The air recirculation control knob on my 2011 X250 has finally jammed after being stiff since I bought the van.

I've found some threads on here which have helped me to get access to the rear of it (thanks to the thread started by L19 JGB some years ago), but I haven't yet got the panel out.

The problem is the plastic spindle that goes from back to front is too tight in the housing - I need to remove it and sand it down a bit

I freed the panel from the dash but it's still attached to the heater unit by control cables and doesn't look as though it can be removed without major work

Is it possible to get the spindle out with the panel still in place?

Failing that what else do I need to do to get the panel out?

Thanks

Solved. Or not really, but it’s fixed. I had a very long look around how to actually get to the bulbs and failed without a huge strip down, so I left it.

then one evening with the lights on I realised the heater illumination was now working all of its own accord. So too my electric step warning light which also decided to start working correctly.

I hate electrics.