100 Series Button Repair How-To - A/C, Defrost, Recirc etc

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goaticus said:
Just wanted to add to this as I hadn't seen where anyone had just replaced the whole button. Having done a previous and short lived repair (in which I found fighting the little boots on and off to be ridiculous) I was back to reading the updates from this thread. I see everyone is still replacing the boots from new buttons. I decided the hell with that. I bought the new buttons and soldered them in. I picked up these uxcell 20Pcs 8mmx8mm Panel PCB Silica Gel Momentary Tactile Tact Push Button Switch 2 Pin DIP. First tests they work perfectly and no ****ing around with the stupid little boots. On the lower row that has the little plastic guides around the button I had to round off the corners of the square buttons, which took a few minutes. All in all, de-soldering and re-soldering probably took me an hour to an hour and a half.
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Sweet. I thought about doing that but I don’t have the soldering skills to do this. I bet they work better and last longer when you just replace the whole switch.
 
Thanks to everyone that contributed to this, I did the rubber button swap on my defrost and rear air switches and they're good as new. Super nice to be able to turn the rear air on again.

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Finally did the button top replacement. SeattleLC 's post (#95) was very helpful. I found that watching his video over and over while I poked the little rascals was indispensable. I found it best to exactly copy his movements.
That said, I wish I was more comfortable soldering.
 
mmaakk said:
Seems it could be a chronic issue, my 99 is having the same symptoms. Defrosts and rear AC. Pain in the ass! Have to hit the switches 3-5 times for them to activate at times. Wonder if it’s the same issue for the center lock...?
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I know I'm late to the party (as usual).. Just want to reply because this topic has helped me out.

To the OP, thank you. My LC had the same problem, as did a friend of mine. Yesterday he was over for me to help fit a new headunit (Vhedia MT-1918, really nice unit!). I said that while we have the console apart I'll do the switches. I'm an electronics tech and former computer hardware engineer, so the board-level repair isn't intimidating. Job went very smoothly. This morning I did the same on my own vehicle, and just the same, simple and smooth (took all of 30 minutes). I was able to delete a few steps, like removing the knobs. If you unplug the knob circuit board plugs on the main board you don't need to remove the knobs or the switch/pot nuts either.

Onto the issue with the central locking of the post I'm replying to... That's a completely different job, but still very simple. The issue is that the tiny motor inside the lock module has given its all. The brushes are worn out. I've seen a few suggest that you can 'refurb the motor... You can't, its done. I had that issue with the passenger's door.

Toyota have used several different motors over the years (because, Toyota :bang:), so I ordered one of each so I wasn't going to be caught with the whole door mech apart and no parts to fit. The motors are all of about $25 ea ('Straya), so having a couple of wrong motors isn't a biggie. It is a fiddly job, and you do need to 'break' into the module to access the motor, but there are plenty of YT videos on doing the job. I did mine yesterday, and it's as good as new now. Good luck.

Chris.....
 
Somewhat related to this thread.. Does anyone know how to remove the plastic buttons themselves from the bezel? I'd like to swap out my old yellowing ones for fresh ones but cant see how they are being retained in the board.
 
Update 2 years later - I replaced just the rubber 'hats' on the switches, and many of the switches are getting balky again, especially in cold weather. I guess I will have to replace the whole switch, this time around. I had hoped the new 'hats' would make the switches as new for the next 10 years, but no-go on that.
 
SteveH said:
Update 2 years later - I replaced just the rubber 'hats' on the switches, and many of the switches are getting balky again, especially in cold weather. I guess I will have to replace the whole switch, this time around. I had hoped the new 'hats' would make the switches as new for the next 10 years, but no-go on that.
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Same. Really bummed to have to do that. Desoldering is above my pay grade I think...
 
It is time for me to open up that part of the car.
The fan speed button doesn't react 9 out 10 times and is getting worse.
 
Anyone here know if the same fix can be applied to the temperature, climate done and fans speed knobs? It’s like mine is stuck on auto mode.
 
Hi All,
I got the button replacement kit from CruiserDM and went thru the steps to replace all the buttons and the bulbs. When I plugged it back into the LX470, nothing works. Both screens are dead and nothing happens when I press the buttons. I am sure I did something wrong. I did not pull the negative battery cable before I removed the bezel the first time. The back lights work when I turn on the lights. The hazard and center diff lock buttons work. Nothing else works. I looked for blown fuses but can't find any. Any ideas would be very helpful. Thanks!
 
Thanks to all the contributors. I had most buttons failing on my 2000 LX. I removed the boots and sprayed CRC electronic cleaner on a paper towel and then used a small screwdriver behind the wet paper towel to scrub the contact in the rubber boot. You could see lines of oxidation? where the contact area had previously made contact with the circuit board. I reinstalled the cleaned rubber boots but rotated all 90 degrees from their original orientation to hopefully avoid the previously 'worn' contact area under the boot. All switches now work on the first try. Crossing fingers it is a long-term fix. Rubber boot installations look and press well, but may not be fully seated as stated above. I used magnifier glasses and a headlamp to help reinstall them. I'll report back if the buttons fail in the future.

I saw some bad? info on the web, where some were trying to beef up the mechanical connection between the switches and the circuit board and/or add spacers on the switches, I believe to allow people to just press harder on the switches? or maybe users had broken the spacing by pressing too hard in the past?

My problem was the dirty/oxidized contact area on the rubber boots.

(duplicate entry from: Are your center console buttons intermittently working? (A/C Defrost Side Mirror) - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/are-your-center-console-buttons-intermittently-working-a-c-defrost-side-mirror.1146103/page-2#post-16272337)
 
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