Climate control knob upgrade

yep, oem parts aren't cheap

 

Found one cheaper than the other link
https://www.ebay.com/itm/05-13-TOYO...Toyota&hash=item3b205a4d3c:g:bW8AAOSwxOVbzlm4

 

Im done with mods for a while!

 

https://www.ebay.com/p/12-13-14-15-...-A-c-Heater/904310904?iid=232595206181&chn=ps

 

Thanks for links, I've ordered a new temp control panel

 

Does anyone have 3 extra retaining clips that the OEM knobs had? I accidently threw mine away without switch them over to the aftermarket knobs and don't like how loose the knobs are. Please let me know, i'll pay for them!

 

After reading this post, I'll stay with my factory control knobs. There are some better looking aftermarket knobs, but after reading some of the reviews, they don't stay on very well. When replacing OEM parts with custom parts, I think it's important to realize that many of the parts are of poor quality (aka a piece of shit) compared to Toyota OEM. I see many people replacing their headlights with cheap ass Chinese made crap that costs under $200, they may look cool for a while but that's about it.

 

I can't say anything about the cheap universal ones but I have the AJT knobs and they fit tight. I'd recommend them if you're looking to change things up. I have his shift knob also and they go really well together to dress up the interior (I went black shifter/knobs with stainless hardware.) Just make sure you pull out the metal clips from the stock ones like he shows in his install video.

https://www.ajtdesign-llc.com/online-store/Climate-Knobs-c31134006

 

mine did the same thing! i fortunately ebay'd one for cheap and it worked perfect

 

Those knobs are very cool and appear to be a quality product. Thanks for the info. I'm afraid to remove the factory knobs after reading what has happened to others.

 

As long as you pull them straight out it shouldn't be a problem. They really don't take a lot of force. If for some reason it breaks like the one a few posts back I'd bet you could solder it back on rather than buying a whole unit. Luckily I haven't had that problem!

 

It cannot be soldered. It’s aluminum and the four small tabs holding the switch in place is brittle. Once they’re pulled, when you try to push the tabs back to hold the switch knob, the tabs will break off easily.

 

Ah, that sounds about right. It's been a while since I've looked at that part. Maybe an adhesive or epoxy would work?

 

When your knob didn't come off and the control panel broke, was it cold or warm that day? I'm wondering if heating up the knobs with a hair dryer would make them come off easier. I checked how tight mine were last night, one came off with not to much force, the other two didn't budge. But after reading about what happened to you and others, I didn't force it off.

 

It was warm-ish. It was in the 60s when I tried it. The fan control knob (left) is plastic so it slid out without any issues. The temp knob (center) and air control knob (right) have a metal/aluminum shaft. The little clip inside the OEM knobs is steak. The clip was dried, not rusted, against the switch shaft. All three have some sort of grease on the shaft, but wasn’t enough apparently.

It’s scary trying to pull the stupid OEM knobs out. If you do break the switch, you can put it back in place by JB-welding it carefully where the 4 little tabs are that hold the switch against the circuit board. Just make sure you don’t get JB-Weld on the contacts of the switch/circuit board.

I might make a video on how to fix it on the event of a disaster like it happened to me. lol

 

Thanks for the info and it's very cool you are letting us know what happened to you, so others don't do it. The fan control knob is the one that came off easily on mine. I'm afraid of breaking mine like you did, not sure what I'm going to do. I wonder if there is a way to cut into the knobs with a Dremel tool and relieve the tightness around the shaft, prior to pulling the knobs off.

 

Just Do It!!!!
You could dremel out the knobs, will be messy, and possible run the risk of damaging/cutting the knob surrounding, but I think its doable. Or you can just pull it hard until it comes out. If it breaks, just JB-Weld it back
Happy Modding!

 

How do the AJT knobs look at night.? I am thinking about replacing my China knobs with the AJT.

 

I don't have any pictures of the ones on my truck at the moment but this is from his website. Similar to stock, the white indicator part illuminates orange (or whatever color you've swapped to) when the lights are on.

An added bonus is that these stick out farther than the stock knobs and because you don't have to turn your hand to match the inner "handle" part I find them easier to grab than the stock ones; the downside is that with the stock ones it's easier to tell where it's pointing without looking...but TBH I don't really have that problem.

If you've got 4WD I'd suggest shaving/cutting the back of that knob down so it doesn't stick out so far like in this picture. The info is in this thread if you search.

 

Y'all see what G'Zila has been working on?