I removed the panel to access the radio to determine the space afforded for installing an aftermarket radio in place of the media center 130 that is there now and I discovered a few obstacles.
It appears that the metal frame that sits behind the plastic mounting frame will indeed be quite easy to remove. The problem I'm encountering now is that the plastic mounting frame that secures the factory radio with four mounting screws has an opening that does not quite allow a double din NAV unit to pass through. It is wide enough but is a couple of mm too small top to bottom. The factory radio is almost an inch smaller at the back versus a normal DD sized radio. This will require custom work to either trim away some of the plastic support framing or to replace that entire section. By doing this it will also make it unlikely to reinstall the factory radio by simple means if desired at a later time. This is because the mounting holes for the factory radio are very close to the edge of the space the radio slides into. It looks like if you trim enough plastic away to slide a DD radio in that it will also take away the usability of the mounting holes.
I now notice crutchfield has the 2011 GC in it's database and indeed the aftermarket choices are very limited as to what fits. Mostly single din sized units and even these require custom mounting.
It seems it will not be as simple as acquiring a new mounting bracket from Metra or fabricating one to get a DD sized unit installed.
I'm sure most good installers will be able to figure a way to install an aftermarket DD unit but it will likely mean an unlikely return to factory like appearance should one desire to go back to the stock radio.
If anyone here has figured out an alternate way of getting a DD radio installed without dash surgery I'd love to know.
It appears that the metal frame that sits behind the plastic mounting frame will indeed be quite easy to remove. The problem I'm encountering now is that the plastic mounting frame that secures the factory radio with four mounting screws has an opening that does not quite allow a double din NAV unit to pass through. It is wide enough but is a couple of mm too small top to bottom. The factory radio is almost an inch smaller at the back versus a normal DD sized radio. This will require custom work to either trim away some of the plastic support framing or to replace that entire section. By doing this it will also make it unlikely to reinstall the factory radio by simple means if desired at a later time. This is because the mounting holes for the factory radio are very close to the edge of the space the radio slides into. It looks like if you trim enough plastic away to slide a DD radio in that it will also take away the usability of the mounting holes.
I now notice crutchfield has the 2011 GC in it's database and indeed the aftermarket choices are very limited as to what fits. Mostly single din sized units and even these require custom mounting.
It seems it will not be as simple as acquiring a new mounting bracket from Metra or fabricating one to get a DD sized unit installed.
I'm sure most good installers will be able to figure a way to install an aftermarket DD unit but it will likely mean an unlikely return to factory like appearance should one desire to go back to the stock radio.
If anyone here has figured out an alternate way of getting a DD radio installed without dash surgery I'd love to know.