Of all things to fail: the cigarette lighter!

[American Pie]

We went on a road trip to San Diego over the weekend and I REALLY needed to hook up our new GPS, but there's no power coming through the cig lighter. This seems to be a common problem with Toyotas, and is a cheap fix, but how do you get the lighter receptacle out of the ashtray? I've tried prying it out around the edges with a sharp screwdriver but there's something holding it in place.

In over 40 years of driving I don't think I've ever had a cig lighter in a car go bad.
Then when I really needed it....

[The Digital MagE]

likely has metal "leaves" that expand when it is pushed into the hole. remove ashtray. compress leaves with fingers. remove.

[American Pie]

Originally Posted by The Digital Mag

likely has metal "leaves" that expand when it is pushed into the hole. remove ashtray. compress leaves with fingers. remove.

I think you're probably right, but I guess I need to rephrase my question and ask, how do you remove the ashtray from the dash? Once I get that out I should have access to the back of the lighter receptacle.

I removed a tiny screw from the bottom of the ashtray hoping that would allow me to slide the tray out completely, but so far no go.

[Chunkywolf]

not sure about the bucket seats, but on my bench seat avy, I need to remove the whole center part of the dash to undo the screws behind it.

[The Digital MagE]

wowzers - might be easier to just run a power line in from the battery. you can get plugs like the lighter uses at truck stops...

[sonic2wb]

some of you knwo what i went through lol the only way to get to it besideds ripping it out is to removed the whole center cosole if u take out the radio and a/c controls u can see the back of it. but to fully rewire mine ( i used one from a truckstop b/c i was a trucker lol) and wired it to the batt with its own fuse.

[American Pie]

OK, job is done. There was no need to take out the console, take apart the dash, etc. I don't know if it makes any difference in the configuration of the dash but my car is a '95 XLS. All I needed to do was slide the ashtray all the way out of its tracks, then I had easy access to the lighter. I did a search on this forum and found some previous posts that really helped.

Basically, here's the process. In order to get the ashtray all the way out, first you need to slide it out to its stops and take notice of where those stops are on either side of the ashtray. Then insert a flat-bladed screwdriver into the space between one side of the ashtray and the area around the stop on that side, and pry it (being careful to not crack the plastic) to create a bigger opening. While you do this, pull on the ashtray so that it slides past the stop on that side. Then repeat on the other side of the ashtray. Presto, it comes right out! At this point you'll see how the lighter receptacle is held in place and how easy it is to remove from the ashtray.

Attached to the back of the receptacle are the two wires going to the lighter itself, plus a small light. Remove the light socket by turning it slightly and pulling it out. Remove the very small nut that holds the two wires to the back of the receptacle.

After that, follow the advice from post #6 in this thread, about removing the small bronze washer:
Cigarette lighter...

For some reason, by simply removing that washer the lighter receptacle has power again! I guess the conclusion of the poster in the above thread is correct, that it loses conductivity over time.

In any case, I have to take another long drive down to an unfamiliar area of Newport Beach today and it'll be a pleasure to have the GPS working again!

[truthnexile]

Yeah, I recently had to do this myself, and I found the post about using a very small flathead screwdriver and gently prying from the side- worked great. On other cars, I've had to run a new circuit or replace some of the wiring, but a meter check showed the wiring to be good. I just got a universal lighter assembly, cut and crimped appropriate connectors, and threw it back in. It sure is nice on these cars how something looks like it will be a pain at first glance, but it turns out not to be. Usually the norm is to overcomplicate things to discourage DIY work, but with these the opposite is true. I am loving it.

[bjipaye]

I have been having this same problem! I will try this and post results