Honestly that was the most nerve racking part of the project and the very first thing I accomplished. To keep the OEM look it was essential to cut the top part out perfectly so it could be reused. One mishap would mean I'd have to purchase another dash piece and try again.

No fancy tools used here! I simply used a new blade in a utility knife and carefully cut the plastic by hand, using a metal straight edge where possible while cutting the straight lines. Extra patients was used when cutting the rounded corners and the slightly curved back cut.

When all was said and done, the actual gap that that I have is only 1-2mm (on all sides) which is much smaller than the OEM navigation flip-up dash piece.