At 06:20 PM 8/7/2010 Saturday, Stephen Grisanti wrote:
>And I'm willing to admit it's me, because I find many things about
>this vehicle exasperating.

Well, you're certainly not alone in that.  I'm sure each of us has a
little list of things we'd like to speak sharply to VW about. <g>

>However, I have made a living as a mechanic (admittedly in the
>ever-more-distant past) so even without Bentley at hand I feel that
>I have at least SOME sense of how to approach an automotive task and
>sometimes this thing confounds me.  That's all.

Ah -- that could be it.  This is more an electronics-tech job than a
mechanic job.  And I'm more an electronics tech than a mechanic, so
I'm right at home with it.

One thing re speed/ease -- I've found it much easier to release the
switch tabs from the panel than to remove and replace the plugs from
the switches.  I'm sure removing and replacing the panel would take
me twice as long as it does (which is about three minutes, I think)
if I were messing with those very-tight plugs.

Anyway, glad it worked.

If this is your first time taking the panel off -- make sure that the
four mounting screws aren't more than just barely tight enough, and
that the surface under them is flat (it should be, but things
happen).  The mounting ears are very brittle by this time and won't
stand for what we would consider normal tightening.

Yours,
David
ps -- I've found working with Corolla panels to be more difficult
because while it's quite straightforward, attaching and detaching the
speedo cable is meant for people with much smaller hands than mine,
and I usually end up with a scratched hand.