Just two weeks into my STS experience and my ash tray is jambed! The poor design allowed change from tray to drop below slide out unit and it won't close.
Any ideas on how to remove the entire sliding unit to retrieve my loose change and clear the path?
:confused:

The ash tray is not a change holder. So its not a poor design.

The ash tray is not a change holder. So its not a poor design.

Amen to that.

You do have a coin holder inside the center console at the front edge.

Ash tray. Ash tray. Get it? ASH TRAY!!

ah, give the guy a break, I bet most of these "ash trays" are filled with everything but ashes. Not to mention, it's felt lined, don't think I will be tipping ashes into mine. Ok not felt but you know what I mean.

My ash tray is covered now by an XM tuner, but I promise you if it wasn't it would be a change tray as well. Cadillac failed to plan for the customer. It doesnt matter what the interior designers and engineers imagined. They failed to anticipate consumer needs and habits, inconveniencing this person as a result. Fix for 06?

My ash tray is covered now by an XM tuner, but I promise you if it wasn't it would be a change tray as well. Cadillac failed to plan for the customer. It doesnt matter what the interior designers and engineers imagined. They failed to anticipate consumer needs and habits, inconveniencing this person as a result. Fix for 06?

That's utter nonsense! It is like saying computer engineers failed to anticipate consumer needs and habits when they designed the CD tray and failed to anticipate people using them as cup holders. :cookoo:

That's utter nonsense! It is like saying computer engineers failed to anticipate consumer needs and habits when they designed the CD tray and failed to anticipate people using them as cup holders. :cookoo:
:histeric: No offense buddy but no one thinks the CD tray is a cup holder, it's an old joke. Call it what you will that so called ash tray is in a bad spot and tilted in such a way that coins, ashes or whatever will end up down the back of the thing. It is a not so good design. I had an Olds with a metal cover that poped open when you slid open the ash tray, that would keep the contents in there either open or closed. Wouldn't be too tough to make that change for 06.

My ash tray is covered now by an XM tuner, but I promise you if it wasn't it would be a change tray as well. Cadillac failed to plan for the customer. It doesnt matter what the interior designers and engineers imagined. They failed to anticipate consumer needs and habits, inconveniencing this person as a result. Fix for 06?

This is ridiculous. It's all about learned behaviour anyway. If someone learned to keep change in an ash tray, he can damned well learn to keep it in the console change holder where it belongs.

Survey time, how many people keep change in the so called ash tray. Honestly calling it an ash tray is ridiculous unless you purchased the smokers package option. The fact that the inside is flocked is an indication that the designer anticipated people would put things other than ashes in there. That poor excuse for a change holder in the console is pretty sad. Previous Caddys that I have owned had a nice spring loaded change holder but those days are gone.

Survey time, how many people keep change in the so called ash tray.

I have my radar detector plugged into the cigarette lighter so my ash tray is always open, but I never considered keeping change in it. Why let coins rattle around in there when you have a change holder right next to you?

I actually prefer the change holder in the center console to the spring loaded type I had in the Town Car I owned before ... except I wish it had a slot for dimes.

This is ridiculous. It's all about learned behaviour anyway. If someone learned to keep change in an ash tray, he can damned well learn to keep it in the console change holder where it belongs.

The customer paid $60k for the car, not the designer. You design cars to meet common needs and expectations; you cant design your customers. The manufacturer that better-anticipates needs will most likely retain the customer next time around.

I keep my change in the "ashtray" as well. I always assumed that it was a space FOR holding change because as someone already mentioned, it's lined with a felt-like material, unlike ANY ashtray I've ever seen.

"The ash tray is not a change holder. So its not a poor design"

Give me (the origin of the thread) a break! It is obviously not an ash tray with the felt type lining. It has a release button to actually remove the insert.
Sooo... what other use besides change do you think it was "designed" to be used???

The customer paid $60k for the car, not the designer.

You've got it backwards: without the designers, there is no car. Every part of every car can't be all things to all people, and if this is the only thing this guy's got to complain about he's wasting everybody's time.

No matter how u try an word it. IT IS AN ASH TRAY, not a change holder. Why does everyone carry so much change with them. U know they make Toll passes now. I do not think I have more than .50 cents in any one of my cars. Spare change is so 1992.

I have nothing in my ash tray, had nothing in my company car Malibu, or Trailblazer.

I guess common uses for the ashtray. Hold business cards, Gum, Chap stick, extra packs of Cigarettes.

You've got it backwards: without the designers, there is no car. Every part of every car can't be all things to all people, and if this is the only thing this guy's got to complain about he's wasting everybody's time.

I'm willing to bet that 90% of non-smokers put change in their ash trays. Without Cadillac's interior designers, there would simply be better designers elsewhere.

