May 6, 2025
Installing Stock B&W Subwoofer | SwedeSpeed

Installing Stock B&W Subwoofer | SwedeSpeed

I recently took time this weekend to install a B&W Subwoofer into my High Performance (Base) XC90 T6 and took pictures along the way to share how it’s done, as I haven’t found any visual instructions on how to do this. Took me about two hours, but could definitely do it faster next time.

For starters, the subwoofer comes with two attached bolts. You will need nuts for these (M6 x 1mm sized). I also included a washer and lock washer on both to help keep things tight. Here’s a photo from a B&W video which captures accurately where the sub resides in the car.

View attachment 121111

The subwoofer resides behind the trunk paneling and insulation on the passenger side of the vehicle. The first step is to remove the panels (as best as possible – some will be limited by the seat belt, which I did not remove). There are 5 (8mm I believe) screws which need to be removed. I’ve marked their locations on the photo below. Two of them are the screws which hold on the cargo tie downs and one is hidden next to the passenger seat under the plastic paneling. Start from the top and work your way down.
View attachment 121112

Once that is out of the way, this is what you should see. I’ve highlighted the area where the subwoofer rests behind the insulation.

View attachment 121113

Carefully peel back and bend the insulation to be able to get access to the area. The tricky part here was trying to determine what mounting holes the subwoofer uses. It has 4 mounting spots and vents into the wheel well. I’ve highlighted one of the top mounting spots along with the wheel vent corner.

View attachment 121115

Unless your car already came with a sub (in which case, why are you doing this? :)) you will have a rubber plug that looks like this, blocking access to the wheel well. Remove this plug.
View attachment 121119

Once this plug is removed, you will be able to put the subwoofer into place. The bottom venting area will rest where you just remove the plug (highlighted).
View attachment 121124

There are four mounting points for the subwoofer. Two of them along the top of the opening near the seat belt. One of these mounts has a built in nut on the back of it (M6 x 1mm), while the other does not (use whatever size bolt/nut works for you).
View attachment 121122

The two bolts built into the subwoofer will slot into grooves in the body and poke through the insulation. They can be hard to find, so I’ve tried to highlight them here (rough placement). You may need to pull back or pull out some insulation to be able to get a nut onto them.
View attachment 121130

You’ll know your in the right spot because you’ll be able to see/feel the bolts. Make sure they are properly slotted into the frame of the body and secure them. I used a washer, lock washer, and nut to keep them tight.

I ran the wires from the subwoofer along the bottom into the spare tire area where I am going to be hooking them up to an aftermarket amp. There seems to be plenty of space in that area to work in.

Hope this helps anyone who is considering doing the same.
[

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *