With the growing number of LCDs being damaged and questions I get, I thought I would cover a few things here.

I recieved a question regarding sites that sell LCD units and whether off the shelf ones will work for the tC, or if having a custom made one will work. There are vendors who will custom make them if you send in the specs.. I will post my response to this pm first and then cover the rest. :

Regarding the specs to have it custom made:
Unfortunately, without out being able to reverse engineer the controllers, I cant get that information. Ours is a "Glass" unit, but I am almost 100% certain it contains icons which count as one pixel to the controller. So I would have to be able to find the map for the LCD to have it custom built.

The next issue, if I could get past the above, to have a manufacturer create the custom device is usually very expensive in smaller quantities. The setup and tooling cost plays a big role here. If you order a large qty (as does toyota) it is much cheaper.

Now for the rest:

I mentioned some terms above that I will explain. A "glass" unit refers to one with no on-board controll circuitry. A "module" is a unit with the controller and LCD made together.

If anyone has any more input on ours or corrections to my above statements please add.

Regarding not damaging the LCD:
When desoldering, you should use the solder wick until the unit comes out without any force. If you have to tug, it is still soldered and can crack if you pull on it. Also, desolder by moving around the pins contantly, move to opposite ends as much as possible and allow for some cool down. This will avoid overheating one area, also a potential crack causer. Just remember to be very patient getting this out.


Now, since various toyotas use a similar HVAC setup to ours... I wonder if any of them use the same display. I would be curious to see the ones in different toyota models. This may open up some avenues in the salvage yards for those with cracked screens.

Anyway, I just thought some of this info may be of use.

 

The ones in Corollas and Camrys won't work because my family got them and they didn't even have this kind of HVAC with LCD display...

 

Well, I already went down this road and researched a few things. I had no luck crossing it over to another toyota. The only way is to buy the whole friggin module. Please feel free to keep hunting and I hope some success. I even hit the guys that went to Japan to see if they had any contacts at the plant. Nope.

Which, BTW Engi, I didn't get the board out until today. Truely sorry, I hadn't had time to sit down and desolder the "LCD"

Good to go and headed your way.

 

No worries at all I just appreciate getting it! I wont be around much this weekend anyway, so I wouldnt be working on it anyway.

Yeah, I think the only route is buying a new one for those that have them damaged. But, maybe someone will come up with something.

 

bumping to see if anyone found a solution or a place where we can buy just the LCDs?

 

I got a PM from panasonic, the guy who made the DIY for the gauge cluster, center console, and the cubby hole illuminations... he said I could try to search on car-part.com to see if there's any tC totalled and selling parts individually... I successfully found one for 60 dollars including the whole HVAC and the LCD... and the buttons and the turning **** for A/C and heater... i got it yesterday but haven't done anything to it yet... hope this helps

 

cracked my LCD screen also.. looking for a replacement