Garmin Nuvi 265 Teardown
Tools I used:
Small torx screwdriver
Small phillips head screwdriver
Plastic spackle knife
Needle nose pliers
To disassemble this GPS unit, I began by trying to pry the injection molded plastic unit apart along the seams around the edge. It seemed like there was something more keeping the halves attached so I started exploring. After a couple minutes, I peeled off the sticker on the rear bottom of the unit to find 2 tiny torx screws!
After removing the screws, I pried apart the case using a plastic spackle knife.
I disconnected both the cables between the two halves – one goes to the LCD display and the other connects the front LED.
There were 3 more phillips head screws on the main circuit board so I removed them to pull out the board.
I disconnected the cable attached to the speaker and the cable attached to the battery.
I carefully popped out the LCD display from the front bezel and removed the surrounding foam.
The only other remaining parts to remove were the speaker and battery. I pulled the speaker off from the housing pretty easily but struggled with the battery as the adhesive was so strong it was pulling the battery apart. I decided to just leave it.
And here are all the parts removed!
After finishing removing all the parts, I wanted to dig a bit further into the circuit board so I pried up the metal covering the GPS unit. It involved a lot of pulling with some pliers. Then GPS cover had a long rivet that was soldered through the board so I ended up having to force that apart with some force.
I also removed the metal covering the logic portion of the board on the other side.
Here are all the functions of the board that I could determine.
Overall the process wasn’t too difficult, once I first found the screws to open the unit. I thought that covering the screws with the sticker was an interesting design choice and certainly would deter some people from trying to do their own repairs on the unit. I also like the flexible circuits they used between the two halves of the unit, between the display and the main board. It makes sense to not have a rigid connection in order to easily repair the unit and allow for some relief.