As I said, my dealer just replaced the entire unit. I doubt they ever considered replacing an led behind the panel.

I'm not going to the dealership Sat. morning because the bulb is not under warranty. I replaced the bulb in about 10 min max. The cost of the bulb was $5/each at the Toyota dealer. I tried Radio Shack as some mentioned, but they did not have that size bulb and if they did I'd be worried about using it against that control board if it's not exactly right. The other posts about taking the HVAC area apart is very true about pulling on it until you hear the pop. I thought I cracked it, but it was just coming unsnapped from the back on the top and bottom. There are two hooks on the top and bottom. So all is well and the new bulb is in. It's very easy and all you need to do is look at the diagrams posted on this link.

Good luck and thank you again for the tips. You saved me a lot of green!

Same here! Mine was flickering & the average miles driven was showing like 0- 15 miles no matter what , So they just replaced it the whole unit ....... Hopefully it does not go out again, I really like the look of the blue light mod on these ... But have no time to switch out to all blue so staying amber for me.....

This time it was the defroster light. If the dealer had more in stock at the time I bought the other one I would have repaced all at once...

Do you have a "how to" on this. I want to fix it, but I do not want to mess anything up at all.

It's very easy and don't pay anyone. There was a thread earlier out there where someone took screenshots. I don't have the link handy right now as it's at home. Keep in mind I have a 2005 4Runner so I'm going off that. If you lift up on the storage area when opened just below the HVAC controls it will easily be removed with no snaps, screws, etc. From there you will see one screw behind that to remove which is all you need to take off the HVAC and info panel as one part. This is where I get worried because you have to pull out and unsnap the 3-4 clips. There are 2 clips on top. When they unsnap it sounds like they're cracking, but they're not. I would try your best to pull toward you and not up because they fit straight in and not at an angle.

Once this is done all you need to do than is find a VERY small screwdriver and unscrew the lights you need to replace. You're done!

Email me if you have problems or need additional info.

Here is another post that wil help too!

'05 4Runner dash lights flickering?


Happy Turkey Day!

I had one of these lights go out on my info panel on my 2005 limited. My dealer wanted $150 to replace the bulb. I about fell over. After reading this forum I bought this cheap plastic pry bar set from Harbor Freight for about $5. Hopped in the front seat and opened the drop down clutter catcher box just below the temp controls. You can see a phillups screw that is sort of recessed under the panel. Just unscrew that and remove the screw. Now the panel is held in with pink teflon fingers. Don't be shy because these are pretty hefty and you can't break them unless you really yank on it. I just slipped one of the pry bars under the lower finger and it just "pops" out. Sounds like you broke something but that is the sound it makes. Then pop the other side up and then carefully slide your hand under the panel and yank the top fingers straight out. Don't bend it up but pull straight out. Once it is out you'll say "Geez that was easy". I disconnected the whiter connector by pushing in the release tab and pulling the cable loose. This takes a bit of muscle as they are pretty tight. Take the whole panel in the house and under a good light you will see 3 lamps behind the info panel. Take a small screwdriver blade and turn them counter clockwise until they stop. Then using a pair of tweezers, pull them out. They will not fall out if you turn it upside down, you have to use tweezers to remove them. Slip the replacement in and turn clockwise until it stops. Sooooo easy. Plug the white connector back in and carefully align the fingers back in the holes, starting at the top. Just push the panel in until you feel it snap in place. Insert the phillups screw and your done. I took me about 10 minutes. Piece of cake.

I just had the light on one side of the panel go out on mine. Thinking I have an extended warranty that maybe the dealer would cover it. Well, no chance, since it's a bulb that would need to be replaced and not covered. They want to charge $110 for a $3.60 bulb. I was not even happy buying the bulb from them lol!

My right side of the information panel (temp, mpgs etc.) stopped lighting up. Its working but not lit up so Im assuming a bulb is out. I have an extended warranty on a CPO's 4th gen. Will this be covered or how can I fix myself? Thanks

I don't think it will be covered under warranty. I tried under my toyota ext warranty and no go. The bulb is less then $20 and you can replace them in about 15 min. There are threads out here on how to do, maybe under my name and others. It's very easy on y '05 to replace, don't pay anyone... Get used to them going out. My down hill assist button light is out now, but I'm not replace it yet.... Info panel left side if flickering now, probably go out sometime soon. The bulb looks like an led light and very small.

Ok. Thanks. Could you post a link as to how or what bulb I need and where I can find the bulb? I'm new to the forum and have a hard time finding things. Thanks again.

You'll need to take it apart to find the correct bulb #. I bought mine at Toyota dealer, though I searched everywhere to buy elsewhere because they mark their prices up. Radioshack did not have one.

It's very easy and don't pay anyone. There was a thread earlier out there where someone took screenshots. I don't have the link handy right now as it's at home. Keep in mind I have a 2005 4Runner so I'm going off that. If you lift up on the storage area when opened just below the HVAC controls it will easily be removed with no snaps, screws, etc. From there you will see one screw behind that to remove which is all you need to take off the HVAC and info panel as one part. This is where I get worried because you have to pull out and unsnap the 3-4 clips. There are 2 clips on top. When they unsnap it sounds like they're cracking, but they're not. I would try your best to pull toward you and not up because they fit straight in and not at an angle.

Once this is done all you need to do than is find a VERY small screwdriver and unscrew the lights you need to replace. You're done!

Email me if you have problems or need additional info.

Here is another post that wil help too!

'05 4Runner dash lights flickering?

Is it ust the one screw I need to take out and then pop this piece off to get to the bulbs or do I need to take aprart the entire dash/console?

Thanks. Im going to try it tonight. I got the light. I always hate yanking on that plastic. So basically, its the one screw and then the rest just pops off corrct? Thanks in advance.

This forum is awesome!

This is the one thing that was not working on my new 4Runner; I'm going to go get the bulbs today at the Toyota dealership and try installing them myself in the next couple of days.... thanks to this thread.