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OK, I tried to replace the bulbs in my climate control unit today. Here is the step-by-step, embelishing on the very helpful post already provided by Leli001 (Thanks by the way!).
Step 1 - Get the bulbs for the climate control unit from your dealership (I often purchase mail order from Volvo of Richardson in Texas as they are cheaper than my local dealer... see Volvo of Richardson website at www.volvoofrichardson.com. You will need 6 bulbs in total, if you plan on replacing all 6 (why not replace all at once, right?). I unfortunately didn't get my bulbs in advance, as I thought some bulbs I got from checker auto would work. Bad call, these bulbs look pretty specific and are built into the assembly. As such, I will need to pull my climate control unit out again once I get from a dealer. Oh well, pretty easy process, as you will see below.
Step 2 - Disconnect the battery. I did this due to precautions by others about a warning light popping on if you disconnect the climate control unit while the battery is attached. Leli001 recommended disconnecting atleast for 20 minutes.
Step 3 - Remove cover around the shifter. Do this by prying up on the plastic in the groove where the plastic meets the wood - see the first and second picture at the this website: www.carstereohelp.com/stereoremovalVolvoS80.htm. Once you have popped up the plastic, twist it sideways (but be careful not to pull out any connections underneath), see the third picture on the website. You may need to put the car into gear (rather than park) in order to give enough clearance to spin the plastic.
Step 4 - Remove the two torx screws on the bottom of the climate control unit. You will see 4 torx screws in total, remove the top two... the bottom two are to connect the center console.
Step 5 - Pull the bottom of the climate control unit towards you, it should be at about a 30 degree angle. While continuing to pull out, also pull slightly down. Eventually the climate control should sort of pop loose.
Step 6 - Did you disconnect the battery? If not, do step 2 before beginning this step. If battery has been disconnected for atleast 20 minutes, then unplug all the climate control connections. You should now be able to completely remove the unit itself. I found it much easier to remove the bulbs with the climate control unit completely removed from the dash.
Step 7 - You should see 6 round holes in the back of the climate control unit. Inside the holes, you should see a whitish/greyish plastic circle. These whitish/greyish plastic circles are the back to the light bulbs themselves. In the center of the plastic, you should see a groove similar to a groove found on a flat screw. Use a skinny, relatively long screw driver to turn the plastic counter clockwise using the groove. It really should only turn about 1/8 to 1/4 of a turn, so not far at all. At this point, the bulb should be free, though it is somewhat difficult to get them out. I used my screwdriver to get out the bulb by continuing a counter clockwise turn and at the same time tried to pull the bulb out towards me. That typically got the bulb out far enough that all I needed to do was turn the climate control unit upside down and shake and the bulb would fall out. Repeat step 7 until all six bulbs are removed.
Step 8 - Insert the new bulbs and tighten with screw driver.
Step 9 - Reconnect the climate control unit by plugging in all plugs
Step 10 - Reconnect the battery & test to check that bulbs are working before reassembling everything (relatively difficult to see in daylight as they aren't that bright). Remember to put the car in park before starting the car to check (if you put the car in gear in step 3). If all are working, then proceed to step 11, if not then trouble shoot (did you tighten all the bulbs down, did you get a bad bulb, etc., remember to disconnect the battery again if you need to remove the climate control unit).
Step 11 - Screw down the climate control into the dash by screwing in the 2 torx screws
Step 12 - Reassemble the shifter into the center console
Step 13 - Be proud of yourself! You just saved yourself around $200 (quote from my dealership was about $200 to have them replace these bulbs). Dealerships certainly are a rip-off, as this was an easy DIY project.
Total time - approximately 1/2 hr
One other after-thought: should you also replace bulbs in the radio at the same time? I personally did not pull mine out to check, but there probably is a good chance they use the same bulbs and are removed in a similar manner.
GOOD LUCK!
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