I plan on it, John. Way too good an opportunity to miss, especially considering it's only 180 miles from home.

Still remember the Kansas turnpike, do you?

 

Well, I'm one step ahead of you (except with respect to success at this), 'cuz I just did exactly that a few hours ago!

Still can't maneuver in there, though. Did you remove any of the ductwork? There's just not enough vertical room to allow for ratcheting.

 

OK, Sterling wins! The little 8mm closed-end GearWrench (and about 500 ratchet motions) finally did the trick, along with a wooden shim and some duct tape (no kidding) to apply horizontal leverage and keep the wrench ratcheting once the screw got loose. Turned out to be a rather short screw, maybe 15mm long.

Hallelujah! Now I'm pretty sure the rest of the center console removal will be easy.

Bet that little bastard of a screw will never go back in. Hope things hold together without it.

BTW, the front of the air bag cover does pry off, but I just took a peek and decided it wasn't going to help. Route to the screw was blocked by some sheet metal.