# HOW TO GUIDE : fixing centre console buttons...



## Kriminal (Jan 11, 2007)

Okay, now this is mainly based towards the TT; as that's what I've got. But thought it would be a good idea to stick it on here, as I'm not sure, but it may be able to relate to all VAG cars out there (I'm not sure if we share the same buttons, but who knows ?). Hey, if it helps somebody else to save money, it's gotta worth a post, right ? 

1st off, I'd like to apologise for the poor pictures - they were all taken on a camera-phone, and came out a li'l blurry, but good enough to use. 

Okay, here goes - first a little write-up on what happened....won't take long, I promise. Basically I got in the car and found that my petrol flap button was sitting proud compared to the other two (as in picture) :

















After pressing to make sure it was still working, I was relieved that at least I can still open the petrol flap ! 

Carefully removing the top off the button I was able to see what goes on inside...

























As you can see, better on the 3rd pic, there is a hole on the inner side wall off the area - this is reflected on the right side too. The shiny bit in the middle is the spring which is loose - so be careful NOT to lose the spring....it's very easy for the fiddly little thing to slide into one off those holes, never to be seen again !! So 1st thing is to just pick out the spring and store it somewhere that it won't be lost.

Now a brief note regarding the holes in the walls - what's probably happend to your button is that the ledges that were attached to the centre legs (not very well imo) have simply snapped off. This is why your button now stands proud.

Okay, here's a couple of pics of the button when you remove it :
Side Shot. This will show you the two plastic legs that are attached - it's the centre one you need to focus on repairing (the one closer to the top) as this is the one that lines up with the hole...








Underneath Shot. The white stalk in the centre has 3 notches on it - these are guides that will line up with the hole left in your car, making it real easy to put back in <phew>. This is also where the spring will fit back in...









*Okay, onto fixing it*

Tools required :lol: ...

Now everybody has some form of medication in there house these days, even if it's just headache pills. You'll need a packet that contains strips like below, as you wanna cut out the plastic lengths. Note, these will have a foil backing making it ideal to bend and shape to the contours of your button  








A pair of scissors
Toothpicks, or some device for applying glue to small areas....I used these :








As mentioned Glue. I used this stuff as it's a quick drying one, and does what it says...









Total cost : a couple of quid....YAY!!!.....eat THAT Audi !!!! :lol:

So, step one was to cut out two lengths of plastic strips; one longer than the other due to the pattern off the bottom of the button (one underside is longer than the other).
Put the strip into the hole to measure up between the middle stalk and the inner edge of the button, just to get a rough guide of where to make the 1st bend. Once you're happy with the lenght make the bend in the strip; if too long, just cut off the end to shorten it to exactly what you need. Now bend again at the top of the outer edge so you get the final shape.
Here's a pic to show you the 1st set of bends that I made, and when happy stuck it in.








Picture of button turned over :








Plenty of overhang, huh ?....not to worry yet - we'll cut that off once we've sized it up properly, and let it dry hard.

Now repeat the above for the other side, so that you have the finished product looking like :

































On the areas possible, I dabbed more glue OVER the top of the strip just so that it would make a more secure gripping effect on the strip, rather than just relying on the strip to do all the gripping (if you catch my drift).

I then left it in the sun for about 30 minutes so that the glue would expand, and then took it back indoors and left for 3 hours. Now I know that may sound like a long time, and probably IS, but I really wanted to make sure it had set good and hard, as there's no going back with the next stages.

Time to size up those overhangs. Now don't bother putting the spring in yet, as you wanna make sure the strips are going to be long enough; so just place the button back in the hole and check...








Hmmm....some overhang there huh ? Time to size it up, and do the final bit of cutting. Result :









Now, that's neater huh ?

And now the moment of truth - spring put back into place, guides matched up with the hole, and PUUUSSH !!....jumped for a moment as the flap had opened :lol: , but this is now how it looks :








A close up...









So, there you go - a cheap alternative to paying Audi in these Credit Crunch times :thumb:


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## -ROM- (Feb 23, 2007)

How much would a new button have cost?:lol:


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## Alan W (May 11, 2006)

Nice one Dave! 

Thanks for posting. :thumb:

Alan W

P.S. I presume you've posted this on the TT Forum as well.


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## Kriminal (Jan 11, 2007)

rmorgan84 said:


> How much would a new button have cost?:lol:


Well, I done a bit of research on the TT site first, and it comes back to £35 as you have to buy it as a set !....<robbing gits>


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## Kriminal (Jan 11, 2007)

Alan W said:


> Nice one Dave!
> 
> Thanks for posting. :thumb:
> 
> ...


You're welcome. I've posted it on both the UK TT site, and the US one too :thumb:


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