Left side of heater control knobs not lit up.

[Courtney_Hook]

The left knob on my heat/ac control panel and the left half of the center fan switch is not lit up on my base model vibe. The right half of the center fan knob and the right control knob IS lit up. I am suspecting that there are bulbs burnt out on the left side of the panel? Or are these leds down there like the gauges have? Just got this car, so would like it to be all functional. Any help would be most appreciated.Thanks,Courtney

[lovemyraffe]

Wow, that's something I've never heard of. But welcome anyway!

[ColonelPanic]

eh, actually it's not uncommon -- several of us here have had that problem. Cheap incandescent light bulbs. There are only two tiny light bulbs lighting those up. Mine would go back to life after beating on the side that didn't work -- try that first, maybe a firm tap will help bring it back to life. Although that is a temporary fix and it will die permanently down the road.The bulbs are expensive through GM - something close to $10 each... And the procedure to replace them I found is ridiculously difficult although YMMV. The worst part is trying to get the heater controls broken loose from the dash, I couldn't do that without breaking the whole assembly. I ended up replacing the whole heater control piece since I tore everything up. You can try to replace the bulbs with the controls still in place (the sockets are on the back of the assembly) but there's a very good chance one of those expensive bulbs will fall down in the dash.

[SuperSpeedWagon]

yeah i have the same problem it just grew on me i dont pay any attention to it hahah

[18stars]

I had the same problem with my 2004....I had the dealer replace the bulb...I think it cost me 70 or 80 dollars....

[GC7]

I have the same problem and will probably pull apart the console within the next couple of weeks to replace the bulb. Since it wasn't mentioned in this forum, I wanted to post the link to the instructions for pulling apart the console that I found in the "Tech Info & Do-It-Yourself Info" Forum by "ragingfish":http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=5940"Vibe Rater" also provided an alternative in one of the other forums instead of paying the crazy amount from GM for a replacement bulb. He used a Toyota bulb which he said work great and costs $1.20 (in Jul 05). The part number is: 90072-02005I'm new to genvibe.com and think this is a great website and I'd just like to say thanks to everyone for all the great info!

[kevera]

It's super easy to change,takes you 5 minutes to do.Good lead for the cheaper bulbs.They also sell them at most auto parts stores.