Stuck cigarette lighter

Vagophile · Apr 20, 2023

Today I decided to use a USB plug in the cigarette lighter socket. Problem; the incumbent would not budge. The handbook says to turn on the ignition, depress the element and wait for it to pop out. In more than two years of ownership I have never touched the lighter and as the vehicle was sold to me as "never having been smoked in" it may be that the lighter has not moved for years.
Before I get forceful, or try to use a release agent,any tips or advice would be welcome.

WelshGas · Apr 20, 2023

Vagophile said:
Today I decided to use a USB plug in the cigarette lighter socket. Problem; the incumbent would not budge. The handbook says to turn on the ignition, depress the element and wait for it to pop out. In more than two years of ownership I have never touched the lighter and as the vehicle was sold to me as "never having been smoked in" it may be that the lighter has not moved for years.
Before I get forceful, or try to use a release agent,any tips or advice would be welcome.

You should be able to just pull it out.

Normally, you would just push it in to activate/switch it on, and when upto temperature it would just jump up to the resting position in the process of which the electrical connection is cut and it is then ready for you to pull it out.

If you cannot pull it out and it is pushed in to make the circuit connection it may heat up significantly if the act of heating does not break the circuit correctly.

Vagophile · Apr 22, 2023

Who knew? Closer examination revealed that the cap showed a 12V symbol, not a smoking cigarette. A very careful forceful pull with pliers released it. Lo and behold, no lighting apparatus, just a dummy to fill the hole. I'm wondering now, was a cigarette lighter ever an option or has a previous owner taken it?

WelshGas · Apr 22, 2023

Vagophile said:
Who knew? Closer examination revealed that the cap showed a 12V symbol, not a smoking cigarette. A very careful forceful pull with pliers released it. Lo and behold, no lighting apparatus, just a dummy to fill the hole. I'm wondering now, was a cigarette lighter ever an option or has a previous owner taken it?

View attachment 107544 View attachment 107545

It was an option and if not selected you got the plastic plug cover.