Removal Of Instrument Cluster on 01' 996

Does anyone know how to remove the Instument cluster on a 01' 996? My clock is damaged and does not display the time, and I want to take it to my local speedo repair shop (already talked to them, and they can repair it). Just need to remove the cluster so I can get it over to them. Any help would be greatly appreciated

Hey, this is something that I want to know too, I have tried and am having difficulty. I know this much, you remove the little microphone cover on the right hand side of the instrument cluster, by inserting a very small screw driver in the left hand side of the cover and jsut prise it open, then undo the torx screw located behind it. On the other side you press the hazard button (disconnect the battery first) and then insert 2 small srew drivers down the side of the hazard switch. This will let you remove the hazard switch. This si as far as I can get, tehn I think you have to remove the round cover that covers the hole in the dash that the hazard switch sits in but I cant get this out and then you have to remove the hazard switch itself but I can't remove this either. If you find out let me know too please

Hope this helps. It worked for me and I managed to remove my cluster, have it repaired, and re-install it. Easier than I thought. 1. Removing instrument cluster a. Disconnect the battery and cover terminal or battery. b. Switch on the hazard warning light switch (button comes out). On the sides of the button, there are small openings that project beyond the dashboard insert. c. Insert two small screwdrivers into the openings and pull off the ... button A towards the front. d. Unclip the collar from the dashboard insert. The hazard warning light switch B is held in the dashboard insert by two locking hooks. e. Press the right locking hook towards the switch, grip the button holder with a pair of pliers and pull out the switch towards the front. f. Undo 5.0 x 30 Torx screw on the dashboard insert. g. Pull off plug on the left side and undo the 5.0 x 30 Torx screw. h. Unclip the dashboard insert and disconnect the electrical plug connections. i. Detach the instrument cluster from the dashboard insert and remove it. Then release the cluster from the back of the housing. 2. Don't work about the clip in the vent unless you want to remove it too. For those of you attempting to remove the Instrument Cluster for the first time, I've added a little more detail to the instructions regarding how to remove the bezel around the hazard switch. A seemingly easy task that turned into more than an hour ordeal because I couldn't figure out initially just how hard to pull or where. See the details that are in ITALICS below. Hope this makes the job a LOT easier! 1. Removing instrument cluster a. Disconnect the battery and cover terminal or battery. b. Switch on the hazard warning light switch (button comes out). On the sides of the button, there are small openings that project beyond the dashboard insert. c. Insert two small screwdrivers into the openings and pull off button A towards the front. d. Unclip the collar from the dashboard insert. (SO JUST WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?) What this means is that you need to remove the bezel or (the "collar") that surrounds the hazard switch. The bezel is press fit into two plastic retainer clips on either side of the switch. These clips hold the bezel in VERY firmly. The simplest way to remove the bezel is to look for a rectangular opening on the right inside edge of the Bezel. Insert a large blade screw driver into the opening (DO NOT PRY IT OUT - You'll break it) and then using a pair of pliers pull straight out on the screwdriver as close to the bezel as possible. It take some firm pulling to remove, but the Bezel will pop out. This technique will not damage your leather covering. e. The hazard warning light switch B is held in the dashboard insert by two locking hooks. f. Press the right locking hook towards the switch, grip the button holder with a pair of pliers and pull out the switch towards the front. f. Undo 5.0 x 30 Torx screw on the dashboard insert. g. Pull off microphone plug on the left side. To remove the plug use a paperclip that has been bent into a small hook, insert through the mesh and gently pull it out. h. You will then find the Torx Screw about 1.5cm inside. Undo the 5.0 x 30 Torx screw. i. Unclip the dashboard insert and disconnect the electrical plug connections. To remove you need to press in the locking tabs before you can push the release levers (grey) up. The Connectors then selr remove as you push the release levers up. i. Detach the instrument cluster from the dashboard insert and remove it.

