I'm still pretty green when it comes to DIY repairs, so bare with me.

Recently, while unplugging my FM transmitter in order to plug in my tire pump, the charging socket fell out, towards the cabin side of the dash. It must have gotten loose at some point and eventually unscrewed itself, but the part of the socket that's attached to the wiring fell inward, into the dash, where I couldn't reach it to reconnect it.

I got myself a pair of DIN tools to try to take out the radio console and try to reach the charging socket (all the necessary safety steps were taken of course power turned off, fuse removed, etc). But the DIN tool must've been pretty cheap because as I tried to work it into the holes to push the clamps back, one of the DIN tool's tines snapped off inside the hole (bottom right side). It snapped off at a point inside the hole, otherwise I would just grab it and pull it out with pliers or something.

So now my problem is two-fold.
1)Is there another way for me to get at the charging socket to screw it back into the console
2)is there a way for me to get the broken tine out of the radio panel?

If I can get the charging port fixed, I don't care as much about getting the DIN tine removed. I was only trying to pull the panel out to get at the socket anyways.

I am also open to destructive solutions, like if it's possible to crack the radio panel to get at the insides, if there are no simpler options.
I can also take it in to get it removed professionally, but I would rather know my options at home first.

This whole experience has lead me to a point where I might just purchase an after market radio panel and a Bluetooth stereo so I never have to deal with FM transmitters again, so if I end up breaking the original panel, so be it. But I can't do any of that if I can't get the original radio out of the console in the first place.

 

why would you think to take the radio out to fix this? breaking the tool to remove the radio is a bad sign. removing the radio is easy but since you ended up breaking the tool you should be glad you did not get the radio to come out because you would have broken another part too and would have a bigger issue after that. So leave the radio idea alone, there is another way to take that part out to fix it

get a philips screwdriver and a small flathead screwdriver. these are the two tools you will need to take of the center console. Once you take off those two parts, you can take off that black part then reinstall the lighter. the part which holds the lighter onto the plastic fell behind there too so you will have to find it to reinstall it. You will also be able to reconnect the power then put it all back in.

the philips screwdriver is for the screws removal. the small flathead is to remove the plastic clips holding the front part of the console in place. just use it to lightly pull up the center of the clip. then lightly pull it out of the console. the center of that plastic is not supposed to come out or separate from the plastic clip.

being "green" is no excuse. if you dont understand what i have explained then read it repeatedly one paragraph at a time until you get it and you will be able to fix this

/thread