Don't put coins in your ashtray
 

Since getting the car, I have been throwing loose change from drive throughs and parking lots into the ashtray. The F10 has no coin holder in the door like the E39 had. I never had too many in there at a time but eventually one or more of the coins slipped down between the tray insert and the cavity and jammed the lid. Bad. I screwed around with it trying to remove the coins and free things up but I was not successful. In fact I was making it worse. Sliding the trim cover off the lid did not help. I finally took the car over to my dealer and drove into the service bay and told them about my problem. The service rep looked at me and said that he'd call the mechanic who had figured out how to clear this problem as they had seen it several times. After fussing with it for a few minutes, he was able to clear the jam without damaging anything. Very helpful.

Just thought I'd let you know as I suspect many of you are doing the same thing although it may not be as big a problem in the US as you don't have the large $1 and $2 coins that we have up here which were the main cause of the problem.

By the way, total charge for fixing this problem? $0. Free.

Great service.

I've always kept mine in the door handle. Never a problems exepct when it gets too full.

Same thing happened to me .... although I cleared it myself..... I only keep a few quarters in there now....

BMW makes a coin holder tray insert that replaces the ashtray. Part # 51-16-9-213-657

Somewhere there is a post indicating where to drill a small hole in this replacement tray so that ambient light from inside the console shines in it. If I can locate it later I will post a link to this thread.

And don't smoke either

I found the below photo showing the coin holder (Part No. 51-16-9-213-657) next to the ash tray. $16 delivered from www.getbmwparts.com.

http://f10.5post.com/forums/attachme...1&d=1301023039

Not sure why anyone would throw loose change anywhere to rattle around while driving -- that would drive me crazy. Glad you got it resolved.

The storage compartment doesn't rattle. Believe me, that would drive me NUTS. I hate rattles, and am very sensitive to them. Just got in the wife's car this morning and immediately said "what's that rattle". Turns out it was a CD case moving around.

In any event, I purchased the above mentioned holder and use it to store change. I did not bother drilling the hole, as the only time I'm looking for change is during the day, and the overhead console is bright enough anyway. Arlington hasn't quite gotten the concept of paying parking meters with CC's in most places, and I'm down there often. The tray works great and really makes no noise. BUT, you can't overfill it, or you still run the risk of getting a coin jammed down in there. I was able to pull out the insert and pull the coins out with a long screwdriver and a pliers. So beware.

Pics:

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...-35-48_341.jpg

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...-36-06_299.jpg

I was just going to say that....the coin holder has the same dimensions on the side. Same issue with coins going into the door. At least with the coin holder if you break the door its BMW's fault not yours. With the ashtray I could see them saying its an ashtray not a coinholder. Not a big deal anyway, I just used a tweezer. Penny a bigger issue than the dime.

The coin holder doesn't represent as much of a problem as the coins sit much better and are much more stable without the protrusion in the ashtray.

I guess I'm just not a "coin" person, find no need to keep loose change in the car. Still, I don't know how those coins don't jostle and vibrate against each other while driving :dunno:

The coins don't rattle in the ashtray. As for not needing change, it's hard to see how you can completely avoid it. Parking meters and lots and drive through coffee shops get the most use for me. Besides, if you don't smoke, what else could the ashtray be used for anyway?

Good point. Funny how there is a no smoking sign in the coinholder -- God forbid, even though the plastic is the same. Frikkin Germans

I have something called a pocket (just jesting -- don't get serious :)). As for the ashtray, I just store air in there, LOL. I guess I'm the opposite of my wife who "stores" all kinds of things in her car :eek::yikes:

You F10 folks have so much more coin that we do at the E9x. :rofl:

Yeah, but see, then you have to be WAY better at planning than me. Because if I didn't have change in the car, I'd never have any. :rofl:

Plastic is different to my eye.

Maybe ashtray plastic is more heat resistant

This is the truth! :thumbup:

Guys, you know that there is a very easy work around for this problem, right? I also put coins there and they get stuck. I finally took a piece of post-it, stick it to the inside of the tray, so it sticks out vertically, folder the excess part of the post-it back. Now the post-it actually prevents the coins from jumping into the slit and jamming the openning mechanism.

A more elegant way is to cut a small piece of clear plastic to do the same. But I just couldn't bother with it. I never have any coins jamming the coin tray anymore after the post-it fix.

Cost of the fix? $0. I took the post-it from work:rofl:

PENNIES? Who lives where parking meters take pennies? In our town it takes 32 nickels to get an hour of metered parking.

I found out the same way you did. Had the dealer clear mine also though I still put change in there. I don't put as much in now.

Change from McDonalds

I use a little bag with a zipper on it and keep it in the one of the storage bins. It's quiet and coins aren't flying all over my car. It's like a little army bag one of my friends gave to me.

Exact thing happened to me! Wish I had read your post first :thumbup: