'01 v70 t5 climate control unit replacement

[SandCastle]

I am replacing the climate control unit on my 2001 V70 T5. Pulled it, part number is 9452369.
First question is - are there replacement / other compatible part numbers to expand my search?
Second question - are the three buttons on the lower left important? Meaning, do I have to get a replacement exactly matching the original.
Mine has one button, for STC (which has been lit since I bought the car six years ago) followed by two blanks.
eBay has two that match (most expensive of course).
Others with no buttons are cheapest. Should I consider these, or is having the STC button recommended (even though I am not sure if it was working before).
Last question - how do I clean out the temperature sensor on the top of the unit? Should I limit cleaning to compressed air and no tools?
Thanks all!

[DrDan]

You can vacuum clean the sensor, it doesn't have to be shiny to work. I would discourage poking through the grill with tools of any kind. The sensor is not overly fragile, but I recall reading about folks who managed to damage it that way. As you have the unit out of the car, I suggest cleaning the fan on the back also.

[DrDan]

The switches are listed individually in VIDA's parts section, which suggests that they can be transferred. Have you tried taking the old unit apart to remove the switches? The STC button should be lit by default to indicate that the system is enabled (push the button to disable and get a dash message and indicator). On my car, STC would regularly activate and the indicator in the dash would flash when cornering on a wet road while accelerating when my tires were old and the car loaded. I found that it's quite effective in preventing understeering and helps keeping traction - good to have.

[oragex]

I just hate the STC system because it only prevents the front wheels from spinning on snow: I need to have the wheels spin on snow especially when moving from a parking lot with deep snow, otherwise the car is stuck. Not to confuse with the great DSTC system on later models which adds preventing the rear of the car from sliding. I always turn off the STC in winter by depressing the button 2 seconds.

I really can't answer if you can use a CCM without the STC button. These are not simply switch buttons, they are part of the circuit board of the CCM.

temp sensor

[DrDan]

oragex, even better to have that switch then

Sandcastle, transferring the switches is easy - since I have a spare ECC and only time to lose, I checked. Once the case is open and the PCB out (if unsure how to get there, look here: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=82005)
The button cover is held by some tabs that can be released from the inside:

Once the button cover is loose, so are the buttons:

I think the tough question is: will it work software-wise? I don't know.