Afternoon everyone

I have a 2015 KA and today when I hit a pothole (and don't laugh), the small black cap that covers the centre of the fuel gauge came off and is now sitting behind the plastic cover and obscuring the digital display. All the instruments still work perfectly but how do you remove the plastic cover so I can put the cap back on? There are two screws on the underside of the top of the instrument panel but these don't appear to be holding the cover in place. I don't yet posses a Haynes manual for this car so don't want to start dismantling bits without fully knowing what I am doing. Also, the bulb(s) behind the heater control stopped illuminating on two of the controls. They still work, just don't light up. Again is this a five minute job I can do at the side of the road with basic tools?

You'll need to remove the full cluster first.  Then remove the rear cover, which will allow access to remove the clear plastic front screen.  That one's not a 5 minute job I'm afraid.

Similar sort of thing for the heater bulbs, you'll need to remove the dash fascia cover first, then the heater control panel, then you can access the bulbs from behind.  Likely to need Torx bits and plastic trim tools to avoid damage, but it is doable at the side of the road.  (Again, not in 5 minutes though!)

Thanks for the advice Tom, i'll try and have a go at it over the weekend. The marvels of modern cars eh - my first car was a MK1 Fiesta - could do just about anything on that with a couple of screwdrivers and a socket set!

On 6/21/2023 at 6:11 PM, Howhardcanitbe? said:

Thanks for the advice Tom, i'll try and have a go at it over the weekend. The marvels of modern cars eh - my first car was a MK1 Fiesta - could do just about anything on that with a couple of screwdrivers and a socket set!

I agree with your point about older cars. My first car was a Ford Cortina Mk2 1300 Deluxe and you could step into the engine bay and walk around the engine - everything was easy to get to. On my Ka everything is so squashed in that working on anything - starter motor / alternator / even headlight bulbs is a nightmare. The march towards non-maintainable cars likening them to white goods.