This video shows how I repaired the clock in my 2005 Toyota Corolla. These instructions should work for a 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, or 2008 Corolla. There is a common problem with the clock in the Toyota Corolla that causes it to stop working intermittently and then eventually not work at all. The problem is caused by the solder on some of the joints on the circuit board. The fix is to touch up those joints with a soldering iron. This video contains instructions for removing the clock, fixing the solder joints, and reinstalling the clock.
awesome fix. thanks! worked like a charm!
Sam,
Excellent suggestion on how to fix the dimming/disappearing illumination on the Toyota Corolla clock! It worked and I am so happy the clock’s back in action with a bit of soldering. What else could I lose? Not much considering it costs like over $200 for the clock. Ridiculous price from the dealership and nevermind the labor that would be involved to put it back in.
Thank you!
Sam,
Thanks for the solution. My 03 Corolla has the same problem with the clock. I refreshed the solder and was able to bring the clock back to life. However, I decided not to connect the clock afterward.
As soon as I finished with the soldering work, before re-assembling it, I plugged in the power cable to test if it worked. The clock display came back but I realized that the three “181″ chips I re-soldered were very hot after 30 seconds of use. I am not sure if it is normal but worried that it might drain the battery very quickly.
I have checked each solering point I touched but there was no sign of short circuit. I believe the surface temperature of the chips are above 140F.
Awesome!! Thanks for the tips. It fixed the clock on my 2004 Corolla. A great big thanks!!!
Sam, thanks a million. Saved my office $200+ at the stealership, and made me a hot ticket with the boss. Much, much obliged!
You Da Man!! Worked like a charm!!! Thanks!!
I need some help please.
I have 2005 corolla-S and clock below radio is stopped working. It was very dim and going off and on sometime, but now it is completely off and not working? (Everything else works fine). I dont know there might be some fuse blown or some connection problem in Clock circuit. Any help would be appreciated.
God Bless you for posting this. Fixed the problem and saved me big bucks
Thanks worked for me, easy instructions
Thanks for the tip Sam! Saved me lots of testing time for me. I found a cracked solder joint on the 27 ohm part.
For Joseph, The chips are resistors and they only run hot when the VFT display is illuminated. The resistors seem to be voltage dividers for the VF display’s low voltage filaments (the tiny wires strung horizontally in front of the glowing numbers) So when the car is turned off the resistors are not using up battery power; only one milliamp to run the clock timing. (according to specs. on the C1210 clock chip.)
Sam -
Thank you for taking the time to put this DIY piece together. I just refreshed the solder joints and the clock is back on and working perfectly! The wife is VERY happy! Really appreciate your help.
Sam,
Before I attempt this I have a question for you, is this to fix the problem of the clock light fading out or the clock not working at all ? The problem I have seems to be a lighting problem, the light fades on and off but the clock is keeping time accurately.
Best Regards,
David
EUREKA!!!! Nutt’n like saving a few hundred bucks. My daughter has bugged me for over a year to buy a new clock, and with your tip, it worked! Luv ya man.
Great information…. Fixed it in seconds… Thanks
Worked for me too! Thanks so much! I love saving money!
I took the clock circuit board out and tried to resolder the chip connections. I couldn’t heat the solder enough to get it to reflow. I will try again using new solder. Is it necessary to do all the chip connections? I also call customer service at Toyota about the clock. I was told that my call was the only one they received. If they receive enough calls, they would reconize the problem and start a recall.
Resoldered the chips and the clock works great. Thanks for sharing this fix.
Sam, I removed the panel around the gear shift, then removed the fan knob and pulled out the screw. However, the panel is not easily pulling off. I’m tugging at it but I’m worried I might break a clip and do other damage. Are there other screws or clips that I need to remove before attempting to pull the clock panel out to replace the clock? Please let me know: yohannd@hotmail.com
The clock in my corolla is working but there is no light on it so at nighttime it is very hard to see the time. Would this also fix the light?
Thanks so much for saving me $350 plus for a new clock. I didn’t realize how much I looked at the car clock until it died!
This worked just fine for our 2004 Corolla S. Saved us a few hundred dollars and will eventually increase the car’s resale value.
Decades of working in the electronics industry really helped in doing the fine soldering work.
Thanks so much for providing these clear instructions, Sam.
Your time and effort to post this repair is greatly appreciated. I didn’t realize this was a fairly common problem till I googled it and found your post.We really love this 2005 Corolla and you helped us with the only issue we’ve had with this car! Thanks so much and may God Bless you! Bob R.
Thanks man!
Thank you – this worked great – only took a few minutes for my husband to repair the clock and you saved me $300 plus installation fee’s for a new clock from the dealer.
Used clocks are running at $150.
I am at 215 000 km on my 2005 Corolla and this is the only issue with my car. (I did not want to get the new 2012 Corolla.) I do a lot of night driving and really missed having a clock the past couple weeks.)
I am very greateful you took the time to video and post the fix. Thank you again.
How awesome is this!?!? Fixed mine too! I got a quote for over $200 from Toyota to fix so I told them to shove it. This fix was 100% free for me as I borrowed a soldering iron and a bit of solder from a neighbor. Thanks!!
I tried this with my 2006 Corolla. I got the cover off from around the gear shift, pulled off the knolb and removed the screw. However, the cover over the clock would not come off. Anybody have any ideas about how to pull the cover off withoug breaking it?
there are tabs along the side of the cover, I just used a flat piece of plastic to run along both sides and did some side to side wiggling of it and it popped out.
