help: How to remove hvac control knobs to replace light
 

Hello,

Noticed last night that the hvac knob which directs the air through the cabin was no longer lit up. All the rest were though.

How do I remove the knob to replace the led behind it?

Thanks!

Proceed carefully, little one... :popc:

According to the shop manual you have to:

Pull the radio head.

remove control cables from the blower/heater unit

pull out the right side of the instrument cluster/panel

remove a screw on the left of the heater/a/c control cluster and pull it out.

The controls may be removed from behind this panel.

It may be possible to access the light bulbs with just the radio removed and not actually remove the knobs. They appear to insert from behind the controls. It doesn't give actual instructions (that I can find) for removal/replacement of the actual bulbs...

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-u...tercontrol.jpg

Here's the parts call-out for an 09.

Leave it to some engineering fruitcake to design a sytem where it is so hard to change a bulb!!

I think the instrument lighting is expected to last life of the car (20 years anyway).

I've never had to replace an instrument/backlight on any car. Currently we have a 17yo Mazda, 15yo Toyota, and I sold a 12yo Honda 3 years ago. None of these have had lighting issues other than stoplights etc.

If the knobs were designed to pop off for easy bulb replacement, that's exactly what they would do.

That said, the dash disassembly is very fast. Most of it pops out, you just have to know the order to pop panels. Very few screws. The whole thing could be torn down in a matter of minutes by someone that knows what they're doing.

My A/C switch and fan knob's lights have gone out before - other owners have had similar experiences.

So there is no quick fix for this? Must one remove the entire radio/HVAC head?