Close to freezing temps here in coastal GA last night. No garage. This morning at 9 am when I started m 2019 CX-5 GT the top half of the speedo display was dark. I drove it about 20 miles, parked it in the sun, but by the time I returned home after two hours, nothing had changed. I can see the speed up to 40 mph on the left side of the display and from 120 mph and above on the right side of the display. I searched for info and seems like first choice is the backlight bulb. I'm not a mechanic. Looks like the top of the dash needs to be removed to access the bulb. I like to know what I'm talking about before I call a mechanic. Am I on the right track? Thanks.

 

Try out what I posted below and hope it works.
You have to pull the instrument cluster to replace bulbs, it is not a simple job and youn can crack the bezel and/or plastic it you aren't careful.

When the lights are turned on with the ignition switched ON, the brightness of the dashboard illumination is dimmed. However, when the light sensor detects that the surrounding area is bright such as when the lights are turned on in the daytime, the dashboard illumination does not dim.When the ignition is switched ON in the early evening or at dusk, the dashboard illumination is dimmed for several seconds until the light sensor detects the brightness of the surrounding area, however, the dimming may cancel after the brightness is detected.
When the lights are turned on, the lights-on indicator light in the instrument cluster turns on.

The brightness of the instrument cluster and dashboard illuminations can be adjusted by rotating the ****.

• The brightness decreases by rotating the **** to the left. A beep sound will be heard when the **** has been rotated to the maximum dim position.
  
• The brightness increases by rotating the **** to the right.
  

Function for canceling illumination dimmer

The illumination dimmer can be canceled by rotating the dashboard illumination **** to the right until a beep sound is heard while the instrument cluster is dimmed with the ignition switched ON. If the instrument cluster's visibility is reduced due to glare from surrounding brightness, cancel the illumination dimmer.

When the illumination dimmer is canceled, the instrument cluster cannot be dimmed even if the lights are turned on.
When the illumination dimmer is canceled, the screen in the center display switches to constant display of the daytime screen.

 

I will try your suggestion. And, I’m taking it to a trusted mechanic tomorrow. He is skeptical about what it will take to access the bulb. Thanks much for your detailed help!

 

The trusted mechanic should have looked into the HOW-TO- SERVICE like ALLData that actually provides the detail service to accessing and replacing dash lights and other components. Maybe you should get an estimate and compare it with a shop that does not suggest and skepticism of a service before they looked into it first?

 

Thanks for your two cents. I may be tagged as a Newbie on this Forum but I'm not a newbie when it comes to vehicle maintenance. I've taken care of scheduling good mechanics since 1969 and I'm not wrong with this one. I live 70 miles from dealer service and they have let me down the last two visits. Vehicle not under warranty - my choice. So, I use the best guy in this fairly small town. I dropped by yesterday noon to chat about the problem with my trusted mechanic so it was a cold call and I didn't expect a quick answer as he works on all brands. I'm sure he will have researched the possibilities for this particular model and he will give me an estimate and other options. The vehicle has 70K miles and I'm not ready to sell it yet. I'm confident that this episode will turn out just fine.

 

Please let us know how this turns out. I have not seen this issue posted in the foums before yours.

 

Not that you want to hear this but on some instrument clusters the bulbs are not replaceable they are actually a part of the "cluster circuit board".
I'm not sure about the 2019 CX-5 but I could find no OEM replacement bulb part number references offered for the instrument cluster.
I also could not find any schematics or references to bulb replacement either or even how to remove the cluster.
While I am very good at finding info on the Internet it doesn't mean I can find everything
It would appear, like many vehicles, you need to remove the bezel above the unit, normally screwed in, and probably the plastic collar on the steering next to it.
Generally, once you get those off the clusters have four bolts/screws and a plug-in connector. The connector looks easy to unplug but rarely is .
A new OEM cluster itself is about $1100 dollars, but you can find a good used one for $100 and up.
At any rate good luck and as chickdr19 says let us know how you make out with it.

 

Thank you so much for your reasonable and detailed response. This morning early I did go back to the mechanic who used ALL DATA to research the probable fix. He quickly figured out that the bulb couldn't be replaced and that would mean the cluster would need to be replaced. According to him, this also means resetting the new odometer from 0 to my current mileage. The dealer service must do this due to the tools involved or at least he knows he shouldn't do it. After lunch I'll call the dealer service manager who I know because they have been servicing the car every 5K for 5 years now. To date, I've spent very little on this vehicle except normal maintenance. I'm also considering selling once this gets fixed. I value the knowledge on the Forum and I will update this thread with follow up and resolution.

 

I will update through resolution. See my current discussion with Lobstah here. Thanks.

 

That cluster will cost a pretty penny, especially if it has to be done through a dealership with the high labor rates. I would likely be looking at EBay parts off wrecked CX-5's if they can be reprogrammed to match the mileage of your car.