No matter how u try an word it. IT IS AN ASH TRAY, not a change holder. Why does everyone carry so much change with them. U know they make Toll passes now. I do not think I have more than .50 cents in any one of my cars. Spare change is so 1992.

I have nothing in my ash tray, had nothing in my company car Malibu, or Trailblazer.

I guess common uses for the ashtray. Hold business cards, Gum, Chap stick, extra packs of Cigarettes.

Well it may be so 1992 but if you ever had to park on the street with a meter you will be pretty happy you have an ash tray full of change.

You people never cease to amaze me sometimes with your holier than thou attitudes. PEOPLE PUT CHANGE IN THE ASHTRAY. I HAVE FOUND CHANGE IN THE ASHTRAY OF MOST EVERY CAR THAT WASNT OWNED BY A SMOKER BE IT A LEXUS/BMW/OR A 79 CHEVY PICKUP. I cant STAND those stupid spring loaded change things. I want a place where I can toss my change without it rattling (felt lined, duh) and not have to worry about individually inserting every piece of loose change into some damned mechanism. The one time I TRIED to use one of those stupid spring-loaded jobbers someone pulling a quarter out got it JAMMED in there as well!

The truth of the matter is, you can always fall back on the easy way out and say that you didnt design the product to be used in a given manner, and that its "working as designed", but little things like this are natural tendencies people have and thats a hard thing to overcome. Jesda is absolutely correct that the manufacturer whom best prepares, be it of Toilet seats, or cars, is the one people will gravitate to.

In fact! Now that I think about it... GM puts a cool little ashtray device in the trucks because they dont have an ashtray in the dash. It basically is a rubber lined cup type deal that slots in to the center console. It has a flip up lid and the lid has a smoke insignia on it. Now that I remember, I have that little cup full of change because A. its convenient, B. Its quiet, C. I can pull the whole thing out and take it with me if I want to. Theres a case where the design turned out BETTER than expected.

Sorry to be such a bitch about this guys but it really burns my ass up when I see someone, especially a NEW member to our site get lambasted for asking something as innocent as how to fix his damn ashtray because he put change in there.... I mean really, I get frustrated as much as the next guy with people who dont follow directions (God knows I have to deal with them everyday) but an ASHTRAY?!

Haven't checked out the "ash tray" on the new STS, but the old seville STS has a non smoking option which turns the tray into a felt lined coin tray.

Cool, but will get stuck from time to time, if over filled, including this week.

I have found two ways to free up the door. Either run a business card around the edges to clear the coin causing the jam, or just drive a bit more agressively to shake the offending coin loose...

Cheers!

Chris
99STS 112K

[QUOTE=Playdrv4me]You people never cease to amaze me sometimes with your holier than thou attitudes. PEOPLE PUT CHANGE IN THE ASHTRAY. I HAVE FOUND CHANGE IN THE ASHTRAY OF MOST EVERY CAR THAT WASNT OWNED BY A SMOKER BE IT A LEXUS/BMW/OR A 79 CHEVY PICKUP.[QUOTE]

Weither you put change in it or not. Stating that its a bad design, when it was not designed for that is just plan dumb. Thats like bitching that you played basketball in Dress shoes and complained that they were a bad design because when u jumped they did not provide support...

It is a felt lined storage area!! Everyone I know uses the ash tray for coins.
This is my business vehicle and I do need to sometimes feed meters in my 30,000+ miles a year.
I again ask if it's not for change, why put a sound deadening felt lining and why make it removable?
:banghead: :banghead:

wick, that wasnt really a personal attack on you by the way, I just flew off the handle because a new member was asking a simple question and half the group went ballistic over something so stupid as an ashtray. I dont like to see that kind of thing with our new members because then they leave.

The truth is, people put coins in there, its an inevitable fact of life. I do it, and most people I know use that space for coins if they are fortunate enough not to have the nasty habit of smoking death sticks. The irony is, even vehicles that ARENT equipped with the "Smokers Package" in some brands STILL have this felt lined tray in the dash.

Just two weeks into my STS experience and my ash tray is jambed! The poor design allowed change from tray to drop below slide out unit and it won't close.
Any ideas on how to remove the entire sliding unit to retrieve my loose change and clear the path?
:confused:

Buying the car took all of my change.

[QUOTE=Playdrv4me]You people never cease to amaze me sometimes with your holier than thou attitudes. PEOPLE PUT CHANGE IN THE ASHTRAY. I HAVE FOUND CHANGE IN THE ASHTRAY OF MOST EVERY CAR THAT WASNT OWNED BY A SMOKER BE IT A LEXUS/BMW/OR A 79 CHEVY PICKUP.[QUOTE]

Weither you put change in it or not. Stating that its a bad design, when it was not designed for that is just plan dumb. Thats like bitching that you played basketball in Dress shoes and complained that they were a bad design because when u jumped they did not provide support...

