Removing glove box
08-14-17, 01:51 PM
#1
10th Gear
Thread Starter
Removing glove box
Hello CL,
I have a 2008 IS350. I am trying to go about accessing the infamous lever that is making a jackhammer sound when I switch the air circulation from recirculation to outside air (I have the same issue as this thread : https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...ove-box-2.html). The lever is behind the glovebox and I need to open it up to reattach it but I am searching everywhere in CL forums and all the posts were at least 6 years old. I'm wondering if anyone has steps/tutorial they can provide to access the plastic lever?
Thanks in advance
I have a 2008 IS350. I am trying to go about accessing the infamous lever that is making a jackhammer sound when I switch the air circulation from recirculation to outside air (I have the same issue as this thread : https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...ove-box-2.html). The lever is behind the glovebox and I need to open it up to reattach it but I am searching everywhere in CL forums and all the posts were at least 6 years old. I'm wondering if anyone has steps/tutorial they can provide to access the plastic lever?
Thanks in advance
08-14-17, 03:02 PM
#2
Ive seen a thread with actual pictures before but im searching. However, here are some steps.
1)Open the passenger side front door and gently using a flat blade screwdriver, pop off the side dash panel (the one that is exposed when you open the , you don't need to but it helps you see what's going on and how things are put together.
2)Using a flat blade screwdriver, pop off the lower black dash cover on the bottom passenger footwell (this has an LED light in it to illuminate the floor when the door is open, you can use a needlenose plier to squeeze the white part of the wiring harness plug and detach it). Once the LED is disconnected, you can move this panel out of your way. FYI, for me, once I removed this, the broken servo arm fell out and onto the floor of the car.
3)Once the lower dash cover is removed, you will see there are three stainless steel or zinc coated looking 10mm hex bolts that hold the knee airbag panel in place (this is the panel that has "SRS Knee Airbag" or something similar, written on it, mine was grey color since my interior is grey). They are very obvious and the only ones you have access to unscrew at this point, remove those, and *gently* pull the knee airbag panel off and *gently* lay it on the floor of the car, preferably somewhere so that the wires aren't taught and have some slack in them. DO NOT disconnect the wiring harness from the airbag, it will cause the computer to go crazy the next time you turn the car on, or so I've read. Also, you don't want to risk accidental detonation of the airbag. You'll notice that aside from those 3 bolts you removed, the top of that panel is held by two black "nipples" (for lack of a better word). Keep this in mind for reassembly, you need to catch those nipples for the panel to fit back together properly.
4)After the airbag panel is off and out of the way, you will see there are two black phillips screws that hold the bottom of the glove box on, these are obvious and you need to remove these. Once they are off, open the glove box and remove the three black screws (identical to the other two you just removed) that are near the top of the inside of the glovebox. In total, you should have removed 5 screws (2 + 3). The glove box will now pull out easily, you can disconnect the wiring harness and get the glove box completely out of the way, I would recommend this.
5) At this point there are a couple more things in the way of the recirculation servo - first, the vent that heats the floor of the front passenger side of the car, the vent is white ABS plastic (actually everything related to the HVAC, blower motor, etc. is white ABS plastic) and "L" shaped (removed easily with 1 obvious black screw) AND second this electrical (relay?) box that is blue and red colored (also easily removed with 1 obvious black screw). I disconnected all the harnesses from the electrical box so I could get it completely out of the way, I was able to do this by hand without pliers. By the way, one of the harnesses attached to this electrical box feeds the recirculation servo. **NOTE** disconnecting that electrical box causes the HVAC system to self test itself next time you turn the accessory power on, don't be alarmed, you'll see the front defogger button light flash a few times.
6) At this point you should have a completely clear view of the recirculation servo (as well as another servo that is more towards the center of the car, not sure what that one is, air mix perhaps?). You will probably notice that one of two items is broken: either a) the recirculation servo arm (or the servo itself), or b) the recirculation door arm.
1)Open the passenger side front door and gently using a flat blade screwdriver, pop off the side dash panel (the one that is exposed when you open the , you don't need to but it helps you see what's going on and how things are put together.
2)Using a flat blade screwdriver, pop off the lower black dash cover on the bottom passenger footwell (this has an LED light in it to illuminate the floor when the door is open, you can use a needlenose plier to squeeze the white part of the wiring harness plug and detach it). Once the LED is disconnected, you can move this panel out of your way. FYI, for me, once I removed this, the broken servo arm fell out and onto the floor of the car.
3)Once the lower dash cover is removed, you will see there are three stainless steel or zinc coated looking 10mm hex bolts that hold the knee airbag panel in place (this is the panel that has "SRS Knee Airbag" or something similar, written on it, mine was grey color since my interior is grey). They are very obvious and the only ones you have access to unscrew at this point, remove those, and *gently* pull the knee airbag panel off and *gently* lay it on the floor of the car, preferably somewhere so that the wires aren't taught and have some slack in them. DO NOT disconnect the wiring harness from the airbag, it will cause the computer to go crazy the next time you turn the car on, or so I've read. Also, you don't want to risk accidental detonation of the airbag. You'll notice that aside from those 3 bolts you removed, the top of that panel is held by two black "nipples" (for lack of a better word). Keep this in mind for reassembly, you need to catch those nipples for the panel to fit back together properly.
4)After the airbag panel is off and out of the way, you will see there are two black phillips screws that hold the bottom of the glove box on, these are obvious and you need to remove these. Once they are off, open the glove box and remove the three black screws (identical to the other two you just removed) that are near the top of the inside of the glovebox. In total, you should have removed 5 screws (2 + 3). The glove box will now pull out easily, you can disconnect the wiring harness and get the glove box completely out of the way, I would recommend this.
5) At this point there are a couple more things in the way of the recirculation servo - first, the vent that heats the floor of the front passenger side of the car, the vent is white ABS plastic (actually everything related to the HVAC, blower motor, etc. is white ABS plastic) and "L" shaped (removed easily with 1 obvious black screw) AND second this electrical (relay?) box that is blue and red colored (also easily removed with 1 obvious black screw). I disconnected all the harnesses from the electrical box so I could get it completely out of the way, I was able to do this by hand without pliers. By the way, one of the harnesses attached to this electrical box feeds the recirculation servo. **NOTE** disconnecting that electrical box causes the HVAC system to self test itself next time you turn the accessory power on, don't be alarmed, you'll see the front defogger button light flash a few times.
6) At this point you should have a completely clear view of the recirculation servo (as well as another servo that is more towards the center of the car, not sure what that one is, air mix perhaps?). You will probably notice that one of two items is broken: either a) the recirculation servo arm (or the servo itself), or b) the recirculation door arm.
08-14-17, 05:23 PM
#3
10th Gear
Thread Starter
Thank you
Thanks Russ for providing the guide! I also ran into that guide as well but pictures/videos will help reinforce the guide more! I am not sure how the lever is connected to the blend door actuator!
08-16-17, 12:19 PM
#4
I can't help out with much but just wanted to wish you the best of luck fixing this problem. I took my car to the dealer and they broke one of the motors when they changed out my air filter and it made the car undriveable for a week because it is just really loud and obnoxious. Dealer almost charged me $2k before they realized that they were the ones who broke it. DIY'ing this will save you a lot of money. Good luck!
09-17-17, 08:56 AM
#6
Driver School Candidate
While trying to replace the door in the back of the glovebox that gives access to the cabin air filter, I dropped the damn thing inside, and after 10 minutes of scraping my knuckles, I can assert that it is impossible to get out from there! I was able to get it out from underneath just by removing the black bottom cover, which I never would've known how to do without RussZTT's instructions. Awesome, thanks!
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