Recently the lighting for the left most rotary dial has 'burned out' (MY 2005). It appears that the front 'plate' is held in with a screw behind the middle dial. What is involved in removing the entire front plate and replacing the corresponding...bulb?
Thanks for your experience.
replacement of backlight for air circulation dial?
Re: replacement of backlight for air circulation dial?
To remove the entire panel, you should pull out on the bottom of the bezel surrounding the radio. It doesn't need to be removed, just pulled out.
Pull up the parking brake, put the car in L (if automatic) and unscrew that screw behind the center climate control knob.
Then, using a small screwdriver, carefully pry up the plastic surrounding the shifter. This plastic is very thin, and might like to break, so if you see where the clips hold it into the dash, pry up near there. Like I said, be careful. Then begin pulling out on the panel.
It's one piece from the shifter surround up to the climate knobs. Little clips hold it in place, with the toughest being at the top of the panel. Finagle them out.
Once it is completely unclipped there will be little connectors to the cigarette lights and light ring around it (if your car was equipped with smokers' package when new) and one connector going into a little compartment that the plug-in outlet and switch are hiding in. Get THAT panel off the main panel without breaking it (mine broke when I did it too fast, and now I regret it) to get to those wire connectors.
Once those are off you have access to your climate control knobs. Now I may have taken apart my car's interior all with just a tiny screwdriver in a parking lot, but I haven't replaced one of those bulbs. From what I know, they must be accessed from the behind the white plastic box that encloses the knobs. The bulbs are incandescent, are very tiny, and quite expensive. Toyota will have them for less (say you have a Toyota Matrix) than GM. They twist into place, so they don't have any connectors or wiring other than their sockets.
Pull up the parking brake, put the car in L (if automatic) and unscrew that screw behind the center climate control knob.
Then, using a small screwdriver, carefully pry up the plastic surrounding the shifter. This plastic is very thin, and might like to break, so if you see where the clips hold it into the dash, pry up near there. Like I said, be careful. Then begin pulling out on the panel.
It's one piece from the shifter surround up to the climate knobs. Little clips hold it in place, with the toughest being at the top of the panel. Finagle them out.
Once it is completely unclipped there will be little connectors to the cigarette lights and light ring around it (if your car was equipped with smokers' package when new) and one connector going into a little compartment that the plug-in outlet and switch are hiding in. Get THAT panel off the main panel without breaking it (mine broke when I did it too fast, and now I regret it) to get to those wire connectors.
Once those are off you have access to your climate control knobs. Now I may have taken apart my car's interior all with just a tiny screwdriver in a parking lot, but I haven't replaced one of those bulbs. From what I know, they must be accessed from the behind the white plastic box that encloses the knobs. The bulbs are incandescent, are very tiny, and quite expensive. Toyota will have them for less (say you have a Toyota Matrix) than GM. They twist into place, so they don't have any connectors or wiring other than their sockets.
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Re: replacement of backlight for air circulation dial?
I did remove the radio but it was so long ago that I had forgotten all the details. So thanks very much kitt for that 'step by step' reply.