AC & Steering Wheel Controls Replace??
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Members
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 33
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From: Texas
My Ride: 2004 Silver Gray Metallic 530i
I bought my car used and the guy that I bought it from said he would replace the parts because they are pretty scratched up. The thing is I don't trust his mechanic to do a good job, he already installed a new grill for me and scratched my paint 
. Also the dealership wants to charge me $116.00 to do it. I was hoping to do it myself with the help of a few handy friends if needed. Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks.
. Also the dealership wants to charge me $116.00 to do it. I was hoping to do it myself with the help of a few handy friends if needed. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.
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Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 488
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From: Shropshire UK
My Ride: Estoril Blue 440i GC
Model Year: 2017
The jobs are pretty easy I think, although I haven't removed my wheel controls.
The AC panel is OK, but car needs to be taken not to chip your wood trim.
The trim just levers off - some people use a wide blade screwdriver, others use a putty knife or similar.
The BMW TIS says to lever out the Hazard switch and disconnect the wires first. I usually do it when the wood trim is out because I can then get behind the switch to lever it out.
The AC panel is held by two Star screws at the top, behind the wood trim.
Then get a long shafted screwdriver and poke down each the side towards your CD drive - you will see the plastic clips on your new part. Just get to the right spot and push gently down to release. The panel will come off complete with the AC knobs etc. Disconnect the wires and swap the panel round.
If you can't feel the right spot to release the clips, the entire panel will come out as-one. the bottom bit, just above the ashtray will lever outwards towards the gear lever. The DSC etc buttons will stay in position, as will the CD drive.
I believe that there are a couple of screws behind the wheel to undo the front switch cover. Due to the proximity of the Airbag, disconnect the battery 5 minutes before you do the job. There are generally no problems with disconnecting the battery - you may have to reset the clock, but your radio stations will stay. If you have Active Steering, this will need to be reset. You can do it yourself - there are posts on this elsewhere, but it will throw up an error message that only a Dealer will be able to clear, but this can be done at the next service.
Mike
The AC panel is OK, but car needs to be taken not to chip your wood trim.
The trim just levers off - some people use a wide blade screwdriver, others use a putty knife or similar.
The BMW TIS says to lever out the Hazard switch and disconnect the wires first. I usually do it when the wood trim is out because I can then get behind the switch to lever it out.
The AC panel is held by two Star screws at the top, behind the wood trim.
Then get a long shafted screwdriver and poke down each the side towards your CD drive - you will see the plastic clips on your new part. Just get to the right spot and push gently down to release. The panel will come off complete with the AC knobs etc. Disconnect the wires and swap the panel round.
If you can't feel the right spot to release the clips, the entire panel will come out as-one. the bottom bit, just above the ashtray will lever outwards towards the gear lever. The DSC etc buttons will stay in position, as will the CD drive.
I believe that there are a couple of screws behind the wheel to undo the front switch cover. Due to the proximity of the Airbag, disconnect the battery 5 minutes before you do the job. There are generally no problems with disconnecting the battery - you may have to reset the clock, but your radio stations will stay. If you have Active Steering, this will need to be reset. You can do it yourself - there are posts on this elsewhere, but it will throw up an error message that only a Dealer will be able to clear, but this can be done at the next service.
Mike
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