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  1. #1
    Senior Member Three Rings
    Join Date
    Aug 02 2012
    AZ Member #
    97968
    My Garage
    2000 S4
    Location
    Harrisburg

    Climate control buttons stuck

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    Ever since i bought my s4 the climate control buttons have seen very sticky and some more than others.. last night i turned my heat on and the button stuck in.. and now I cant even turn my heat off. does anyone know if you can take the face plate off the climate control to allow me to clean the cracks and areas so they will not be sticky anymore.

  2. #2
    Veteran Member Four Rings howardfootball's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 20 2010
    AZ Member #
    65975
    My Garage
    '57 Ford Thunderbird
    Location
    MD

    Yes you can pull the face off and clean the buttons. I had to do the same thing when I got my car. The PO was a heavy coffee drinker and used copious amounts of sugar. None of the buttons worked on my car haha.

  3. #3
    Veteran Member Three Rings slowrideBC's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 10 2012
    AZ Member #
    94952
    My Garage
    2000 s4
    Location
    Canada

    2000 S4 - silver- RS4 OEM widebody racecar

  4. #4
    Senior Member Three Rings
    Join Date
    Aug 02 2012
    AZ Member #
    97968
    My Garage
    2000 S4
    Location
    Harrisburg

    Quote Originally Posted by slowrideBC View Post
    EXACTLY what I was looking for thanks!

  5. #5
    Established Member Three Rings
    Join Date
    Oct 06 2011
    AZ Member #
    82180
    My Garage
    Audi S4 /Wifes 2011 cruz..bleh
    Location
    Southwest Michigan

    This is exactly why use to the cup holder by the vents is strictly forbidden.

  6. #6
    Active Member Two Rings
    Join Date
    Jul 09 2012
    AZ Member #
    96509
    Location
    NJ

    The fastest and easiest way to fix this is to spray WD-40 on the sticky keys and have a rag to keep the overspray to a minimum. I fixed 3 audis this way. Press the keys after spraying to free them up.
    42lb Bosch Green Giant injectors, Stratmosphere DV's, ICM delete 2.0t coilpack conversion, AWE fueling kit, Stage 3 flash, AWE boost gauge

  7. #7
    Veteran Member Four Rings AudiSport12's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 17 2006
    AZ Member #
    10352
    Location
    Coastal Georgia

    Quote Originally Posted by temagnus2004 View Post
    The fastest and easiest way to fix this is to spray WD-40 on the sticky keys and have a rag to keep the overspray to a minimum. I fixed 3 audis this way. Press the keys after spraying to free them up.
    I feel like this is kind of risky with the electrical components behind it but I may give it a try anyways. I was thinking more along the lines of electrical contact cleaner working well and being safer. I'm tired of my heat staying on bc the buttons are stuck in.

    I wonder if that will work for my sticky dash cup holder too. PO must have thrown his beer at the console or something.
    2011 B8 S4
    2003 Z71 Tahoe
    2000 B5 S4 - Sold
    2001 B5 1.8TQM F21L - Sold
    2000 B5 1.8TQM - RIP
    2000 C5 4.2Q - Sold
    1997 B5 1.8TQ - Sold

  8. #8
    Veteran Member Four Rings Fourplay's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 01 2010
    AZ Member #
    58431
    Location
    Atlanta

    Quote Originally Posted by AudiSport12 View Post
    I feel like this is kind of risky with the electrical components behind it but I may give it a try anyways. I was thinking more along the lines of electrical contact cleaner working well and being safer. I'm tired of my heat staying on bc the buttons are stuck in.

    I wonder if that will work for my sticky dash cup holder too. PO must have thrown his beer at the console or something.
    All WD-40 does is displace water. It's fine for use around electrical components.

  9. #9
    Veteran Member Four Rings Smitty2A4's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 30 2007
    AZ Member #
    18429
    My Garage
    Stage 3 B5 S4 6 Speed l B6 A4 3.0 6 Speed (RIP)
    Location
    Boston, MA

    This is an issue in my car as well! The first time it happened I kinda freaked out and thought something was messed up haha. Now I just leave the buttons that stick alone, thankfully the ones I use the most (temp control and fan speed) do not stick. I may try to clean the buttons per that how-to though, thanks for posting it.
    Looking for a good shop north of Boston, call Eurosport Performance

  10. #10
    Veteran Member Three Rings zrider91r's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 06 2012
    AZ Member #
    86263
    Location
    California

    Climate control buttons stuck

    I did the WD-40 trick as well! Worked like a charm! And i no longer use that cup holder, unless its a sealable container

  11. #11
    Veteran Member Four Rings BlazinB5's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 12 2010
    AZ Member #
    66938
    Location
    Stillwater, MN

    same problem here: the previous owner of my car actually got the whole damn cupholder itself stuck in the dash. i can't even open the cupholder if i wanted to (which is actually a good thing, lol).

    but ya, i used WD-40 in the spaces(cracks) around the buttons and a day later they work like new.
    2001 Allroad 2.7T
    2000 A6 4.2 (parted out)
    2003 A4 1.8T (sold)
    2002 A4 1.8T (sold)
    2001 A4 1.8T (sold)
    2001 A4 2.8 (sold)

  12. #12
    Junior Member One Ring
    Join Date
    May 28 2016
    AZ Member #
    373928
    Location
    Phoenix

    UDDATE: This worked out well. I mixed some epoxy that's made to be used with fiberglas, got it from Walmart in a big can that will last a while. It's a two-part mix, I use a tablespoon of resin in the bottom of an upside down beer can and two drops of hardener. I covered all the spring mounts on the back of the climate control buttons, and used to reattach some of the brass spring clips that stayed with the dash when they should come off on the trim pieces. Worked great. Looks good.

    PRIOR POST:

    Disassembly and cleaning worked well for me but the metal springs on the back which push the buttons out into the cockpit, in some places, broke off their tiny plastic mounts. So the buttons were getting stuck from dirt, but also not enough pressure pushing them back into place.

    I am going to mix a tiny amount of fiberglas epoxy to try to hold them back on. I appears they were manufactured by passing the thin metal over the plastic mount and then melting the mount to deform the plastic enough to hold it in place. Same procedure with the brass clips that hold the trim pieces on. Anyone else try any kind of glue to hold these fragile dashboard pieces together?
    Last edited by Timbert; 08-27-2016 at 07:41 PM.

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