29 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHAshtray Lid Repair
Reported or suspected cause
small white plastic part
Reported cause
No successful repair reported for this finding.
1
Identified cause
0
Suspected cause
0
Reported fixes
Read evidence and context
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Discussions that report identifying a cause
1
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Suggestion
There apparently is an OEM "ashtray delete" option but, if I'm reading it correctly, the replacement "shelf console" and the little rubber mat that goes in it costs $105, so to me that's a push in terms of price but if you go that route, at least, you don't have to worry about replacing the ashtray again.
Leading evidence: 'small white plastic part' (1 discussions report identifying this cause; no attributable repair resolution). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'small white plastic part' (1 discussions; 1 report identifying it and 0 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Replace ashtray' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
Source reports, not a diagnosis or a success probability. Counts refer to discussions and can overlap.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
But I replaced the pin with a cut piece from a stainless steel bicycle spoke (DT Swiss for those of you curious).
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
There are a few used ashtrays on e-bay, some "without spring" or unknown spring condition.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
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Suggestion
There apparently is an OEM "ashtray delete" option but, if I'm reading it correctly, the replacement "shelf console" and the little rubber mat that goes in it costs $105, so to me that's a push in terms of price but if you go that route, at least, you don't have to worry about replacing the ashtray again.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
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Suggestion
If you don't intend to actually use the ashtray for its intended purpose, the ashtray delete is the way to go.
These are separate views of the same evidence. Frequency alone does not establish a fix, and these counts must not be added together.
Replace ashtray
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
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Suggestion
There apparently is an OEM "ashtray delete" option but, if I'm reading it correctly, the replacement "shelf console" and the little rubber mat that goes in it costs $105, so to me that's a push in terms of price but if you go that route, at least, you don't have to worry about replacing the ashtray again.
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
The two legs on the white slider 1) provide friction in the slot, 2) skew the slider in its slot and 3) impart a torsional force on the slider that appears to walk it up the vertical slot when the force of the lid spring is unloaded and reloaded (I'm not discounting the opposite design intention of using gravity, but these parts are 22 years old, so I can only describe their behavior now after I 'fixed' them).
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
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Suggestion
I lifted the plastic cam in the lid enough to clear the pin and slid the white plastic slider out of its slot in the main bod of the ashtray (use a small screwdriver to push it...
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
29 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
0 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Generation: 20261026T065735Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
The ashtray lid on my new-to-me 2002 911 will not stay closed. Assuming there's a broken spring mechanism, but have searched everywhere I can think of with no luck. There are a few used ashtrays on e-bay, some "without spring" or unknown spring condition.
Can anyone point me to a source of new parts to fix this?
Thanks in advance for your help!
Mine only works (stays closed) if I take it out, hold it up sideways and close it (this is the only way it'll stay closed). I then put it back in the console VERY carefully so as not to cause it to fly open again (the damper is broken too...). it stays closed until I (or an unsuspecting passenger) accidentally touches it or looks askance at it and it flies open again
! I bought a used console (including a working ashtray) for a little more than I could have gotten a new (or used it seems) ashtray for. I just sent the whole thing out to get painted in my body color - can't wait to get it back...
This one of the first things I repaired when I got my '99...there is a small metal pin that broke so that it wouldn't latch with the damper. Took it apart and replaced it with a piece of a bicycle spoke (I build wheels for a local shop...) and it's been perfect ever since.
Any chance you could take a picture of what you fixed?
I'm just trying to restore to as-built, but $100-170 for an ashtray or a non-ashtray is plain highway robbery when all that's needed is a spring or a piece of a bike spoke!
Hello all . 10 minute fix . There's a small white plastic part that holds a pin that may be bent . Bend the door so that little piece slides out . If the pin is bent , it pulls out easily . Straighten the pin . Reinsert . Slide piece back in . Save big bucks.
In my car, that would instantly become a place to collect junk, change, etc... I much prefer having the cover in place so if I do put junk in there I can only put things that fit inside, and it's a finite amount - not that it starts to overflow... but that's just me
+1 on the ash tray delete. That's a convenient place to put things like my cell phone. I have yet to collect stuff in it, that all goes in the center arm rest bin. That reminds me i need to go clean that out again soon..
When my car is in the garage that is where the key goes :-)
But my ashtray also would not stay closed, and it looked ugly even though it did not appear to have ever been smoked in - just oddly discolored. So the delete works well for me. It is amazing how little storage space these cars have compared to a modern car though - the little console glove box is, well, little. At least mine does not have door speakers so I get two more cubbies - the driver�s side one holds my sunglasses 👍👍
Daryll
Seriously? $169 for the ashtray. Only because it's a Porsche, LOL!
