Here's a write up on fixing a busted HUD. The fix came to me from Scott (Chethammer). It also details removing most of the dashboard panels and the gauge cluster. Use at your own risk. Sorry the pics are 'before and after' not 'during'. I didnt have a camera where I was doing the work.

Symptom: Heads-Up Display suddenly goes out. DIC is still working and so is Stealth Mode, so it's not the fuse.

Diagnosis: Turn the key on and look at your windshield from under the steering wheel. It's an awkward position, but you'll be able to barely see the edge of the display. That means it's working, but the mirrors are out of alignment and a spring has probably come unhooked.



As a second check, from outside the car, look down into the lens of the HUD. On the driver's side (inside the HUD unit itself) you'll see a 1-1/2 Spring. The top will be connected, but the bottom won't. (In the photo, (1) and (2) should be attached).



The Problem: Through repeated movement, the plastic part where the bottom of the spring attachs, has failed. It's really a tiny issue, but fixing it's a PITA.

What You'll Need:

A tube of 2-part epoxy, made for plastic.
A plastic washer (white polystyrene) from the hardware store. I used one that was about 3/8" outside diameter.
A 7 mm socket
A 10 mm socket
A small phillips head screwdriver
A small flat-head screwdriver

The Procedure: There are two ways this job can go and it depends on your particular car. Mine had an additional (hidden) screw that Chethammer's didn't. Neither must anyone else's because no one mentioned that damned screw. I guess it may be a model year thing. Mine's an 04. Either that or it was a SUPER SCREW, put there because MY car is the MOST SPECIAL Comp G there is! LOL). Anyway, there's no way to tell which way you'll have to go until you're into the job. I'll post the differences as I go along.

Here are all the pics, I'll refer to the letters as I go along.









1) Take off both A pillar covers (L). Start at the top and pull towards the center of the car. They're held in by clips, so no tools required.

2) Take off dash cowl (H) which includes the HUD cowl as well. Start by the driver's side and work it out. Again, it's held in by clips, so just pull straight up (as possible). I had to work from both sides of the car, pulling a couple of clips at a time until everything released. There is a light sensor (J) and a theft-device LED (I) attached to the cowl. Scott recommended that I disassemble the units but, in my case, twisting the body counterclockwise from the bottom released the entire unit in both cases. A quarter turn was all it took, then the cowl was out. Pretty easy.

3) On the HUD unit, there are 2 (10mm) bolts holding it in. One on each side. Use a long extension and be careful not to lose the screws into the bowels of your dash. I first tried with the socket on the end of a hand driver, but it was torqued down too much for me to handle that way, so I used an extension (probably 12 inches) to give me some advantage.

4) Your HUD might lift out at this point. If it does, unplug it from its harness and skip to Step 12. If it doesn't come out, that means you have the dreaded SUPER SCREW in your car, too. If this is the case, move to Step 5.

5) You'll have to take out the gauge cluster, so start by popping off the trim ring around the ignition switch (A). Use a small screwdriver and carefully pry it off without damaging the surrounding area.

6) Take off the center stack trim (B). Again, no screws, just clips. Start on the bottom, on the driver's side, and pull towards the back of the car. It might seem like its going to break, but it wont. It just needs a little power to pop the clips. Set this unit aside (as far as the DIC wires will allow).

7) Take off the dashboard's side cover (C) by using your fingers and pulling directly out from the vehicle.

8 ) Remove the under-cowl (D) by removing three screws (7mm). One is located under the side cover (thats why we took that part off). The other two are on the bottom of the unit near the blue lines I've drawn. Be careful: you're near the diagnostic port with the screw closest to center. Once the screws are out, there are a couple of clips to deal with, too. The center stack trim also helps hold this piece on, so thats why we removed that piece earlier.

9) Remove the trim around the gauge cluster (E). There are (IIRC) three screws (7mm) at the bottom of the unit and two clips on top. Once it's out, unclip the wire harness from the dash light dimmer.

10) Remove the gauge cluster. There are four screws (7mm), one at each corner of the unit. Don't bother to unclip the wires. Just lay the unit forward onto the steering column.

11) Now you should see the head of the 7mm SUPER SCREW that goes through the dash and into the rearward facing side of the HUD. It's located at (M) behind the gauges. Remove it. The HUD should come out easily now. Unplug its wire harness.

12) Take the HUD unit to a clean, quiet place to work.

13) Disassemble the unit by removing the six small Phillips head screws that hold the top cover on. Once separate, the top and bottom will still be connected by the wire for the dimming sensor. Unscrew the Phillips screw that holds the sensor to the top cover. Set aside top cover.

