Hi, new to this forum, but I've got a similar problem on my '00 (LX, Auto tran, manual hvac). I will also readily admit that I'm NOT a car guy. I'm just an all around tech geek, so general tech stuff isn't out of my realm. I just never learned to play on car systems...yet

The twist with mine, is that my LEDs will randomly go, or come back. Sometimes, they will blink on and off, not at a regular interval, but back and forth a few times. When this happens, if I have the A/C selected to ON, I can hear the compressor kick on, and, if I'm idle (at a light, or parked), I feel the car surge, with each return of light indication.
When the lights are off, I still have fan speed control, and the dampers stay in the last position selected. But no mode selection, damper selection, or temp selection. The temp out of the vents is always hot when in this state.
Sidenote: the bulbs for my fan speed, and hvac temp are out, as are a couple of the incandescents behind the buttons.

And ummm...::looks down and kicks dirt::...the occasional thump to the area above the HVAC controls and below the clock sometimes brings back power/control....

 

"LoPan" - I moved this to a new thread, as I believe you issue is different than the thread you posted in.

 

Bad contacts on the control board. A few have opened it up and found some bad solders or something and fixed them. When mine did that, I just bought another one from a reputable ebay seller and haven't had a problem for a year and a half. YMMV

 

Hmmm...that's what I had originally thought, but when I opened it up and looked at the board, I couldn't find anything that stood out. Any parts that are particularly susceptible?

 

The manual hvac control has a "pretty"common issue, there is a jumper wire "patch" that some have used.