Anyone retro-fit an Ash tray ( and lighter)

[diamondsbylauren]

I know, smoking is evil, and quite unpopular nowadays, but I honestly miss having an ash tray, and lighter.
Any of y'all put one in ( I have an '11)

[crzy4135i]

Originally Posted by diamondsbylauren

I know, smoking is evil, and quite unpopular nowadays, but I honestly miss having an ash tray, and lighter.
Any of y'all put one in ( I have an '11)

After driving a loaner 135i with a large storage area in place of the ashtray I've been thinking about doing the opposite.. trying to swap my ashtray for the storage bin. I haven't put anything in it in 2 years.

Smoking kills!

[diamondsbylauren]

But the ashtray has a lot of practicality- for holding coins, for example.
I prefer an ashtray for a nice covered place to hold smaller items as opposed to the open bin.

[GMT II]

+1 on having the smokers package. You get a nice lighted and removable container plus a cig lighter/power port. I also prefer the look of a wood veneered lid to that open rubber bin.

I think you need a new shifter surround to retro it.

[JasonCSU]

Originally Posted by diamondsbylauren

But the ashtray has a lot of practicality- for holding coins, for example.
I prefer an ashtray for a nice covered place to hold smaller items as opposed to the open bin.

It's a great place to store little things that you want to keep covered up. You can also remove the "tray" portion for a slightly larger compartment. Having the extra 12 volt socket is also a plus.

[JimD]

I like my "smokers package" too even though I have never smoked in the BMW and haven't smoked a cigarette anywhere for quite a few decades. I use the socket when I need power and I put little stuff in the tray. The open tray looks incredibly cheap and out of place in a nice car. The 1 has very little wood (for the $500 increase in price especially) so deleting any does not make sense to me.

I think there is a DIY for changing the storage area to a gauge package - that would probably give you a pretty good idea how things are installed. You could go on "ReadOEM" and get the part numbers for the pieces you would need (and that also shows you useful information about how it goes together).

Jim

[dko3tgk]

This thread has been dead awhile, but has anyone done this retrofit? I hate having only one power port. I have my Android phone on my dash because I use it for Google Navigation, and I don't like having wires running up towards the dash from behind me.

If I bought the ashtray and cigarette plug parts. Is there a power harness to connect to, still under there?

[M3Newbie88]

Originally Posted by crzy4135i

After driving a loaner 135i with a large storage area in place of the ashtray I've been thinking about doing the opposite.. trying to swap my ashtray for the storage bin. I haven't put anything in it in 2 years.

Smoking kills!

I've done the switch lol.. now I have an extra ashtray area I don't use lol.. what you do lose out on is the lighter/power source if you have any devices you want to connect.

Originally Posted by dko3tgk

This thread has been dead awhile, but has anyone done this retrofit? I hate having only one power port. I have my Android phone on my dash because I use it for Google Navigation, and I don't like having wires running up towards the dash from behind me.



If I bought the ashtray and cigarette plug parts. Is there a power harness to connect to, still under there?

You might want to check yourself.. before doing this.. there are diys on how to take the centre part out to take a look.. I personally think there should be but my car is an 08 vs your 12.

[doublevanosrc]

I wouldn't mind having the lid to close it up.

[dko3tgk]

Hmm. I'm not considering this for the covered tray. I only want to do this to get a power port back in the dash.

I don't want to take the center console apart just to see if the power harness is still there.

Has anyone opened up their center console and seen the cig. lighter power port power harness? Any late model owners, say post 2010?

[JimD]

Regardless of whether there is a plug, you can connect to the accessory outlet on the other end of the console. A little soldering shouldn't bother anybody - or you can use crimp connectors. I am pretty sure there is a "smokers package" listed on RealOEM. I also think there is a DIY on putting the tray in. The pictures in the DIY would give you a good idea what is involved. If you can switch a car with an ash tray to one with an open bin, it seems like you can go the other way too. But I have not done it so I don't really know for sure. If I had the open bin, I would give it a try.

Jim