Disassemble Interior: Center Stack & Climate Controls (Fix Squeaking)

GorillaGuy

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The creaking, squeaking and rattling of the plastic pieces of the center stack and knee pad area is just ridiculous. How Toyota allowed this to pass through QC is unreal to me. Here's how to remove the panels and show where to apply foam tape and sound deadening to silence those annoying noises.

Tools / Parts:
- T20 torx driver / socket
- Foam tape / rubber weather stripping in various thicknesses, sound deadening material (Foam tape , Rubber Stripping , Sound Deadening)
+ The above links are just examples, use whatever materials you feel fit to do the job
- Plastic trim removal tool (optional)
- Pick or tiny screwdriver to assist removing connectors (optional)


Order of Removal:
1 - Cup Holder
2 - Drivers Knee Pad
3 - Climate Control
4 - Center Buttons
5 - Wireless Charger
6 - CF Controls



Cup Holder:
1 - Remove rubber insert by pulling straight up
2 - Remove two T20 Torx
3 - Pull straight up on cup holder, it is only held in with clips
4 - Line underside of cup holder with sound deadening material if you wish, but it probably isn't necessary





Knee Pad:
1 - Pull off knee pad by prying it straight out towards you, it is only held in with clips
2 - Remove the 8 T20 torx screws (red) holding the knee pad structure to the dash structure
3 - Slide out plastic trim piece from the structure, it is held in with 3 clips (blue)
4 - Line the inside of the plastic trim piece with sound deadening material







Climate Control:
1 - Remove 2 screws, 1st screw is right in front, 2nd screw is hidden behind a grommet that is hidden in the jam of the glove box
2 - I found it easier to remove the hidden screw first, then the one in front, then just pull the entire panel towards you and it will pop out
3 - Remove 1 connector
4 - Be careful not to scratch the glossy plastic part as it scratches very easily
5 - Line the inner plastic trim piece with sound deadening material
6 - Wedge foam strips into the gaps between the actual button assemblies and the trim panel itself (refer to "reference pic" below from Center Button section). From what I noticed, the button assemblies (plastic) rattle and squeak against the trim panel itself (plastic) which causes a lot of the annoying noises.











Center Buttons:
1 - Remove 2 screws, 1 is located right in front, the other is hidden in a panel at the passenger end of the dash. The panel pops out easily with a trim tool. Once its out you can see where the 2nd screw is. Using a ratchetting wrench on this screw will make it a bit easier.
2 - Once both screws are removed, gently pull straight out towards you...but there are two connectors to remove
3 - Remove both connectors
4 - As you can see in the "reference pic" below (same goes for the climate control buttons above), the button assemblies need to be filled with foam strips to prevent them from rattling around and causing the squeaking.
5 - Line the panel with sound deadening material if you desire, but probably isn't necessary.












Reference Pics:

Wedge foam strips in these gaps for both Climate Control and Center Buttons:






Wireless Charger:
1 - Gently pry up all around the charger base and CF trim piece, it is held in by clips only
2 - Remove 4 connectors, 2 of the 4 are a little tricky...pics below show the tabs that need to be pressed in before pulling off
3 - Place some soft foam tape on the CF trim around where the base of the wireless charger sits so it fits a little tighter











CF Controls:
1 - Once the wireless charger is disconnected and out of the way, gently pry up on CF trim to remove it. It is only held in by clips
2 - There are 3 connectors to remove, the one on the left side is tricky. It has a small tab that needs to be pressed in order to slide it out.
3 - Wedge some thick rubber or foam strips in between the button / control wheel assemblies to prevent them from moving around and making noise.
4 - Line under side with sound deadening if desired









Once all of the button assemblies are wedged with foam tape and you feel like there is an adequate amount of sound deadening on everything, put it all back together in the reverse order.

