I have inserted four knitting needles into the 4 "removal" openings
behind the two side bezels in my wife's 2001 Protoge, so I can remove
the radio to fix an intermittent display.  But, the radio seems as
tightly fixed in the dash as before I inserted the needles into the
four removal holes.

The knitting needles are almost as large diameter as the holes, and I
have inserted them as far as they will go.  I can feel a change in side
pressure as they go in about 1 insch or so, and I have pushed them in
about another inch or two past that point until they will go no
further.  There is nothing on the radio surface to grab hold of to pull
it out, and I am reluctant to pull on the shafts in the middle of the
station selector and the volume control for fear of damaging something.

Can anyone give me a clue as to what I should be doing that I have
missed, such as being too delicate in not pulling on the control knob
shafts, etc?

TIA,

H. R.(Bob) Hofmann