# Windshield defrost repair



## Allport (Jan 16, 2017)

For anyone suffering from the broken lever that controls the windshield defrost I have good news... 

You can remove the cluster and unclip the body harness behind it to gain access to the broken gear!

Once the main gear is uncliped you have enough room to slide it out and remove the broken lever. 

To make it easier I set mine to front vents for positioning then popped it off. Turn the defrost gear clockwise all the way then slide new level in behind.


----------



## Blasirl (Mar 31, 2015)

Allport said:


> For anyone suffering from the broken lever that controls the windshield defrost I have good news...
> 
> You can remove the cluster and unclip the body harness behind it to gain access to the broken gear!
> 
> ...


Welcome Back!:welcome:

Did you by any chance take some pictures? What you listed above would make a good starting point for a "How To:"

Don't forget to introduce yourself and your Cruze here.


----------



## Allport (Jan 16, 2017)

I did not because I can't get a decent pic on my phone that close up. 

Using the how to for cluster removal gets you 90% of the way there. The ln the harness is question is quite obvious. Once it's uncliped from the dash support you can slide your hand in and unclip the HVAC gear. There is just enough room once unclipped and pulled to slide the broken part out and new one in.


----------



## Blasirl (Mar 31, 2015)

Allport said:


> I did not because I can't get a decent pic on my phone that close up.
> 
> Using the how to for cluster removal gets you 90% of the way there. The ln the harness is question is quite obvious. Once it's uncliped from the dash support you can slide your hand in and unclip the HVAC gear. There is just enough room once unclipped and pulled to slide the broken part out and new one in.


As I do not currently have that problem, I do not have my dash apart to look. I'm one of those other brain people and need visuals to function - just sayin'


----------



## Allport (Jan 16, 2017)

Maybe I can piece that me thing together using existing pictures. Kinda hard to do on my phone though. 

I will say that the new part made to replace old will not break like the old one. Old was flimsy and hollow where new is solid piece.


----------



## mbaxende (Jul 22, 2014)

What is this "cluster" that can be removed? And how do you "unclip" the main gear?


----------



## mbaxende (Jul 22, 2014)

Any pictures or other description of how to do this without taking the dashboard apart would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## Tbay (Jan 12, 2018)

Yes, I too have this same lever broken on my 2012 cruze. How do you unclip the main gear? Looks like there is a screw that holds it on. And did you get the new levers from the chevy dealer? Thanks


----------



## Wilyum (Jan 13, 2018)

Having same problem, dealership wants $1200 to fix the actuator arm, is there anyway to manually switch the vents to defrost without spending 6 hours taking the dash apart? I wouldnt care if it was permanently stuck on defrost/floor. To bad it wasnt in this position when it broke :-/


----------



## palladin (Mar 2, 2013)

Allport said:


> For anyone suffering from the broken lever that controls the windshield defrost I have good news...
> 
> You can remove the cluster and unclip the body harness behind it to gain access to the broken gear!
> 
> ...



Thank you for this post. Because of you I deemed it at least possible to attempt. Plus your description was accurate. So to all I did "somewhat" fix this problem this way. First it is obviously not the optimal fix, and requires a certain amount of luck. So yes the cam is attached with a screw, which you must back out enough to allow the "C"ish retainer clip to come loose. Then you can see that the cam is held on by a snap retainer in the centre. Screwdriver applied to this and the cam will come loose. Here is where i believe luck comes in and some knowledge and skill. Small hands are a real help. My broken piece i believe got lost in the gearing somewhere. I dont know if it is interfereing, but if the broken top gear piece you can get that is great. Now the lever part is still in there and what you need to replace. You have to feel back in there and get a mental idea of where its coming out of, to put the new one back in. There is obviously a post that it has to come outboard from, and i believe the "snap" was relebvant here it seemed to snap loose. I also believe the tracker pin located in the inner race of the cam to keep in mind. So yes leave the cam in the IP vent position works good and disconnect the battery so it doesnt move (it will). Old part out, new part try to locate back where the old part came out. Then try to push the cam back in place feeling for everything going together nicely. I had to screw the cam on it wouldnt snap back in place for me. after screwing it was retained with the snap, so i unscrewed and properly positioned the "C"ish clip and screwed back in. I think a trick is to make sure the other lever doesn't come out of place. So mine mostly works, i get defrost and the modes seem to change pretty well. I think that lost piece may be somewhere or something isnt quite right, because i am not 100% sure it isnt straining or maybe it was just relocating. also my floor vent doesn't work normally i get mostly defrost. other than that not bad. ANyway I can see why a lot of people don't post their fix as it is a bit of a mind fluck. I see one post did IP removal but left steering column. I was hesitant about doing the steering i figured if i wasnt successful in this, i'd probably turn it over to dealership as i dont want to risk breaking air bags & the coil springs etc. Anyway its still a bit of a blurr dont hesistate to ask me i'll do my best to point you in the right direction from my experience.


----------



## palladin (Mar 2, 2013)

Update: I believe the other lever might have become a bit mis-timed. The good news is I can get ip/defrost, full defrost, defrost floor. It has a bit of a mind of its own, perhaps will depend on what setting i come from. But generally lots of defrost options. So not the optimal fix, but for $800 - 1000 i'll try living with it. Some day when I have my entire dash out i'll look into it further


----------



## streetbob88 (Mar 24, 2015)

What's the IP vent settings?


----------



## Joel Hetherington (Feb 6, 2019)

Hello, where would I find a video of how to replace the defroster gear on my 2012 Cruz LT, any help would be great, Thanks in advance


----------



## Cruzers13 (Feb 16, 2019)

Is there anyway to get the defrost gear to stay? I hate having to pull the cluster out all the time to flip it to defrost after I shut the car off it always flips to vents on restart and was wondering the part # for the level that changes it so I can get it ordered and attempt to fix it


----------



## Blasirl (Mar 31, 2015)

*No air from vents!*


----------



## Blackout987 (Feb 15, 2020)

Part number for the lever for anybody in need in the future is 13263335


----------

