I had the same problem. The stock stereo would not come out using the clips. I had to take the entire front face of the dash apart and bend them with pliers to push it out the BACK of the face plate. POS.
My wife's 2003 Escape...the sucker popped right out on the first try. I guess they just jiggle around in there over time or something...perhaps it was a design flaw for this dash from the start.
