Hi all,

After getting my car back from the dealer and being just a little spoiled by the 2013 loaner, I realized that there is nowhere convenient to store my phone/extra small stuff in my 09 sedan other than the center bin. I read around, and saw that others had an issue with this as well, so I decided my first mod on my G would be to smooth out the inside of where the ash tray sits and line it with felt to protect anything stored in there (i.e. a scratch prone iPhone). So here is my DIY on how to do it.

Tools Needed:
- Dremel w/ Coarse Sanding Bit and Fine Sanding Bit
- Black Felt w/ adhesive backing(got mine at Joann Fabrics for about 2 bucks, and plenty of extra for mistakes
- Scissors
- Phillips Head Screwdriver

Start by removing the gear shift **** and pulling up on the panel to remove it. I found that it's easier to remove if it is in Neutral(for A/T), but please have your engine off, parking brake set, and foot on the brake when it is in neutral!(I am not liable if your car goes moving!) Underneath the panel, unclip the connectors shown below to remove the trim piece



After putting the car back into park, you can take the panel into your work area. Remove the 4 screws shown below to separate the ash tray from the rest of the trim



Next, remove the black cover on the back side of the ash tray by removing the 2 screws shown



Now you can remove the 3 screws holding the cover door on so you don't risk scratching the door



You now have the open ash tray. As you can see, the 4 ridges on the bottom and 2 more on the top are what you want to remove



Start by using the coarse sanding bit, and once you have most of it gone, use the fine sanding tip to go over it and make it as smooth as possible. You don't have to worry too much about stray marks as the felt will cover it all. When it's done, it should look similar to below (sorry about the blurriness of this pic)



Next, start cutting the felt into 5 pieces. You will have to play around with shaping them and test fitting it into the ash tray. On the right side, fold it over and cut out a small rectangle to allow the light from the 12v socket to come in



After they are all cut, you can start fitting the pieces in. I started with the back piece, then did the sides, then the top and the bottom. And the result should be this:



Reverse the above steps to re-assemble and put it back in the car, and you are all done! Final results below(with and without illumination). Enjoy!

 

Pictures???

 

Do they not show up? When I view the post on several different devices they load just fine, logged in or not

 

Pictures show up fine for me.

Cool DIY. Thanks for taking the time to put it together and sharing it with us!

David

 

Were you missing the insert to begin with?
Mine came lined with felt.

 

Wow good work.
That is a lot of disassembly for some felt.

 

You cant store a phone there with the ashtray in place. It has to be removed..

 

Mine was an 09 and came with the ashtray. I had a 13 loaner for a while and liked the felt lined cubby for a phone. So I decided to take out my ashtray, sand it down, and make a spot for my phone.

Thanks for the feedback guys, it was fun doing it and i plan on doing more in the future!

Scott

 

What ashtray? I said mine came with felt. My iPhone fits in there perfectly.

 

What year/body style is yours? From my understanding they started changing it in 2010/2011 that some still had a plastic ashtray with removable tray and some had the newer style with just a felt bin

 

I think the felt bin that came with the G is pretty useless. It's deep but can't fit ****.

 

Looks very clean! I'm considering using that space with a button panel, and I like your idea of using the cardboard cutouts to measure everything out.