Audi Instrument Cluster LCD Replacement

Before

Before

I’ve been dealing with a failing LCD in the instrument cluster of my Audi for years.  At first a horizontal line or two would just disappear on me, and come back after an hour with the engine running.  Over time the number of missing lines increased, and they stayed missing permanently. It finally reached the point seen here, where it is difficult and sometimes impossible to read the information displayed. The longer I tried to ignore the problem, the worse it became.

I’d been searching various enthusiast forums on and off for years, keeping tabs on possible solutions to the problem.  For a long time, the only fix was to take the car to a dealer and have the entire instrument cluster replaced, at an excessive cost (I was quoted $1400 parts and labor). If you were lucky, the defect would happen while you were still under warranty, but mine started failing mere weeks after the warranty ended. Several people had taken their instrument clusters apart and tried various fixes to the LCD, but nothing seemed to work.

Recently a few repair shops started getting mentioned on the forums, and they were offering a rebuild service for the instrument cluster. They would take it apart and replace your failing LCD with a new one of better quality.  Most of these shops would handle the fix in-shop only, but I found one place in Florida, DNASpeedometers, that would handle the rebuild through the mail.  They seemed reputable, had a few decent reviews, and gave me an estimate that was reasonable.

The process of removing the instrument cluster is well documented, and not terribly difficult; It took me 10 minutes to remove it.  With proper padding, the instrument cluster is a bulky package, but is light enough to keep the shipping costs down.  I recommend springing for insurance, as it could get pricy if your cluster gets damaged in transit.

After

After

The guys at DNASpeedometers received my instrument cluster and replaced the LCD within hours, and had the return shipment on its way the same day.  I shipped my cluster out on Monday, and received it back on Friday. The LCD is flawless, and I’m very pleased with the quality of the rebuild.  Its nice being able to read what the car is telling me again.

Update (04/08/2009):  The LCD is still performing perfectly. I’ve did a little digging and found another shop that will handle this rebuild through the mail, Circuit Solutions.  They only have an eBay storefront, they have no website, and I’m unable to find any solid feedback or word of mouth about them on the forums.  Despite this, they do have some good eBay feedback, and their price is cheaper than what I paid.

4 Responses to “Audi Instrument Cluster LCD Replacement”

  1. Just got mine done through Module Masters. My LCD was completely out, and now it’s completely perfect.

    Now, where can I find a write up or a service that will replace my failing LEDs in my gas gauge needle and my oil temp needle?

  2. How much did they charge to fix it?

  3. Sub: Audi Instrument Cluster LCD Replacement

    I have 2001 Audi A4 2.8 Quattro Sedan and I have same problem of missing lines in instrument cluster in Idle. When I shift to gear to Drive mode, the bottom 2 blocks are completely disappearing.

  4. Circuit Solutions and Module Master have the same phone number and address, so must be two names for the same place. They charge $150 for the repair.

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