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44K views 50 replies 27 participants last post by  aegishjalmur 
#1 ·
My ashtray will not open.
When I got the car it opened fine, but now when you press, it will move in like it should, but will not come out.

I was in there today installing my lockpick, so I decided to take it out to see what I could find, and with it out I am still unable to get it open.

Any ideas?
 
#3 ·
^^ Very helpful.

I assume you mean front ashtray. Mine is doing the same thing right now, RIGHT after being replaced under warranty. According to the dealership your ashtray "isn't aligned properly", well I have a few choice words in my head about that but I won't voice them.

If you are looking for a temporary solution, take the palm of your hand and smack the passenger side of the center console beside the ashtray. Don't be a wimp either, wind up and crank it, the plastic is storng it will take the force. The bang from your hand will jitter the ashtry and next time you push it to open it will open properly.

I haven't found a perfect solution yet as it has been -25 the last couple of days but according to the dealer if the trim comes off, make sure the ashtray is installed properly, all screws and clips are installed correctly and the ashtray works fine by itself outside the casing. The ashtray uses a bent piece of metal to help release the ashtray from the closed position. Both of mine were completely 180 from how they should be and causing jamming. There is also a set of gears on my rear ashtray *didn't look ont he front* which if some gunk gets stuck in there I could see jamming the ashtray right up. If you have it all apart, give the moving parts some spray on white silicone lube and that should help you out quite a bit.

This weekend will be warm and I am going to try and get my car into the dealer tomorrow for its final warranty work (warranty long expired now but open file so parts keep coming in). Then after that I will pull everything apart that is broken, including my frotn and rear ashtrays, and give you some more feedback if none of the above worked.
 
#4 ·
Well, I have already taken it out, and it still will not open.
The gears are fine.
There is a little 'thing' that follows a path that allows the tray to latch and to open, i'm not sure if this is what the issue is, as I don't have anything to compare it to.

Oh, and I don't plan on bashing on my wood dash.
 
#6 ·
Gotcha.

But, it's still not going to help in my case. It's not just 'misaligned' or not quite releasing. It will not let go. I tried all kinds of crap once I had it out, no go.

Thanks for the ideas, let's keep them coming.




If I have to, I can live without it working (i don't smoke, and it's not a big deal), but I would rather it worked, obviously.
And I would rather not have to buy a replacement, I looked them up on gmpartsdirect, not cheap and that didn't include the wood trim for it.
 
#17 ·
I've had this predicament also. I know what my problem was, and this could help. My front ashtry/cointray (if you can call it that because it's pretty well useless for anything) has a metal top on it that seems to cover about half of the opening when you open it. What happened in my case is i went in there to grab out a couple of coins, but i can barely get them out as there is not enough of an opening there to get your fingers in to grab the coins with.
As i fiddled in there, i inadvertently pushed up the metal cover and didn't notice. When i closed the tray everything seemed fine until the next time i went to use it. It seems that the metal cover hooks up behind the dash causing it to lock up in the closed position. I had to take the car in to the dealership to free it up.
hope this helps all of you.

Al
 
#19 ·
Ok, figured it out.
It's actually the cigarette lighter that is catching on the bottom plastic. For some reason it is dropping too low and catching before it is able to pop up to open.

Now I just need to attach something to keep it from dropping so low and all should be fine.
 
#20 ·
Similar issue to mine. The plastic collar around the cigarette lighter was catching the top of the assembly and sticking so it would not open or close but woudl move 1mm or so each way.

One thing I noticed when my stupid dealer returned my car back to me all pulled apart, the ashtray rests on 2 plastic points (alignment points) then screws in behind those points. There is some area of movement on those plastic alignment pins if your lighter is catching, try popping the fascia off first and adjusting, may fix your issues.
 
#21 ·
When you all say ashtray are you talking about the drawer that slides out with the cigarette lighter? Our dealer told us that they do not offer a metal ashtray insert for the felt pocket next to the ashtray. If this is wrong I am going after the dealer. I have been using the windows and sunroof for over 3 years!
 
#24 ·
:banghead: I bought my car in 2006, and asked the dealer again in 2007 if there was a metal ashtray insert. I'm sending the car back to them with everything fixed and the metal ashtray sitting on the dash. :gun2:Bastards! I bet my grandmother made them do that because she want's me to quit smoking. You can do stuff like that when you buy 2 Caddies a year from the same dealer for 30 years. They even take their cars in for the service department to change the CDs.
 
#25 ·
Come on... Use the search...

Every time there's a thread on the topic, I post it again.

OK...
With Feeling!

Rap the right side of the console by the ashtray. Press the drawer in. If this doesn't work you've got a tough jam.

The full unit can be removed as easily as the Bose/Nav head-end with nearly the same procedure.

Good Luck!
 
#27 ·
If you are looking for a temporary solution, take the palm of your hand and smack the passenger side of the center console beside the ashtray.

Thank you for the advise! I am new to this site and came across this thread, having the same difficulty. To my amazement, this works everytime for me! I am so glad I found these forums!!! Great advise here...thanks.
 
#30 ·
OK, regrets to reopen this tired old thread, but this is BUGGIN' me!! :mad2: Got the ashtray open after discovering the cig lighter socket had dropped enough to block it's slide. Now that I have it open I find it will not come the rest of the way out so I can remedy the socket drop. It appears previous action may have damaged the mounting and I was hoping to get on with repair, without the dealership's involvement. The manual states to grasp the sides firmly and pull, no release latch etc. Any help?

Glenn
 
#31 ·
The drawer cannot be removed short of pulling the surrounding fascia & pulling screws. At least, that's the only way I've found.

Review the Lockpick installation video and you can easily remove the ashtray. The design concept is cool but the execution is much to fussy in the real world.
 
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