Sticky Buttons
 

Alright, so I just got my first Audi.

The climate control buttons are very sticky. The previous owner was a smoker and I think the tar got into them. They are very hard to press the buttons in if it is not warm in the car.

If anyone has any suggestions on how to take care of this, please post.

Thanks
-Ben

Mine's are the same way

Yeah it makes using the defroster a challenge.

Do you think spraying some soapy water on it could help?

What about using like goo gone? wipe it around everything and keep pushing the buttons in so the goo gone gets down the sides of the buttons?

Why did you buy a dirty Audi. The previous owner probably treated it like shit. How much did you get it for?

or, they used the cup holder above the radio(like a moron) with an open drink and it splashed everywhere when drivign over a pot hole...

i found cappuccino remnants on my radio, shift boot and headliner ;)

I used isopropyl alcohol and cotton swabs on my buttons. It took a few passes to make a difference, but now my buttons work great.

It's likely from soda being used in the top cup holder. To clean remove it and cafefully you can remove the buttons and use alcohol to clean it.

I had this same problem when I first bought my A4. What i did was take out the radio to get at the HVAC, then take that out, disconnect the front part (where the buttons are) and run it under hot water for about 2 minutes. Finally you just leave it to dry over night and it will be good to go.It's a lot easier than you'd think, I think there's a tutorial somewhere around here.

Here's a tutorial I just found, It's not exactly the same (for me at least) cause i have a 2001 but its basically the same

http://www.audiforum.ca/a4-b5-b6-b7-...4-climate.html

or here

http://www.zener.com/audi/HVAC_cleaning/