How do you change odometer bulb in 2002 Toyota Avalon?

Answer 1

This task is quite easy. If you are asking this question, I assume you haven't done this sort of thing before, so set aside some 2 or so hours. You need a flat screwdriver (or some flat soft edged tool) to remove the trims, and a Philips head screwdriver to open the screws. You also need the bulbs which I suspect you can only get from the dealer. Order them first so you do the jobs and be done at once. [The bulbs for the odometer, clock, and thermometer LCD displays are different from those of the speedometer and diagnostic lights.] My car has 4 bulbs in all. Have spares - those things are super fragile. I only opened my unit to check and 2 bulbs did came up dead when I put it back in... go figure.

0. Disconnect the battery. Perhaps just removing the negative cable is enough.

1. Begin by removing the little cloth covered speakers at the edges of the instrument panel area. Use your wedge tool (or flat screwdriver) and pry gently lest you break something. The speakers are on clips only. The pry motion can dislodge the outer clip, but the inner clip needs a pulling motion. Overprying can break it. When the speakers are free, you may disconnect their wire harnesses. The speaker clips have little metal retainers that can get stuck in the hole. If this happens, remove it very carefully lest it fall into the car and vanish.

2. Now remove the upper and lower trim pieces which run the width of the car. With the speakers out, you can use your hands to put at the trim clips gently until the being to release from one end and work your way across the dash.

3. With the speakers and the trim pieces out, you can now see some of the screws that need to come off. If you are replacing the bulbs that provide backloght for the odometer, clock, and thermometer, you need to work from the passenger side. The first panel from the door has no buttons or functions on it, just a cosmetic cover with Avalon writen on it. It is held down by 2 screws on the door end of it. Once you remove these, the other end is held by clips onto the middle panel (the one with odometer, clock and themometer). Gently tease out the clips and put it away from scratch danger.

4. Now you can see the passenger side screws of the middle panel. You may take these off. On the driver side of the middle panel, there is a narrow trim piece that separates the middle panel from the speedo panel. It is held down by a screw at the top, which once you remove, you can tease out the bottom (careful not to break it) and off it comes. Now you can see the other screws of the middle panel and remove them and out comes your odometer panel. (If you wanted to remove the speedo panel, you just take off the screws by the driver door side and off it comes.)

5. Ease out the odometer panel and release the wire harnesses (5 of them) by pushing down on the little spring clip as you wiggle it out. You can emply a screwdriver to help (but it will dent the plastic, though these are internal parts that you don't look at all the time). If you are replacing the diagnostic lights, you don't need to disassemble the unit - they are accessible from the back of the panel.

6. Now with the panel free in your hands, you first remove clear cover by releasing its clips, then the black plastic backing also attached to the white back by similar clips. At the back of the white plastic back, on the side with the diagnostic lights, there is flexible circuit connector going into the board. Use a small flat scredwrive to get leverage to unplug it from the green circuit board. Then turn the panel over and unscrew the green circuit board adn out it comes.

7. You can finally see the bulbs you need to replace. You twist then and they come off. Assembly is the reverse. Be sure to test that the bulbs are all working before you put the panel screws back.