I'm halfway through this stereo upgrade and I tried to pull out the cigarette lighter panel under the HVAC area, but only the top half seems to snap out. The bottom half wiggles a bit but it's stuck. Anyone know the trick to getting this whole piece out?
How do you remove the cigarette lighter panel?
- Thread starter Pyrenees
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Trunk Monkey
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Can't remember if on the LC there's a screw behind the ashtray.
07 LC you just pull. Maybe stuck on the center console panel?
A little thing I like to do when reinstalling a dash panel is put some white litium grease on the spring clips so they go back in easier and are easier to remove if needed.
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Sooo....... this thread hasnt seen much action but here ya go! Did it today on my 02. My advice is just pull HARDDDD. The clips on the bottom are the hardest but i found out those screws dont have anything to do with getting this part off and gaining access to the cigarette lighters.
I just did this on my 2001 LX470. Here are some pictures for what I did. Hopefully this helps someone else.
Notes:
1. The reference to pulling hard is due to a couple lips on the bottom left and right of the panel. I used a plastic lever to lift each corner while pulling out; came out pretty easy this way.
2. Instead of cutting off the connector I simply took the connector housing off and reused the female sockets to plug into the back of the usb charger gadget. I covered them with liquid electrical tape before putting it all back together.
Red arrows below point to the lips I mentioned.
I replaced the cigarette lighter in the middle with a USB charger gadget.
You'll need to use something pointy like a box knife to get under this little tabs. It doesn't take much effort to pull them up. Once you do, you'll unlock the female sockets inside of the connector and be able to pull them out.
Notes:
1. The reference to pulling hard is due to a couple lips on the bottom left and right of the panel. I used a plastic lever to lift each corner while pulling out; came out pretty easy this way.
2. Instead of cutting off the connector I simply took the connector housing off and reused the female sockets to plug into the back of the usb charger gadget. I covered them with liquid electrical tape before putting it all back together.
Red arrows below point to the lips I mentioned.
I replaced the cigarette lighter in the middle with a USB charger gadget.
You'll need to use something pointy like a box knife to get under this little tabs. It doesn't take much effort to pull them up. Once you do, you'll unlock the female sockets inside of the connector and be able to pull them out.
That looks really great, do you have a picture of the final product? Definitely gonna follow your steps and do similar to that, but I may have one usb as a pass-through for my head unit.
What wiring did you run to your battery to show battery voltage?
I have the same Dual USB plug as above with the voltage readout. No additional wiring necessary. I simply cut the factory +/- connections and added appropriate spade connections and then slid them onto the +/- "posts" on the new outlet.
Special note: if you replace the "outboard" plug (NOT the "cigarette lighter" plug), you'll need to dremel the hole a little larger for these dual USB sockets to fit. If you're replacing the "cigarette lighter" you won't need to dremel out anything.
I found it was easier to remove that panel by pulling the lowest panel around the shifter first. Start at the back by the cup holders.
DEFINITELY makes it easier for sure. Excellent tip.
In my experience, the panel removal is trivial, getting one of the sockets out is the challenge. I don't recall which one.
For me, the "cigarette" lighter came right out. The other one was a PITA to remove.
Any tricks to remove that 12V power socket? Like in your case, the cigarette lighter one came off very easy, but I spent hours messing around with the other one and still can't get it to budge. I swear, Toyota designs some of these things so that it's un-serviceable. I pretty much gave up already and probably going to order a new one.
It's a pain. It's a two piece design with tabs that connect the two. I'll look to see if I have any pictures that may help
I said screw it and ordered a new one, I already wasted enough time on it to make me hate that piece. Definitely post the info for others though.
Pretty much have to man-handle the two piece assembly apart. There's no easy way about it. I eventually just broke it apart (wasn't going to reuse it anyway). The hole for that plug will be too small for the dual USB socket. You'll need to expand it just a tad to get the dual USB socket to fit.
I’m doing this now and feeling like an idiot. I think I have everything hooked up properly and just no power, and the fuse is fine that’s in the kick panel area. Any ideas?
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