How to take apart command switch in center console

plumber78

Member
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2014 Mazda 6
Well my wife accidently dumped her sweet tea all over the commander switch. Needless to say the buttons became so sticky that they seized up and rendered the whole switching unit useless. I'm sure this situation is going to happen many times considering that it is located directly in front of the cup holder. I was unsure if the whole switch was fried or not so I set about trying to tear into it knowing that I may have to replace the whole thing anyway. Here is how it went.

1. Unsnap and unzip the boot on the E-brake.


2. Open the center console and just about the two outlets are slots to slide a flat head screw driver. Gently pry up and the center cover will start to come up.


3. Slowly work your way to the front by gently pulling up on either side. There are four tabs on each side


4. When you get to sides to release, be sure to not pull up to far. There is one final clip that attaches to the plastic trim piece around the shifter. Push down on the center of the shifter trip piece while gently pulling up on the center cover and it should release. I think I snapped my clip a little but it still locked back in nicely when I put it back together.


5. Reach in under the cover and remove the wire harness. there is a release on the plug that faces the drivers side...just push in on it and gently pull the plug away from the center piece. The whole center piece should come right off now.


6. Flip the center piece over. Locate and remove 4 Phillips head screws to pull the command switch out. Be extremely gentle with the tabs that hold this thing in place. I broke off two of the tabs later on in my adventure.



7. Now remove the seven small screws from the bottom of the switch to separate the components.



There is a rubber piece that helped protect the computer board. The whole issue turned out to be iced tea on the buttons themselves. No damage done to the board.



8. Gently remove the plug from the board


9. With a very thin object, gently pop off the blank pieces on either side of the switch. This allows for removal on the center buttons on either side. The corner buttons are on there good. I ended up pushing them out from the backside. Be very careful as this was how I broke off the tabs that holds the switch to the center console.



Clean everything up and put it back together :) Just be careful around the selector knob. I never did get that stupid thing to come out so do not what would happen if it got any liquid in it...it may have already and we got lucky! When I put it all back together, I found that if I turned the tabs that I broke off the right way, they could be used as washers lol



I hope this helps someone.
 
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