned along the way.

Whew what an ordeal... All that just to replace a chewed up defroster vent, smh.

Turning lemons to lemonade, you may notice the dash is now an Alcantara one. My buddy @boosted180sx parted out then sold his R so I snagged his Swedit Alcantara interior bits. There was some extra incentive to do the full teardown.

Will post some pix once the car is all back together and looking clean and nice.

 

[fatherpain]

Well, seeing as I've got some downtime due to covid, will share some reinstall tips to hopefully help anyone avoid pitfalls I've encountered. First, it was appalling to see how dirty my car was so vacuumed the interior really well, heh.

Started this project at the beginning of November 2022 and finally got back to it this week and it's February 2023. Admittedly, wasn't looking forward to resuming as so much time had passed and this promised to be a pain in the ass. Thank goodness for photos to refer back to jog the memory of how things came apart.

Took a good gander of how the wiring was situated.

When reinstalling the dash, it's best to have a 2nd person, but I was able to do it solo. Once it's in place, there is really only room for one person to work anyway. Fished it back in the same way it came out, through the passenger door.

Set the dash roughly where it was supposed to sit. Then tried to line up bolt holes and wiring harnesses. It wouldn't initally go where it needed to, so required patience and finesse.

Found it helpful to pull the door seals.

After some frustrating fitment attempts, noticed this dowel that needed to be engaged.

At the same time, the wiring harnesses needed to be snapped back into place. Which required some body contortion.

In addition, had to make sure electrical connectors when back to the proper openings from whence they came.

More snapping of electrical wiring back into place.

Here also along the passenger side.

And inside the dash. Hands got a little scuffed during the process. With any luck, will never have to do this ever again.

 

[fatherpain]

Took several attempts, but knew I got it right when all the bolt holes finally lined up. The corners were the hardest. Double checked all the wiring was fed back through the correct openings, referencing photos that were taken on disassembly.

Re-installed the bolts. It was helpful to stuff the socket with some napkin or foam material to keep the bolt from falling out while attempting to re-thread by hand.

Then nailed it down using the socket wrench.

The center speaker and the small device towards the front windshield took finesse to keep the connectors from falling into the dash while trying to reconnect.

The speaker pressed down easily enough.

Speaker and gizmo towards windshield installed.

View from underneath the passenger side dash to verify all wiring routed properly and snapped back in.

Front dashboard reinstalled!

 

[fatherpain]

Reinstalled the ‘A’ pillars Sweidit wrapped in Alcantara.

Also swapped to Sweidit sunvisors. Mangled one of the stock ones while figuring out how to remove them…. So here is the trick in case you ever need to.

This white nub needs to rotate to the right to release the visor from the roof. Honda in their infinite wisdom, placed this opening in a location where it is extremely difficult to see.

This is true for certain for the passenger side. The direction might be reversed for the driver’s side or it could be the same. So don’t force it if it doesn’t move easily.

Use a pick tool to press it towards the right. Force it left and it will be ruined. That’s a mistake I did.

This is not far enough. Gotta keep going right.

Still not enough. Keep going.

When the nub is pressed all the way, the sunvisor locking mechanism will release.

Here’s a good picture of the white nub (partially colored blue) clearing the black window. This is the release/install position.

To install, plug in the light connector.

Like this, then feed the wire back into the roof.

Visor in the unlock position ready to sho

Press and hold the sunvisor base flush to the roof opening. There is a certain way it fits.

Then rotate the visor itself counter clockwise to make it lock in. This is the passenger side. The driver side is either the same or a mirror of this. It’s a little tricky to do as the release window and nub face the windshield.

Sweidit sunvisor installed.

More Sweidit parts installed: glove box, passenger trim, gauge hood, instrument trim, start button housing, center console, wings, A pillars + Upgraded Honda floor mats.

Interior coming along slowly but surely.

 

[Blazindominican]

The "gizmo" toward your windshield is the daylight sensor or ambient light sensor or DRL sensor or solar somesh*t (couple different names) but it's basically in charge of turning your lights on and off based on day/night. They rarely ever go bad.

Took several attempts, but knew I got it right when all the bolt holes finally lined up. The corners were the hardest. Double checked all the wiring was fed back through the correct openings, referencing photos that were taken on disassembly.

Re-installed the bolts. It was helpful to stuff the socket with some napkin or foam material to keep the bolt from falling out while attempting to re-thread by hand.

Then nailed it down using the socket wrench.

The center speaker and the small device towards the front windshield took finesse to keep the connectors from falling into the dash while trying to reconnect.

The speaker pressed down easily enough.

Speaker and gizmo towards windshield installed.

View from underneath the passenger side dash to verify all wiring routed properly and snapped back in.

Front dashboard reinstalled!

 

[Rone811]

More Sweidit parts installed: glove box, passenger trim, gauge hood, instrument trim, start button housing, center console, wings, A pillars + Upgraded Honda floor mats.

Interior coming along slowly but surely.

First I want to say that you're doing an amazing job!

Second, I'm surprised you didn't go full red carpet and new R red seats. Also, are you installing a cage?