Hi 1turb993 Thanks for your help, I have now been able to remove the instrument cluster BUT I NEED your help again please. I have replaced the standard black face gauges with new silver gauges (they look great) BUT I now can't get the dam needles back in the right position. They were all obviously at the zero or empty postion when I removed the instrument cluster, but when I set them to that position and then reinsert the instrucment cluster in the car, they either drop well below the zero position (ie the speedo and the Tacho) the fuel guage drops below empty and the voltage gauge and battery gauge don't even move. I have tried reseting them a number of times and can't get them right and I am getting very frustrated. Is there any easy way to be able to set the needles at the correct position so that when I put them back in my car they will read correctly (also I haven't noticed it before but the fuel gauge takes about 5 or 6 seconds to register, ie it sits on empty (or below empty at the moment) and then jumps up to about 3/4 full, I never noticed this before but thought it would register the actual level as soon as you turned the iginition on, Can someone tell me if this is normal or not please)

Wow, That I really cannot help with. Sounds like a job for your local speedo shop. When I removed my cluster, it was only to have the clock repaired, and all of the needles were in the same position when I re-installed it. Hope you find your answer!

Hey thanks for the write up. I just used it tonight and it really went quick. I added one additional note in bold. 1. Removing instrument cluster a. Disconnect the battery and cover terminal or battery. b. Switch on the hazard warning light switch (button comes out). On the sides of the button, there are small openings that project beyond the dashboard insert. c. Insert two small screwdrivers into the openings and pull off button A towards the front. d. Unclip the collar from the dashboard insert. (SO JUST WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?) What this means is that you need to remove the bezel or (the "collar") that surrounds the hazard switch. The bezel is press fit into two plastic retainer clips on either side of the switch. These clips hold the bezel in VERY firmly. The simplest way to remove the bezel is to look for a rectangular opening on the right inside edge of the Bezel. Insert a large blade screw driver into the opening. Also insert a large blade screwdriver the opening directly across from the first one. Pull on both screwdrivers and the bezel slides straight out. It take some firm pulling to remove, but the Bezel will pop out. This technique will not damage your leather covering. e. The hazard warning light switch B is held in the dashboard insert by two locking hooks. f. Press the right locking hook towards the switch, grip the button holder with a pair of pliers and pull out the switch towards the front. f. Undo 5.0 x 30 Torx (T20 on mine) screw on the dashboard insert. g. Pull off microphone plug on the left side. To remove the plug use a paperclip that has been bent into a small hook, insert through the mesh and gently pull it out. h. You will then find the Torx Screw about 1.5cm inside. Undo the 5.0 x 30 Torx screw. Mine was a T20 i. Unclip the dashboard insert and disconnect the electrical plug connections. To remove you need to press in the locking tabs before you can push the release levers (grey) up. The Connectors then selr remove as you push the release levers up. i. Detach the instrument cluster from the dashboard insert and remove it.

Thanks all for this write up, this was amazingly a lot easier than I thought it would be. The only thing I found tricky was the following step: "Unclip the dashboard insert and disconnect the electrical plug connections. To remove you need to press in the locking tabs before you can push the release levers (grey) up. The Connectors then selr remove as you push the release levers up." I found getting the dashboard insert out a little non-intuitive. Basically once you take out the two Trox screws (behind the hazard switch and the microphone) the insert really seems to be held in by three black plastic tabs (one far left, one 3/4 to the right by the hazard switch and one far right) and, to a large extent, gravity. I just kept pulling the insert straight up, working one end and then the other and it suddenly popped free. There are three electrical connectors to the instruments and they and their receptacles are color coded (blue, grey and white if I recall). The levers holding them in (which were more white than grey in my case) are hard to explain. Each connector has a level on its body that when you push it back and up pushes the connector out of its receptacle on the instrument cluster. The trick is there is a tab on the bottom of the connector that keeps the lever from moving. I found I needed a something hard (e.g., a screw driver) to press that tab in so it would move. There is also the connector for the hazard lights, which just slides into a slot on the insert and, in my case, just fell out when the insert popped free. When re-assembling the insert, I think the easiest way to re-connect the three connectors is to work left to right (driver-to-passenger). Start with the lever all the way pushed back (where you pushed it to remove it), get the connector started and then pull the level back to the original position, which will pull the connector back into place.