14) Use some really good window cleaner (like Invisible Glass, not Windex or anything with soap) and a micro-fiber cloth to (very carefully) clean the mirrors in there and the sensor (which looks like a white LED at the end of the wire you just disconnected). Don't spray into the HUD!!! Spray some onto the cloth and use the cloth only.

15) Thoroughly mix a small amount of epoxy. Then mix it some more )) Place a small amount on a toothpick then apply it to the back of the broken part (1).

16) Very carefully, place the plastic washer into the epoxy. Use a clean toothpick to align it so youll be able to hook the spring to it later on.

17) THE TOUGH PART: Wait about 20 minutes for the epoxy to harden enough so you can be sure it'll hold. I used that time to have a beer and congratulate myself on getting this far.

18 ) Use a toothpick or your fingers to hook the spring back into place in the new plastic washer.



19) You're done. But you have to put the whole effin thing back together! LOL.

20) In order, put the cover back on the HUD, replace the HUD (I left out the SUPER SCREW and just torqued the heck outta the 10MM bolts. I'm not getting any vibrations and any future removal will be much easier. I can always put it back in if I find that it needs it.) Put up the gauge cluster, the gauge trim, the bottom cowl, the side of the dash, the center stack trim, the ignition trim ring, the upper dash cowl and, finally, the A-pillar covers.

Make sure you reattach all the wires along the way: The sensor for the HUD, the HUD plug, the dash dimmer plug, the theft light and the light sensor.

Heres how it looks finished:



Feel free to PM me with questions.

Mike

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Sport Red '04 Comp G | SPO Grilles | SPO Rain Guards | 18" Sport Edition F9 Wheels
Goodyear Eagle GT 235/50R18 | Chinese Smoked Projectors

I'd recommend adding a step of tying a string to the alarm LED and light sensor before removal. I had one fall down when I did this. You do NOT want to have to deal with it!

mine had the "super screw" in it too. Also, the cowl panel (H) was a real pain in the ass to remove, the foam insulation strip on the bottom was wedged in tight behind the dash. I simply used a 2" putty knife to work it free.

^^ Werd, that foam strip ripped to shreds when I took mine out...

On a side note - Holy air-freshners strawberry shortcake!

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Damnit, I gotta do this, mine let go this weekend. And I have an 04, so it seems like I'll have to take out the cluster too.

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You might or might not, they seemed to stop putting in the so called "Super Bolt" in them mid-year 04'. Either way it isn't that bad. I did mine last week. I didn't piss around with trying to glue the washer on though. Just mix up some JB weld, slather it on there. Insert your spring before it starts to set making sure it is setting the correct pitch and angle on the bracket, and use something to prop it there while it dries. I went back and sanded mine down a day later and you cannot even tell looking through the HUD that anything was ever done with it.

Although I did have to buy a new dash trim piece to go around it. It was cracked already though.

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PonchoDvr4Lfe
04' GP GTP Comp G- TDC CAI, Powerslot Rotors, Intense Custom PCM, Intense MPS 3.6", Autolite 605's, MSD 8.5mm wires,180* T-stat, custom Borla exhaust, ZZP DP, P-Log
Delivered 06-18-09: 2010 Camaro 2SS w/ RS!!

The display in my 06 GXP went this past weekend. Does anybody know what the dealer repair cost is?

Probably like a baby at least...or maybe just a arm or a leg.

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Thanks so much for the HUD repair procedure! We could tell the unit was working but couldn't see the image on the windshield. Turns out the spring you mentioned was no longer attached. Definitely not a repair job for the faint of heart but, if you're mechanically inclined, it's doable. It was extremely time consuming but well worth it to save a LOT of money. Sure appreciate good people like you who pass on helpful information.

That effin screw is the bane of my existence tonight....I really didn't enjoy taking every dashboard panel off...

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yeah, I remember that part too....you pulled the two 10mm bolts and wiggle the HUD, it's loose but will not pop out.....


goddamnit! then commence to pulling the cluster.


lol

Yup! I was like, oh damn....here goes the night....

Once you have everything off, you can't just stop, lol. But, even with the nice slice down my thumb from the HUD cowl (effing sharp plastic), it was still worth it when I went for a drive last night. It sucked not having a HUD for 2 months.

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2 months! wow. I ripped my shit apart the 2nd day it was out.. lol I don't know if I could have went 2 months, I would have gotten pulled over for speeding for sure.

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Time is not my friend, lol. I couldn't find the time to do it!

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I'm glad some folks are finally getting some use out of this write-up. I did it
last August and it took almost a year! LOL.

The good news: A year later and the repair is holding up perfectly. Thanks
again, Scott for the tips and advice.

