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Cleaning out "Jammed" car buttons.
littwentythree
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Here's a pretty good picture of what I'm dealing with. A friend of mine spilled a slushie, which got into the inner workings of the buttons that operate the emergency lights, door lock, and right windows (circled in black). What are my options for dealing with this?
My best guess would be disconnecting the battery and pouring some kind of dissolving solution down in the "joints". But maybe that'll fuck up my car, so hopefully someone with experience in doing this can help me out.
littwentythree on
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If the problem is right under the button, rather then the crack between button and console, you're going to need to take that sucker apart. As long as it isn't a brand new car, you should be able to find a diagram on the net with all the screws and clips labeled. Then it's just a matter of taking the time to take it apart.
But I'd try the rubbing alcohol first.
It looks perfectly clean from the surface, all the gunk is under the buttons. Maybe the dripping down would be enough to get at it.
My car is a 2001 BMW 325i and I can't see any easy way of taking things apart.
First, shame on you for driving an automatic BMW.
Second, rubbing alcohol works wonders, as do baby wipes. you may be able to fold them small enough to push down into the cracks and then pull them back out.
For lack of that, take it to a detail place and if they'll clean up that center console seperately it wouldn't be more than 50 bucks and probably less than 20.
Drive a slightly newer BMW than you do, with a nearly identical layout. Had to come to a quick stop and had about a mouthful of coffee drip into the hazard/door lock part. It wasn't as easy as simply trying to clean it, as it managed to fry something down in the console with that tiny bit of liquid. I was still under warranty, but was told its about 150$ CAD to fix it at a dealership if it wasn't.
And to Iceman - if you pay close attention its not a full automatic. It is a steptronic transmission, which can be driven as a usual auto, or if you pull the stick to the left its a clutchless stick. It's a great option for people using it as a daily driver in stop and go traffic, with the ability to go someone more secluded on weekends. I've yet to hear a decent argument from anyone that would place a full standard above this setup, especially for this range of car.
The toothbrush works on anything with buttons, like TV remotes, game controllers, etc.
Mechanically, it's still an automatic transmission. You still have all the drawbacks of automatics, such as an inefficient torque converter, the shifting lag associated with them, plus the additional weight and complexity versus a manual transmission.
Now, I'm not saying manumatics aren't a lot easier if you don't want to bother to shift all the time, they're just not as good if you want a car that you control the shifting in.