It should hold change.......

But, they would need a whole division to make a "change holder". Which they already have, or do they..

GM thinking......

No what GM will do is build the technology for the ashtray then sell it to BMW and Volvo like they did with there 5 spd automatics. Then when america is about to burst they slowly start putting them in cars. GM's key job is to miss the boat by atleast 2-3 years.

That can be proven in so many models, plus disproven in things like the H2 or the New GMT-900 line (trucks). If you have not seen them yet. Just beautiful, they made all the right touches and added options that are only available on a GM. Direct TV will now be a option. How great is that, now u never have to talk to your children....

The same thing happened to me and will to anyone who keeps change in there. I was able to "fix" it by brute force. The change is still somewhere in there, but I can open and close it without problems.

The dealer has no idea of where I can find a coin holder for the center console.
oh well...

Open the center console. You can feel it along the sides. Little half round indentions. It is hard to see since with the dark material.

I agree with Rich - this is a poor design for several reasons:

1. It's lined with felt which will absorb smoke odors and be a fire hazard.

2. Cadillac sells a smokers option which implies that this tray is to be used for something other than cigarettes.

3. The tray has a cutout in the back that allows ANYTHING in the tray to easily slide backward behind the tray.

4. The coin slots in the console are cut too big for dimes which fall out. Since Cadillac did not think to put in FOUR slots for each coin, where else would you put dimes? In the tray!

From what I can see, the only way to remove the tray WHEN something (cigarette butt or coin) falls back there is to remove the entire center dashboard.

just discovered that some owners are using the ASH TRAY to hold the sunglasses

Found this old post and I am now having the same problem - change fell behind ashtray and now it won't close. I can take out the felt lined tray, but that doesn't help and there seems to be no way to remove the whole tray assembly. Please, let's not start a long debate on whether or not we should use the ashtray to hold coins. Like Rich, the original poster, I am just looking for advice on how to remove the ashtray. Anyone with useful advice?
Thanks,
Mike

I find it extremely hilarious that so many people are posting argumentative posts about how others use their "ash tray" Who gives a *^&$. If someone wants to put change in their elite felt lined ash tray, let them put change in it. I keep mine empty and it is basically a waste of space. If you actually did smoke your ashes would all end up behind your dash because the stupid thing is open in the back! ...Wait a minute... was this an argumentative post???

My ash tray jambed without anything stuck in the track and the dealer fixed it under warranty. There is a way to do it, unfortunately it is not intuitive. Sorry, I know this post is useless...

My heart goes out to...all of opinions on the this forum who can't tell us what this tray is to be used for when you don't have the smoking package!
The dealer had actually ordered a replacement which would have required tearing the center stack apart. I passed on that route. I instead used a thin flat plastic putty knive to fish all but one coin from under the "anything but an ash tray". All but one coin is out. It now works with fairly hard pressure to get it to release. I still have not figured out a place for dimes...cupholder is it!

Holy cow! So much about an ash tray. I don't think GM really knows what an ash tray is for, anyway. I haven't smoked for years, so they could just remove the dang thing anyway. My Seville had an ash tray for the back seat that never worked properly. I'd no sooner get it back into the back of the console and some rear seat passenger would fiddle with it (they always had to fiddle with the back seat heat/AC control just above the ash tray) and it would crap out again. I take it to the dealer, and when I get the car back, it was back in place; but, if you tried to open it, it would just get stuck again!

Enough about ash trays!

OK, I will never put a coin in the ashtray again. Ironically, I saw one of my old posts from 2005 on this thread, when I had a 99 that of course I put change into the "ash tray" Almost 150K miles of Caddie driving with coins in the ashtray. Just quit yesterday.

My 05 has a few coins behind the tray & won't close. Is the consensus to just take it to the dealer? There is no clip that will allow it to come out to get access back there? I'm not keen about them putting a different tray in, I'm just trying to clear the mechanism.

Not trying to cause a ruckus, just don't wan't to waste half a day at the dealer.

CG
2005 1SG 37K stuck open ash tray

Take it to the dealer. They'll fix it under warranty. It took about 45 mins. and they replaced the whole tray including the wood trim on front. I think they had to take apart the console to do it, but it seems fine.

By the way, the new tray has a fixed metal cover over the back half, so coins cannot get out of the tray. This also makes the tray practically useless for storing anything now. I guess they chose to reduce their warranty costs at the expense of satisfying a customer need for storage space.