Help - CD stuck in car stereo

self | self

[mtbopfuyn]

FRiends, I need some help. I have a cd stuck in the car cd player. When I push the eject button it says there's "no cd", but it's in there. Obviously it won't accept a new cd either. How do I get the cd out of it? Do I have to take it in or can I pop out the cover plate? And how does one get the cover plate off?

[mtbopfuyn]

Suggestions welcome. Thanks.

[1rudeboy]

Turn the car upside-down and shake it.

[NonValueAdded]

Buy a new car.

[raybbr]

Does it have detachable face? If so, there is usually a little hole that operates the eject mechanism using a pin under the face.

If you don't have a detachable face and its a factory radio your manual may tell you how to get it out or call a local dealer.

[real saxophonist]

So THAT’s what happened to my SciFiHiFi UFO Soundtrack CD. Your car stole it!

[PBRSTREETGANG]

...or call a local dealer.

It's a Barry Manilow CD...that's out of the question.

[Clam Digger]

Needle nose pliers. Or hemostats. That, or a heat gun and just melt it out of there.

Ever stick a CD in the microwave? It’s pretty neat looking for a second.

[CholeraJoe]

Bummer, Dude.

[1rudeboy]

I couldn’t resist being a smart-ass, sorry. What I would do is stop-by the local car stereo (installation) shop and ask one of the teenagers (preferably with the longer hair). They might know a trick or two. Slip him five or ten bucks and be on your way.

[mtbopfuyn]

It’s a factory radio and the manual doesn’t say. I don’t see a hole anywhere. So, in other words I get to pay $$$ for the Chevy dealer to get it out?

BTW, it’s a Chevy Equinox.

[mtbopfuyn]

That’s an idea.

[CharlesWayneCT]

Remove a suck CD from a Car CD Player

Not Only is Satan Real, He's stuck in my Truck's CD Player

The 2nd one won't help you, but maybe it will make you laugh.

[Tijeras_Slim]

The way things are going, you’d be better off listening to the spanish language station.

[johnny7]

Straighten out a paper clip and poke around... then go find a big, claw hammer.

[CharlesWayneCT]

Also, if it’s a newer car, there could be some electronics in the CD player, with “smarts”. If you can, pull the power entirely from the CD player (like a hard reset) and re-apply it — you should be able to do this by pulling a fuse somewhere. If the CD is your clock/radio as well, you’ll lose all your settings, but it might make the CD player “remember” there is a CD in it.

[1rudeboy]

1rudeboy's Three Easy Steps to Surmounting an Intractable Problem:

1. Identify the problem.
2. Find someone with specialized knowledge about the problem.
3. Flatter them to the point that they solve it for free.

[mtbopfuyn]

Off to try this with a second cd.

[bmwcyle]

[mtbopfuyn]

Ack, it may come to that.

[raybbr]

It’s a factory radio and the manual doesn’t say. I don’t see a hole anywhere. So, in other words I get to pay $$$ for the Chevy dealer to get it out?

Call the service dept. first. Ask to talk to someone about the problem. These guys are usually pretty helpful. The techs seem to want to help instead of simply telling you bring it in.

[Niteranger68]

Power cycle and retry. (Power cycle = Unhook the (-) side of the car battery for about 30 seconds and reconnect)

[Jersey Republican Biker Chick]

I prefer the tried and true BFH solution.

BFH = Big F*cking Hammer

[bmwcyle]

It always works but it is a case of the operation was a success but the patient died.

[mtbopfuyn]

Sorry, nothing is doing the trick. Called the dealer and they say the cover merely pops off with a small screw driver - um, no it doesn’t. Called another place and they want it brought in. Another dealer says they have to take out the whole thing and send it off for about $300. Hello, it’s just a darned plastic disc.

[Deguello]

Check were you keep your CD’s to be sure that you didn’t have a Brain Fart are trying to remove an imaginary object.

[CharlesWayneCT]

I sometimes resort to the biblical solution in addition to step 3:

Luke 18:2-5: He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.' "For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!'"

You know you have succeeded when the conversation ends with "you know, why don't I just come over and do it for you, that would be easier than trying to explain it to you again......" :-)

[the_devils_advocate_666]

Power cycle and retry. (Power cycle = Unhook the (-) side of the car battery for about 30 seconds and reconnect)

I second this suggestion, it worked for my wife's car.

[LetGoNow]

Get a cutting torch and use it very carefully. Keep a fire extinguisher handy of course.

[Dust in the Wind]

Had that happen with a cassette tape. No one locally could get it out. Dealer suggested taking the dash unit out and sending it to a “center” and gave me their number. Their quote turned out to be just under the price of a salvage unit from the local auto yard. I took that option as the tape was expendable and I didn’t have to be without the unit through all the shipping/repair stretch. Good Fortune to you.

[mtbopfuyn]

Alrighty, called another guy and he said he’d look at it and it’d be free if there wasn’t anything to it but he might charge “a little bit” if he had to mess with it a while. Anything is better than taking it to the dealer.

Thanks for everyone’s suggestions!

[LetGoNow]

Best of luck!

[ClaireSolt]

I had the same experience with a tape. Apparently. the heat can warp them. Replace the radio or wast a lot of time and effort trying to avoid the inevitable.

[Choose Ye This Day]

Just a thought:

Get some suction going! :o)

[dennisw]

1- Disconnect car battery for 30 minutes. Maybe your CD player will “reset”
2- Is there a pinhole in the sliding (in and out) CD tray? There is in CD players for computers. You stick a bent paper clip in and hook it and pull it out

[discostu]

I had a CD/ stereo combo that would do that periodically. Needlenose pliers was the solution. If you move the dustcatcher stuff aside right in the center you can probably see the CD, either get them in there to grap a little piece of the CD and haul it out manually or use the blunt tip to push in further and engage the mechanism.

[RightWhale]

The CD player might be toast. If it won’t cycle when you unplug the power cable and plug it in again it might be necessary to open the case, which probably means major surgery to the dashboard, and even then it is probably toast. Sell the car.

[Gone_Postal]

happens to me from time to time
First I say this is what you get for buying a cheap CD player
Second I usually hit the reset button or disconnect the battery then turn the player back on and hit reject(thats how I fell about my cd player reject) that usually works....

[Lurker]

L

[Osage Orange]

What’s a suck CD....?

[Choose Ye This Day]

What's a suck CD?

[Species8472]

[SGCOS]

...You stick a bent paper clip in and hook it and pull it out

Hmmm, I've always thought push the clip in straight and pop the caddy out..

[A CA Guy]

You must have exposed the darn thing to a picture of Hillary. No wonder it froze in there.

[Petronski]

[dennisw]

You might be right. I haven’t done it in a while

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

You might have to break the CD and pull out the pieces with pliers or tweezers. That is if your CD player has an opening that you can fit pliers or tweezers into.

[mtbopfuyn]

I looked it up and it’s still under warranty! Just barely, another few hundred miles and it wouldn’t be. Took it in to the dealer and they couldn’t get it out so they’re getting me a new one. They claimed blah, blah, cheap cd, don’t use, wrong format, bad for machine. Whatever, I’ve been using cheap home-burned cds forever and the problem wasn’t the playing ability but the eject button.

[Osage Orange]

lol...