At the end of this thread over on bimmerforums are some pictures in PDFS on how to remove the center trim. HIGHLY recommend taking a look. It covers everything with pictures and makes it a heck of a lot easier. Don't be intimidated by the number of steps. It's not difficult, just takes a while and yes you need to remove the rear console.
http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...Dashboard-Trim