About FixYourVIC.com
Some Brief History
As a 1991 Trofeo owner myself for 30+ years I started down this journey of repair and restoration when my own Visual Information Center (VIC) failed many years ago. I recall the sinking feeling when the picture on the VIC screen went from perfect to just a single flat line. I was fortunate enough to find an honest electronics repairman to service mine. This repairman soon retired thus creating a void for others in need of repair services.
With words of encouragement and the determination to fill that void in the Toronado community I set off to learn everything I could about CRT's, Sony Trinitrons; Yazaki Clusters and how to repair them. I worked for months to reverse engineer the onboard systems of a Trofeo in order to fabricate my own testing equipment for doing repairs and testing without the need of an actual vehicle. Currently I have custom equipment to validate and test all of the Gen4 Toronado electronics encompassing model years 1984 to 1992.
For the last several years, I have been doing these restorations and in late 2023 I launched this site as a dedication to Toronado and Trofeo's and those people that love them, but have no other options to get their cars electronics repaired or restored.
Managing Expectations
It's important to manage expectations with any repair work. For the last 30+ years you’ve changed the oil, replaced the tires, brakes and other wear items on your car. But chances are the electronics have been neglected. It’s okay, we’ve all been there.
While the vast majority of the Oldsmobile Toronado and Trofeo electronics are serviceable and can be fully restored, it's important to remember that all of these cars are 30+ years old and to have perspective of what is possible and what isn't. It's also important to understand that not every item can be repaired, or should be.
This is where proactive restoration is a big positive. Nevertheless, keep in mind that once some failures have occurred, it may be too late. The failures that most Clusters and VIC’s I encounter are repairable, but some are not due to a lack of suitable replacement parts as the manufactures of these parts considered them obsolete as far back as 15 years ago. Many of the failures on the Sony VIC's and Yazaki clusters are easily preventable.
The best solution is to be proactive by replacing the 30-year-old components that are predisposed to fail and then stress further components and lead to cascade failures thus avoiding a total loss to the entire unit.
What Do You Do Now?
If you need your VIC or Cluster repaired, please don't hesitate to reach out so we can discuss your individual needs further.
If your desire is to follow a more proactive route and have a preventative restoration of your VIC or Cluster, I can help you there too. This is by far the best route to follow. Refreshing and replacing those 30 year old and most failure prone components before they completely fail. This is the best way to head off future problems or cascade failures and avoid a total loss of the VIC or Cluster.
All Repairs and Restorations are backed by a 3 year warranty.
Items that I currently work on
Touchscreen VIC's, CRTC Modules. ~~ Digital and Analog Clusters for model years 1986 to 1992, and 1984 / 85 Toronado Caliente Digital Clusters. ~~ Lamp replacement on steering wheel controls. Complete steering wheel controls Replacement for broken or missing buttons. NOS Airbag replacement or UK3 option delete is also available. ~~ Delco & BOSE Radio CDM Receiver / Amplifier Modules including the seamless integration of modern Bluetooth. ~~ Buick Somerset & Skylark Digital Clusters / AC Delco Variant
Oldsmobile Buick Cadillac Twilight Photocell Sensors ~~ Riviera & Reatta Lighting Inverters
Buick Riviera & Reatta Zenith CRT Touchscreens ~~ Riviera & Reatta VFD Digital Speedometer Clusters