Jnelson1182

So i have a 2004 525i, the other day a friend of mine must have turned the knob really hard or something because when i came back to the car the knob was actually popped out of the panel to the point that as soon as i touched it it fell off and i had to pick it up and pop it back into the spot it goes but not it just spins and spins loosly. The screw behind the knob looks loose and flimsly sitting in the hole now but i dont know what it looked like before to compare, when you spin the button know it no longer makes the little clicking noise it did nor does the sound go up or down, i can still press the button to turn the radio on or off which is what makes me thing he may have somehow stripped it somehow or maybe i need to take it off again and tighten the screw that is behind it? i wanted to see what people thought before i commited to any way of fixing it, im thinking maybe i can replace button with a different one off one i find at a local pick n pull or part shop that is the same model, or is that too easy of a fix and im going to need to replace the whole panel?

JayArras

I hardly ever use the radio knob any more other than to push the radio on or off, preferring instead to use the steering wheel volume control. Are there any "cogs" in the knob spindle that perhaps got stripped? You can try gluing it back on. If you can use a pair of pliers with the knob off to adjust the volume, then that might work. Otherwise, it looks like something snapped behind the knob somewhere, in which case, I don't think it's worth the effort to try and fix it.

NoQuarter

I don't know the 2004 model at all. But all others I have used don't have a "stop" position on the volume knob so no real way to turn it too hard to strip it.

Jnelson1182

The 2004 is no different it has no stopping points either way but somehow he either stripped it or broke something off because now the know feels a lot looser than its ever been an when i turn it either way without holding it at a certian angle applying pressure you can no longer hear the clicking noise it once made while spinning button, the screw behind button seems really loose in there too, i wonder if its at all possible for me to try tighting the screw an see if that helps/solves ky problem?

its not so much that i even use the knob as it is i just want it working again for piece of mind, also tge rest of the car is in amazing shape an if possible i would like the keep all of it that way so if anyone knows any kind of fix for this issue im open to consider it.