Doing this got rid of 99% of all the noises coming from the center stack. Now I can chase down all of the other rattling / creaking throughout the car.
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GorillaGuy

GorillaGuy

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I love this thread with all of my heart. Thank you.
Haha thanks! This was by far the most annoying issue with the car IMO. After doing this and previously sound deadening the entire back area using the subwoofer guide Here.... the car is so much quieter and nicer to be in. Toyota really dropped the ball on interior quality with this car and doing these things drastically improved the overall feel of the car. I can now cruise on the highway with no music on and not feel like Im in a car from the 90s....
 

BobbyC1221

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How exactly do you remove the passenger side knee pad? Do I have to remove the entire center console to get to the screws?
I got the driver side out. That was easy. Just clips. Didn’t seem to work on the pass side. Driving me crazy.

trying to line that side with some red alcantaera. Got the driver side done but can’t seem to get to the pass side.
 
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GorillaGuy

GorillaGuy

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How exactly do you remove the passenger side knee pad? Do I have to remove the entire center console to get to the screws?
I got the driver side out. That was easy. Just clips. Didn’t seem to work on the pass side. Driving me crazy.

trying to line that side with some red alcantaera. Got the driver side done but can’t seem to get to the pass side.
Yes. There are screws that hold it in place which are accessed from underneath the CF piece.

Here’s a link to another thread explaining this:
https://www.supramkv.com/threads/do...these-are-to-remove-take-off.7242/post-130957

And just so you know, that pic was taken from a RHD car which is why it looks like it’s on the drivers side.
 

BobbyC1221

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Yes. There are screws that hold it in place which are accessed from underneath the CF piece.

Here’s a link to another thread explaining this:
https://www.supramkv.com/threads/do...these-are-to-remove-take-off.7242/post-130957

And just so you know, that pic was taken from a RHD car which is why it looks like it’s on the drivers side.
Yea.. that’s kinda what I saw as well. I was hoping I was wrong. ? id rather not take the entire console apart to just get some alcantara on that knee pad.
Thanks!
 
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GorillaGuy

GorillaGuy

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Yea.. that’s kinda what I saw as well. I was hoping I was wrong. ? id rather not take the entire console apart to just get some alcantara on that knee pad.
Thanks!
Yea no I hear ya. But you can get away with just taking apart the cup holder, drivers knee pad piece (8 screws) and then the wireless charger to get the CF piece off. Shouldn’t take much more than 20 minutes or so to do those 3-4 pieces.
 

BobbyC1221

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Haha yea. I know. It’s just tedious. only to slap some of this for the other side. May as well put some on the arm rest then. Since I would have all of it taken apart anyway. ? the more I take apart, the more I need to add.

Oh the joys of modding. I forgot how much I missed it.
 

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GorillaGuy

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Haha yea same here. That’s exactly how I was with sound deadening and fixing all the ticks and rattles.

Next thing you know, your seats are out of the car and their getting red alcantara inserts lol.
 

RD29

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Wow, thanks for posting this. I have a horrible rattling in the climate control area I can't find for the life of me. It's like something internal rattling around and it drives me crazy. Looks like I might need to take it apart!
 
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GorillaGuy

GorillaGuy

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Wow, thanks for posting this. I have a horrible rattling in the climate control area I can't find for the life of me. It's like something internal rattling around and it drives me crazy. Looks like I might need to take it apart!
The noise is probably coming from the gaps in between the actual electronic unit and the trim piece itself. The electronic part will slightly move around in the trim housing and create the creaking the squeaking. Its important to fill ALL of those gaps so the electronic unit cant move around in the trim piece. Heres another picture of what Im talking about...the highlighted areas are where you need to fill with foam so it cant move around. I know you said climate controls (which I dont have a good picture of) but its the same for the center buttons. So just fill those gaps and the noise should stop.

IMG-5792.jpg
 

theox

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This was extremely helpful for me in getting my data logger setup and running wires. Thanks!
 

drfilip

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Reviving an old thread - do you remember if there was any sound deadening material between the dash and the engine? I'm looking to do the exact opposite of you, allowing as much engine sound to enter the cabin as possible while keeping road noise to a minimum :p
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