Mike

_________________
Sport Red '04 Comp G | SPO Grilles | SPO Rain Guards | 18" Sport Edition F9 Wheels
Goodyear Eagle GT 235/50R18 | Chinese Smoked Projectors

Mine had an additional complication. There was block of some sort of dense material about 1x1.5 inches and about 3/4 thick glued to the right side of the HUD and jammed in around the bolt. Had to get this out to be able to get to the bolt head.

Another difference came at step 9. (Yes I had the @#$% screw) The gauge trim was all clips, no screws. So one thing went a tad easier than expected.

It might help to put an estimated time. I had put this off as I was afraid it was going to be an all day affair. About an hour and a half to get out.

For what it may be worth, Harbor Freight has a set of 5 plastic trim tools for about $5. A variety of shapes, widths and angles make it relatively easy to get into lots of these nooks and apply pressure without gouging things with screwdrivers or putty knives.

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2004 Galaxy Silver
F&R STB's with Don Rome brackets

Many thanks to OP for taking the time to post this write up! I drilled a new hole in the bracket the spring mounts to rather than attach a washer but this info was VERY helpful. I had the third screw in the projector housing so knowing where all the screws, clips and wires were when I took the whole thing apart cut the intimidation factor on this fix. Over all its an easy repair and anyone who can read can do this if you just follow the steps in this write up.

Thanks again,

Jake

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2004 GTP Comp-G

I'm current attempting this but my dash and HUD cowl will not come out.

I can take out all of the clips but it will not pull out of where it rests.

Anyone know what I should be doing?

Great write-up Unstable. I had this out and fixed / back together in about 2hrs with your step by step. I'm including pics of how I fixed the spring mount - it didn't require any drilling or epoxy, just put the spring underneath a tab on the original spring bracket. All I did was remove the main mirror (one screw), remove the motor assy. ( two screws) and took the spring mount loose enough to get the spring under the tab that sets in an alignment slot. Thanks again for the help on this. And by the way, this was on a 2005 and it had that "Special Screw" behind the dash cluster. What a PITA!!

nice write up,have to do this tomorrow
been without it for about months now.hope i dont screw nothing up

Hi,

Thanks, guys! I wouldn't have even attempted to fix it without this information. I have a 2004 [Comp] Grand Prix with the super screw. I live in Oshawa, Canada, and I think it was one of the first ones off the production line [235,000 km]. Even with this detailed information it still took me two hours and 15 min. In order to attach the bottom part of the spring, I removed both the motor and the broken spring bracket. [I had to remove the mirror first in order to get at one of the screws]. I then attached the spring to the bottom of the bracket [precisely] as indicated by a previous person's comments, and reattached both the bracket, the motor,and then the mirror. As recommended and a safeguard I attached a string to both sensors in the cowel, but loosely with a large loop. Because of the short wires on the sensors. I found it very difficult to twist them back in place. There was very little room for my hands, and I couldn't see what I was doing. It really wasn't all that difficult of a project, so, go ahead and do it yourself!

It works great, and you saved me a lot of money!

Thanks again,

Ron

Glad it worked for you, Ron! It's always good to
know that someone benefited from all the skinned
knuckles I got the day I fixed mine.

Cheers,

Mike

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Sport Red '04 Comp G | SPO Grilles | SPO Rain Guards | 18" Sport Edition F9 Wheels
Goodyear Eagle GT 235/50R18 | Chinese Smoked Projectors

Awesome write up, Thanks all. My wife has a 05 comp g that is a damn nightmare anymore. Wheel bearings, cats, traction control/abs inop/ stability control lights and now the HUD spring is broke. Well after a year I found this write up and took us about 1 hour and 15 minutes to complete it. Works perfectly now thanks again

Add another satisfied customer to the group. I have to say I spent a lot of time trying to find a plastic, polystyrene washer. I could only find nylon or metal. Was going to use nylon but the epoxy said not recommended for nylon products. Looked for different epoxies but they all said the same. I considered drilling a hole but ended up going with a metal washer. And unlike yours, I was able to wedge mine between the mirror side of the bracket. It slid down in there pretty tight even without the epoxy but I epoxied it as well. Just now I read the other poster who put it under the tab. I was wishing I had read that or thought of that myself, sounds like a simpler fix. I have some of those dash trim tools another poster mentioned and they worked very well. I would have had some serious issues without them. Probably got mine from Harbor Freight too. I still need to solder my led wires back together. I had an after market alarm installed and had them change the color of the led in that location and they got rid of my locking mechanism and just force fit an led in from the top of the dash so I had to cut the wires to remove the dash. Gotta love it. I did test the HUD and was nice to see it in action again. I hated driving without it. Guess I'll have to keep this car for a long time. Seems like they are not offering HUDs in many vehicles any more. Dang!

mine went this morning on the way to work. gonna try the fix this weekend