The lid on mine is a little balky but still works. Being the ****-compulsive that I am, I'd probably buy one if mine eventually breaks but WFT?
There apparently is an OEM "ashtray delete" option but, if I'm reading it correctly, the replacement "shelf console" and the little rubber mat that goes in it costs $105, so to me that's a push in terms of price but if you go that route, at least, you don't have to worry about replacing the ashtray again. Something to consider if/when necessary.
That's how I repaired mine. But I replaced the pin with a cut piece from a stainless steel bicycle spoke (DT Swiss for those of you curious). Been flawless ever since.
This has been bugging me too, but I couldn't figure what was missing... turns out it was the small white plastic part...
So I made a replacement from some fairly heavy wire...
It slides into the slot and engages the segment's teeth.
It took some fiddling to place it just so that the top isn't jammed but doesn't fall open. The pin will likely move if the top is opened often, but since I don't use the ashtray it works to hold it closed.
I had the same deal! remove ashtray from console... tilt... close lid, hold together and
very gently
lower back into console while paying homage to the Porsche gods. It would spring open 5 times and on the 6th occasion, would stay closed until someone breathed on it or looked at it the wrong way. for a while, I thought it was operating on voice commands triggered by expletives, but then I realized the expletives were being uttered after the ashtray popped open!
After reading this thread, (and upsetting my 9 y.o. daughter telling her not to touch the damn ashtray) I decided to repair this annoying 'feature'. Ended up taking the pins out and separating the parts (watch out for that spring!) to find the 22 y.o. gremlin.
None of the problems with missing, bent or broken pins could be identified. The whole thing
appeared
to be in good repair. I ended up scratching my head for a bit trying to work out the mechanism. Once the aha moment happened I found my solution (your experience may differ
). Understanding how the mechanism is supposed to work through a complete duty cycle may be informative for others in their troubleshooting so I've written it up below ad nauseum. I've also formed a belief that the ashtray was designed by the same engineering team who developed the IMS bearing!
The way this Black Forest cuckoo clock of an automotive ashtray appears to function is as follows: There is a track in the plastic geared cam molded into the lid component (gear teeth appear to serve no purpose btw - probably an abandoned or legacy design, unless of course it activates the ejector seat!? Dearest... can you come and sit here...). Anyhow, dismissing that fantasy for the minute... The cam track has an upper section, connected to a vertical section (which holds the lid closed against the spring tension) connected to a lower section that runs through an arc of 90 degrees (the angle the lid will travel when the spring is permitted to open it). The upper section also joins that arc at the other end from the vertical section. Confused!? Picture a number 6 with a flat bottom rotated 90 deg counterclockwise. Still confused - me too, but lets box on...
This brings us to the white plastic 'slider' with the steel pin (pictured in many of the posts). The pin on the white slider fits into the cam track in the lid. The white slider mounts in a vertical slot in the body of the ashtray. The two legs on the white slider 1) provide friction in the slot, 2) skew the slider in its slot and 3) impart a torsional force on the slider that appears to walk it up the vertical slot when the force of the lid spring is unloaded and reloaded (I'm not discounting the opposite design intention of using gravity, but these parts are 22 years old, so I can only describe their behavior now after I 'fixed' them).
Thus, when our devil-may-care motorsports fan at the wheel decides to light up a stogie after a spirited mountain drive and presses the lid of the cuckoo-clock ashtray, the spring pressure on the pin (in the white slider) is relieved. This switches the pressure between the legs on the white slider causing it to walk vertically until the pin aligns with the upper cam track, at which point the lid (previously held closed against the pin) is now free to transit the 90 degree arc section of the cam track under the load of the spring.
Abracadabra pop! an open ashtray sans rabbit.
Stogie finished... Press the lid down, the pin on the slider follows the complete lower arc of the cam until it meets the end of the cam track. The pressure on the pin at the end of the cam compresses one of the legs, walking the slider up the slot and moving the pin into the vertical section of the cam track again, where it is held firmly against spring tension and prevents the lid from opening.
So after this lengthy explanation, what was my fix? Drum roll... I lifted the plastic cam in the lid enough to clear the pin and slid the white plastic slider out of its slot in the main bod of the ashtray (use a small screwdriver to push it... this shouldn't require much force). Once removed, I splayed the legs a bit (they had presumably closed over the years) and re-inserted the slider to engage the pin into the cam track. Wallah! The ashtray works (for now)
Those with bent or broken pins have probably endured a frustrated cigar-smoking PO whose slider had stuck with the pin holding the lid closed. Presented with the dilemma, they levered the ashtray lid open breaking or bending the pin.
This is a source reference. Confirm exact model applicability in the original material.
