I need some serious help. I dropped my wedding ring down the air vent! (don't ask how) It went down the air vent closest to the windshield. Any ideas how I can get it out? I can't see it anymore. It's not under the car. I hope it's trapped inside the air system, preferably somewhere I can access... I'll do anything at this point to retrieve it! Many thanks in advance...
I assume that you are referring to the windshield defroster vent? Have you tried inserting the fingers of one hand into the vent to see what you can feel? It would probably be best for you to take your car to your local Toyota dealer's service dept for help, as it will probably be necessary to disassemble the dashboard sufficiently to gain access to the vent.
Maybe one of these magnetic-tip pickup tools can help? I got one for engine work at Ace Hardware for $4. I'm sure all hardware stores have them. Magnet Pickup Tools - Master Magnetics, Inc.
Might be worth a try, but most wedding bands have to much gold and aren't magnetic enough. If the OP isn't comfortable pulling his/her dash apart on their own then I'm with Patrick, I'd turn off the AC and get to the dealer or a car audio shop to retrieve it.
How many wedding rings do you know of that are ferrous?? . At least it's not lost! The top dash panel is actually not that hard to remove, but I don't know of any nice pictorial descriptions anyone's done on it. I have a not-so-hot shot of the results when I explored mine, that's about it... if you're willing to tackle it yourself [for love, c'mon, you know you can!] start with chris-dragon-dash.pdf and match that up against the Toyota service manual section, realize that the ENTIRE thing is one piece but does uproot and slide toward you over the steering wheel and just barely between the [naked] A-pillars, and then you should be able to dig around in the defroster duct area. . It's also a good opportunity to run in any wiring hacks you want to do while things are apart, and tuck them neatly in with the existing harness. . _H*
You might call a few mechanics or locksmiths and ask if they have a borescope, the flexible type. It has a three foot snake of optical fiber that allows them to look down the vent and locate the ring. Might save some tear down if you know where it is. Jerry
Thanks for the replies! Yes, I'm glad the ring's not lost completely, I just need to find some way to get at it. My ring is non-magnetic platinum, so unfortunately magnetized tools won't work. Thanks for the schematic to disassemble the dash -- I've been looking all over for something like that! I'll ask a Toyota dealer to do it first, but if he won't or is too expensive, I'm ready to dig in... The borescope idea is intriguing -- seems like a low-risk option to try first. I'll start by giving that a shot. I'll post the results, when/if I have some... in the meantime, any other ideas are welcome... Thanks everyone!
