Hi all, dont ask me how, but my wife dropped a small earring underneath the front cigarette lighter. I dont see it anymore. Is it lost forever? I dont know what's all underneath there so it could just be a goner. If not, how do you get into that section? Any help appreciated,

Regards,

Cor

 

What year car do you have?

 

Oops, sorry about that, it's a 525i 2006-2007.

Cor

 

So you have the ashtray that's part of the center console and not the ashtray that is part of the center of the dashboard, right?

How handy are you? Are you the type of person who's fairly comfortable taking things apart, etc.? Assuming you have the ashtray in the lower center console (pre-LCI), you're facing some significant disassembly...

 

The ashtray is on the center console, with a slider over it. Right next to it is the lighter. I was already fearing that significant disassembly was required. I once looked at removing the phone hookup in the center console and this is probably similar. if I cant do it, my brother probably can.

Cor

 

I think the following will help you gain access to the area where the earring fell...

Master_RA_Replacing_locator_for_front_ashtray.pdf
Good luck to you (and/or your brother...)

 

Yikes! That looks pretty complex

I would only do this if the earing was worth a fair amount or had strong sentimental value. You could end up damaging parts of the trim and then ending up with loads of rattles and squeaks when you put it all back together...

 

Guys,

Rudy, as always, is quite correct (has anyone EVER caught him out???).

However, there may be a slightly easier way!

Firstly, remove the centre console trim.:
Pull up the gear lever gaiter, undo the 2 screws. (There is no need to remove the gear knob if it won't come off with a sharp pull - you can manage with it on) Pull off the iDrive knob. Use a wide bladed screwdriver to prize up the trim (some people use a paint scraper - personal preference). Gently lever the pegs out of their sockets - they do just pull out. Some patience is required, and the wood trims are more prone to cracking than the "metal effect" ones. The ashtray lid comes off with the rest of the trim.
You will then be able to see under the lighter, and hopefully use a bit of wire to remove the offending item of jewellery.
To remove the ashtray, you have to undo 4 screws. 2 are easy, the other 2 (at the front) will mean a fiddle with a small screwdriver bit under the centre console, turning the bit with a small spanner - there is only about an inch clearance, but it is possible - I've done it!
If the earring has gone down the side, there is a chance that if you remove the 2 side carpet trims as noted in Rudy's .pdf file, (an easy, 2 minute job) then you may be lucky and be able to pull the console away from the transmission tunnel to let the earring drop out onto the floor. Very lucky!!

If you are going all the way and taking the whole console off, then that is the time to remove the mobile phone holder from your armrest - it's the only way to do it without breaking the holder. BTW, you can remove the holder by unscrewing the 4 small screws underneath it. You still have two cubby's instead of one useful one, but at least you can store some stuff in the top bit.

Back to losing earrings - my wife lost one earring - not valuable monetarily, just a souvenir of our time in Fiji, so there was some sentimental value to it. She was adamant that it must have caught in her jumper and gone through the washing machine. She realised this some three or four washes after the jumper one of course. Needless to say, I was working away, so she then didn't use the machine for another 2 weeks, and my return. With little hope of success, I duly dismantled the washing machine, finding a small sump moulded into the discharge pipe from the pump. Yes, the earring was still in there, amongst other assorted nuts, bolts, safety pins and buttons. I certainly got my "brownie points" that day!!

Do a search on removing interior trim, there are a number of posts describing in more detail how to remove (and replace) the trim.

Mike