Im not sure how you found this, but the solution worked beautifully. I “tinned” the tip of the soldering iron with a little solder before heating the connections on the chips.
Great solution.
Thank you.
Very easy and beautifully explained fix. Couldn’t believe how a new clock would have cost. Got it done in 15 min thank you so much!
I honestly thought it was a scam, but had nothing to lose. It TOTALLY works!! I wasn’t sure which chip was the issue so I put solder on each. Clock works fantastic!!!
Excellent Video! I can not wait to repair mine looks easy after watching the video. before the video I did not have an idea how to remove the clock.
Thanks!
Yep – it worked on my wifes corolla. Thank you USN for the soldering schools.
Awesome, our 2005 Corolla was having this clock issue, 10 minutes later, fixed! It is going to be so nice to have the time right there. Still love this little car, even though it has some electronics issues . . .
Thanks. My wife’s 2003 Corolla clock had an intermittant
display and your video provided me with the corrective action. I used a putty knife to remove the plastic covers
over the shift lever etc rather than the special tool recommened in other posts on removal of the clock.
Thanks again !
Eureka! Worked after two tries. 2004 Corolla LE
I just took the screw out behind the knob and used and old
dull hack saw blade to push on the sides near top of panel and it pulled right out I gently pulled back on the panel and could release the clock by pulling up on the tabs with my fingers and then disconnected the white plug. Took the clock to the dining room table pulled off the back and touched the soldering iron to each side of the chips no solder or anything just the little old pencil soldering iron after it got hot enough to melt the solder I did have to test the heat. Thanks to all.
I had fixed my clock previous by soldering the header pins after ohming them out and finding out the ground was intermittent. Then the clock failed again and I was about to give up when I found this while looking for a used clock. I never thought to solder the IC’s!
Thank you very much!
I was not as lucky because the clock on my Corolla was very dead. But I bought a repair service on Ebay, sent my clock to be fixed, and it worked. Thanks though for the tips about the removal and re-install; it prevented me from making further damages.
Awesome fix!! Thank you very much, Sam!!
Pingback: 2006 Corolla LE - clock issue - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums
This sounds like it will work but wtf wont Toyota fix its obviously defective clock my 2005 toyota corolla le has same problem and the ass wipes at head toyota office says no one has ever reported a clock problem and gave me the run around
hey guys just wondering if anyone knows what type the clock globe is? all i know is its toshiba something and where is the best place to get one cheers
Got It, What a Guy. Thx Sam
Quite and easy. Worked great.
toyota main office still tells people that this is the first issue of a clock problem any one has told them we need to mass sue them and flash mob protest the headquarters liars hundreds of thousands of these clocks dont work JOE
This fix still works! I ‘rescued’ my wife’s 2006 Corolla clock by using these directions. Removing the panel was tricky but the video was a good guide to reassure me I was on the right track. I had to solder twice because I did not use enough the first time I believe. Now the clock does work. Thank you for making this video available.
Thanks – great video and works like a charm!!
I didn’t believe it would be that simple. Works perfectly. Thank you very much.
Perfect! Took me less than a half hour and $20 to get my clock back!
Thanks!!!!!
Awesome video with very clear instructions. Your method worked like a charm. Thank you for the extra $400 that my Toyota dealer quoted me for the new clock and installation. They made it sound extremely difficult to get the clock out but the whole thing took me maybe 10 minutes.
Thank you! it worked like a charm! YOU ARE THE MAN!
Thanks, Sam. Worked like a charm. My only suggestion is to use cheap, yellow, plastic putty knives from a hardware store to help slip out the bezels. Yes, it takes some wiggling to get the bezels out – but stick with it. They do eventually come out.
Awesome directions! Worked perfectly and once I got the hang of it, I was able to fix my mom’s as well and it only took a few minutes! I’ve never done any car work or soldering in my life either! Thanks for the help!!!
Thank you Sam for the great video. It was easy that I never thought. At first I was afraid to break the bezels as a bit hard to pull out but it eventually came out. Mine was the clock connector that got loose.
Fixed my clock too. I never thought it would work, since you are applying solder on the top of the circuit board, and through the plastic coating that is there to protect the board from corrosion. Normally, you solder from below so you don’t fry the chips. But is worked like a charm. Awesome!
Thanks so much for making this video!
This also fixed my clock on a 2006 Corolla CE. I just touched up the solder joints with out adding any new solder. Thanks for the suggestion!
Thanks for the video! I successfully repaired a 2004 Corolla.
Thanks soooo much!
Thanks!
The fix worked nicely.
It was tough though to pull out the bezel, the dashboard, and then push the clock. I had to be very careful not to break them.
2005 Corolla here, this vid still works like a charm! Thanks for providing the helpful walk through! MY CLOCK WORKS!
Worked great in my 05 Corolla S. Thanks for the vid!
Dealer said it was going to cost over $300 to replace the clock. He said not to bother. At least he knew it was a rip off and not profit from it. I resoldered the joints as indicated in the video and now my clock is working again. Now to find a fix for the bottom sunglass compartment that won’t spring back to close.
Thanks a million for posting this fix.
I literally can’t believe that this information exists on the internet. More embarrassing is that I didn’t spend the time Googling this before I went and replaced the alternator and battery thinking her car was undergoing electrical failure. That’s okay, it’s not like that $250 would have been better spent on anything else.
What a fantastic thing to post online. No question that this will make my wife very happy when I do this when I get home tonight.
Thanks a bunch!