Instrument cluster removal and high beam indicator dimmer
difficulty: 1/5
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Introduction

This article shows how to remove the instrument cluster.  If you want to change the gauge faces or needles then the cluster needs to come out.  I also dimmed the high beam headlight indicator on the cluster because the instrument panel dimmer does not dim it.  The bright blue LED degrades night vision and I find it extremely annoying.  I used only a sharpie marker to dim it because it's not safe to completely block the LED - it reminds you when the high beams are on 

While the cluster was out, I also polished the clear plastic cover because it was scratched from cleaning with paper towels.  To prevent scratches, always use water and plush microfiber towels to clean the soft plastic.

Tools

torx screwdrivers
screwdriver

Procedure

Cluster removal
Position the steering wheel all the way down and forward.  Remove the upper half of the steering column plastic cover (2x phillips screws).

The lower plastic gauge surround is held in by 2 clips (arrow in pic below).  Gently pull it out to avoid breaking the clips.  Here is a picture of the 2 clips after removal.

If the clips don't want to release you can still access the 2 torx screws holding the instrument cluster by lifting the steering wheel column cover up.  

Pull the instrument cluster forward and remove the 2 blue and green plastic plugs to release the cluster.  Pivot the locking lever out and up to release each plug.

Cluster disassembly and high beam dimmer mod

To remove the clear plastic cover, flip the cluster over.  Remove the 2 torx screws and pry the clips slightly out.  It's difficult to get fine scratches to show up in a picture so here's the "after" polishing picture of the cover.  Remember, do not use paper towels on soft plastic or paint.  A microfiber towel + plastic specific polish like mother's plastix+ elbow grease works best because the plastic is fairly soft.  Use another microfiber towel to buff away the polish.

To remove the gauge faces, insert a pry underneath the plastic gauge faces (to avoid scratching the gauge face) and evenly pry the needle up.

If you want to dim the high beam indicator, just remove the coolant temp needle.  Remove as few needles as possible to pull up the gauge face.  Then use a sharpie marker to fill in the back of the high beam indicator spot.  A few coats of marker reduced the brightness just to the same level as the other gauges.  I would not use paint since this would block the indicator. 

Here is a simulated after and before picture.  It was impossible to get an exact comparison because of picture exposure.  The first picture shows the "after" with the indicator about the same brightness as the rest of the cluster.  The second picture shows how bright the indicator normally is compared to the other gauges.

When replacing the needles, just set them to their normal "0" position when fully counter clockwise.  Rotate the needles to the left and right stops to confirm it's position.