picture? are you trying to remove the base?

 

Sorry, didn't get a notification about a reply.

Yes, I'm trying to remove the base. The console looks like this (got this picture off the internet, but I can take my own when my wife gets back home):

 

I've got a 2008.

As far as I know there aren't any bolts holding the console to the floor. If you open the rear drink drawer, you should be able to pull the handle and remove the console. In my experience, those areas get a lot of abuse from sugary and sticky drinks. Try some forceful strikes to loosen whatever is hanging up. Wiggle and move the console to see if something is stuck.

If that doesn't work... I don't have a good answer. I could photo the bottom of the console so you could see what you're dealing with, if that would be helpful.

Jamie

 

As far as I know there aren't any bolts holding the console to the floor. If you open the rear drink drawer, you should be able to pull the handle and remove the console. In my experience, those areas get a lot of abuse from sugary and sticky drinks. Try some forceful strikes to loosen whatever is hanging up. Wiggle and move the console to see if something is stuck.

If that doesn't work... I don't have a good answer. I could photo the bottom of the console so you could see what you're dealing with, if that would be helpful.

Thank you, Jamie. I figured out where the handle is, but it does not seem to do anything. The spring seems to work (the handle gets back into the original position when I release it), but there is something that prevents it from opening. I'll keep digging

 

My 2009 Sienna console lifts up from the rear once the lever is pulled. I cannot get the front to disengage. There is a bar bolted to the lower part of the front that goes down into a hole. When you lift the back, the front bar lifts up but will not disengage from what ever it is attached to.

 

Here is a picture of the underside of my 2009 console.

 

I know it's an old topic, but there's something nobody reported above that might have been helpful to OP alekdavis. The release handle at the back of the console has its own spring, so if the end of the cable to the latch slips out of its holder or the cable attachment part of the handle breaks, the handle will still have spring tension to pull it back down when released. What the OP should have done was to first remove the slide-out cupholder/tray (a strong pull, or a few rearward raps with the soft side of a fist, or a small rubber mallet inside the tray or on each side will do). Then, either lying on his back or using a mirror or smartphone camera, raise the release handle and see if the cable fitting is properly seated, with the cable coming out from between the two plastic fins. See attached photo for how the cable should look. If the cable isn't where it belongs, pulling the cable with long-nosed pliers should release the console from its mounting to enable removing the console for easier inspection and reattachment of the cable (or possibly other repair if the handle's cable attach point has broken).

Also, I'm sure poster DONBAA has figured it out by now, but for anyone who hasn't, once the latch is released and you can lift the back of the console up, slide the console back about an inch to unhook it from the front, then you can lift it out completely. If there's some kind of debris lodged somewhere so you can't slide it back, you're on your own. In DONBAA's photo, there's something yellow up at the front of the console, to the right of the front hook. It doesn't look big enough or substantial enough to prevent the console from being removed, but maybe its appearance in the photo is deceiving.

 

Thank you so much@Scotophor. This is very helpful. I'll give it it a try.

 

@Scotophor: You are my hero!!! I followed your instructions and indeed, the cable slipped from the hinges. It did not help that I have a few loose bolts and nuts that were stuck and prevented the hook from opening. Anyway, somehow I managed to open it, fixed the cable, and it is working as new now (I was trying to fix this thing for a few years). Many, many, thanks!!!

 

You're welcome!

I'm surprised and pleased to see you respond. Typically anyone whose issue isn't solved right away and who posts very few times such as yourself, never comes back to the forum. I hope you'll stick around, and in the future get better help with any problems you have.