Porsche Cayman S – Replace HVAC Control Rocker Switches

I did a job yesterday on the wife’s 2006 Cayman S that went surprisingly well and made a big improvement to the cosmetics of the car. We have had this car since new and at some point the HVAC rocker switches got sticky and very unsightly. She thinks someone at a drivethrough car wash and interior cleaning operation put the wrong product on these. Regardless of the cause they have looked bad and only got worse. See photo below.

This is not exactly a “how to” article but I will provide some useful links.

I got new switch covers from Climarepair.com. The are in Spain so you need to pony up for the $30 shipping but both switches are less than $100 all in.

I followed this guys tutorial on how to remove and replace the switches.

His instructions were pretty much spot on, including the recommendation to go out and buy a Torx T6 screwdriver, which is really tiny. I got a set of these small guys at my local Lowes home improvement.

My only heartache was that the upper most of the 3 tabs on the side panel, drivers side, snapped off. The good news is that there are 2 left and by the time you also install the 2 screws at the forward edge of the panel, it is very solid.

I also cleaned up the radio knobs, using this tutorial on youtube.

And I used this opportunity to clean all the spewed latte mess off the various panels. Hmm, I wonder where that came from? When you have the panel disassembled as required to replace the switches, you can swap down the assembly, including all the small control switches, without fear of water getting into the electronics underneath.

Anyway, the job got done in just a few hours and it definately improves the cosmetics of the car.