N_Jay

Who here has had good luck doing it themselves?
Which parts seem best?

Who has used a service? Which one? How much?

georgeb944

I used a service found on ebay. I paid $175, including return shipping. There was a slight problem, service sent a call tag, repaired the problem, and returned to me for no additional charge. I am a very happy customer.

N_Jay

Do you remember which service?

I found one on eBay that is actually local to me, so I got a walking quote.

Still thinking a reference is good.

Prospeeder

Use module masters if you want it to be 100% working when you get it back.

N_Jay

Anyone ever used these guys?
http://www.bestpixelrepair.com/
On eBay and Facebopok as "Bimmer Hill Store" or "Bimmer_Hill"
Local to me with a great price and decent eBay feedback.

georgeb944

The ebay seller I used was speedosolutions in Park Ridge, IL.

N_Jay

Another IL company (but not as a close and $20 more)

Thanks for the reference.
If the first place does not check out, I'll head there I think. (At least I can still save shipping)

N_Jay

Well, time to take the LCD in for repair/replacement.

I am going to try
Best Pixel Repair for BMW, Audi, Saab, Lexus, Range Rover - Best Pixel Repair (Bimmer Hill Store) since they are close (literally less then 10 miles), cheap ($140) and seem to have good references.

Watched a few videos to see how to take it out. All looked very easy.

Well, mine was not quite as easy.
They showed how the trim comes off, and that went well, but the attachments were just a little different.
Then the fun began. Where the videos showed Torx screws I have Philips. No biggie till I tried unscrewing them. They would not budge. So rather than bugger the heads, I got a new Phillips bit and a driver I could but a wrench on.
But that configuration did not let me push as hard when turning.
I felt the bit camming-out just a little so I stopped.
I put the bit in the fattest handle driver I had, pushed as hard as I could to keep the bit tight (Literally moved the seat up so I could use the seatback as support), and turned it HARD!
With a creak and groan the screw turned without the bit slipping.
The second was just as bad.
I was concerned that I would bugger the heads, or snap the screw.
Seems they use a sort of self-tapping very fine threaded screw into a clip.
That combined with 14 years of never being touched made for a almost unbreakable lock.
I am going to see if I can find some new screws because I can see the stress in these head from the bit.

Next is removing the panel from the dash. A little tug and the bottom moves about 1/2 inch out, the panel bottom rotates out and the top wedges in place.
Push the bottom back to straighten the panel and it all fits back where I started.
5 or 6 attempts and finally decided to slide a piece of paper across the top to prevent it from grabbing the dash material. Well, that was the trick. On the second try it slid forward and stayed level and out she came.

Well, that aside, I will let you know how the repair goes when I get back from vacation in a little over a week.

Moncho

Sent mine to ModuleMasters and it should arrive Saturday. They are located in Idaho and it ran $186 for shipping back and repair. Cost $19 to ship to them, so just over $200. Will report back once it's received and installed. Very easy removal on my 2001 A6 2.7T, expect the same on installation. I think the repair charges differ on make/model.

Norcal2.7t

I used Module Masters. Quick turnaround and was pretty easy DIY. So happy to have the display back to normal. Followed the tech article on this site for the instructions. There were a couple clips that were different but not hard to figure out. Highly recommend putting a small cloth over the steering column to avoid scratching when pulling out the display.