Dashboard Light Went Out. How to replace?

[aaronwood06]

Hi i am new to these forums but they seem pretty cool and I will be coming here for all my car needs.
Ok so i have 3 lights green lights that light up my speedometer, gas meter and all that stuff. the middle one is burnt out and i dont really want to pay to replace it. I heard it costs alot but im not sure. Anyways i have a 99 Corolla CE

How can i change the burnt out light bulb behind my dash? Thanks.

[diver9000]

You should be able to pop the screws out and have it basically drop down. Then change them out with whatever color.

[aaronwood06]

ok where are these screws and if they are under the plastic that covers the speedometer, how do i get the plastic covering off?

[chocowallet]

Dude, you don't take off the plastic cover. You have to get behind the speedometer. There should be white tabs being held on by philips screws. When you try to change the bulbs...

1. take out the first two screws and the plastic molding
2. put the car in neutral and pull the e brake
3. tilt the steering wheel and leave it loose
4. take out the other screws holding in the whole speedometer
5. change the 3 light bulbs

I got 3 new bulbs and replaced them all, so they match. Autozone has a shade of green similar to stock. (My mechanic told me he would have to take off the steering wheel.)

Hope this helps. Good luck! Later.

[lexusk8]

aaronwood, go to the link below for the DIY thread (including pictures) I did on our 98 Corolla CE. Hope that helps

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t139119.html

[aaronwood06]

Originally Posted by lexusk8

aaronwood, go to the link below for the DIY thread (including pictures) I did on our 98 Corolla CE. Hope that helps

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t139119.html

thanks man i found the light bulbs at walmart and im going to install them tomorrow! it looks really easy! thank you so much for this. it was either pay 300 bucks to get this installed (i dunno why) or do it myself

[diver9000]

Nice write up lexusk8. Where in florida are you from? Hey aaron I think I said basically the same thing. Good Luck. And the reason it is 300 bucks is because most shops charge about $80-$90 per hour, and they go by book time. It may take a mech 15 minutes but the book says remove the steering wheel and whatnot and that takes 3.2 hours so thats what they can charge.

[lexusk8]

Originally Posted by diver9000

Nice write up lexusk8. Where in florida are you from? Hey aaron I think I said basically the same thing. Good Luck. And the reason it is 300 bucks is because most shops charge about $80-$90 per hour, and they go by book time. It may take a mech 15 minutes but the book says remove the steering wheel and whatnot and that takes 3.2 hours so thats what they can charge.

I'm from Orlando. At this time of year, it's the best city to be in as far as the weather goes

DIY is definitely the way to go, especially for something simple like a bulb change. I've also upgraded the headlights on my wife's Corolla to Sylvania Silverstars which have helped improve her vision when driving at night after work. A couple bulbs also went out in the 3rd brake light and the pass. tailight, both of which I replaced in a matter of minutes. Screw the dealership for stuff like this

[diver9000]

Orlando is a nice place. And now with the winter season you have less tourists so Im sure thats much less headache. I used to live in Jax. How much of a pain is the 3rd brakelight? I heard the Silverstars are really good. Those are the sealed beams right? I swapped my headlights and put in the diamond pattern lights with H4 bulbs. That made a big difference for me.

[lexusk8]

You got that right about there being less tourists here, meaning less traffic on the roads. As for the 3rd brake light, all you have to do is push the plastic brake cover against the back window until the cover pops off from its tabs, then lift and pull the cover out so you can gain access to the brake bulb. The Silverstar bulbs resemble just like the stock bulbs, except they have a light bluish tint around the bulb. I trust their quality since I used to have them in my 1996 and 2001 Lexus ES300, and these bulbs never burnt out.