I was interested in installing new speakers in the Patriot but since i do not have the factory BA stereo, i wanted to see about getting speakers under the dash where the speaker grills are located. I have read some back and forth on this topic but i wanted to confirm my findings for others.
As common sense lead me to believe that this would not be a quick or easy job compared to the door speaker install due to the dash pad consisting of 1 giant panel. Since i recently purchased speaker wire adapters from Crutchfield, they also sent me a master sheet to show how to remove panels or to access areas that are relative to stereo/speaker installation. I figured that if i bought the master sheet for the patriot with the factory BA stereo that it would show me how to remove the dash to access the speakers underneath.
Instead of buying the master sheet to verify, i decided to chat with the Crutchfield customer support to see if they could confirm. See below for my brief chat.
So, even Crutchfield advises against replacing or accessing the speakers under the dash. Like i said in the chat, you might as well just install tweeters on top of the grill (similar to this type of setup from Sony Car Tweeters | Tweeter Speakers | XS-GS1 | Sony US) or on the sail panel, or for the best imaging from a component set of speakers would be to install the tweeter within a few inches from the mid-bass in the door.
This does not mean you can't access the dash speakers, but it will not be easy.
As common sense lead me to believe that this would not be a quick or easy job compared to the door speaker install due to the dash pad consisting of 1 giant panel. Since i recently purchased speaker wire adapters from Crutchfield, they also sent me a master sheet to show how to remove panels or to access areas that are relative to stereo/speaker installation. I figured that if i bought the master sheet for the patriot with the factory BA stereo that it would show me how to remove the dash to access the speakers underneath.
Instead of buying the master sheet to verify, i decided to chat with the Crutchfield customer support to see if they could confirm. See below for my brief chat.
So, even Crutchfield advises against replacing or accessing the speakers under the dash. Like i said in the chat, you might as well just install tweeters on top of the grill (similar to this type of setup from Sony Car Tweeters | Tweeter Speakers | XS-GS1 | Sony US) or on the sail panel, or for the best imaging from a component set of speakers would be to install the tweeter within a few inches from the mid-bass in the door.
This does not mean you can't access the dash speakers, but it will not be easy.