Michael Enlo

Anyone ever had a stuck cigarette lighter in their A4 1.8TQM? Last night I was driving my A4 in a snowstorm(Buffalo, NY) and I noticed my car lighter was in the open position. I never use it so I must of bumped it open. So I closed it and tried to open it again. It won't open, its stuck in the closed position. Any advice on how to get it open again or how to get at it from underneath(removing the cover for the center console)?? Thanks in advance.

King_Quattro

the lighter doens;t heat up and pop out. change the fuse and it should heat up, then spring out.

otherwise its busted, adn you could try a fine screwdriver, be careful to bit scratch the housing around the lighter, its more expensive to replace than the lighter itself (which you could drill out if all else fails)

Michael Enlo

To clarify, the cigarette lighter itself is not stuck. The housing or cover that you press to expose the lighter is stuck in the closed position.

audi/s/scott

Open the ash tray and pull, the whole assembly pulls out. Don't pull too far tho, the cigarette lighter has a short wire. Once you do this you should be able to pop it out from behind.

RickM

If so, it's fairly common that the lighter gets stuck in the "closed" position. Although this has not happened to me, from the descriptions others have provided it sounds like it happens when the "door" is shut when the lighter isn't pushed as far in as it should be. Hence the lighter itself interferes with the motion of the door when you try to open it again.

This problem has been discussed here many times in the past, and if you do a patient search in the archives I'm sure you'll find info on a DIY fix. I don't recall it being too difficult. Otherwise call the dealer; I'm sure they've dealt with this many, many times. Good luck!

Michael Enlo

Rick,

I think this may explain it.
Thanks.

Mike

RKA

just wedge it in there, and try to push the lighter back in it's socket, and swing the cig/ lighter door open.

Michael Enlo

Thanks to those who responded. My flip up lighter in the car was fixed by wedging a small pocketknife blade in the crevice and pushing down the lighter itself enough to clear and open.

Thanks again!