Paul W. Simoni

Help, I have a unique problem: somehow, a dime fell into the slot in<br>which the seatbelt goes. It is wedged in pretty good. I have tried a retractable<br>claw, the thinnest needle-nose pliers I can find, even double sided tape.<p>The seatbelt slot cannot move enough for me to turn it upside-down, either.<p>Any suggestions before I take it to the dealer?<p>By the way, before anyone suggests it, magnets won;t work because dimes<br>are non-magnetig, as most coins are.

Brian

How about a pair of tweezers (from mom/girlfriend/wife/drugstore?)

CraigB

Try a wire with a small hook/bend on the end (maybe a coat hanger).

Dave M

Sorry, I don't have a suggestion (the bent wire someone else suggested sounds good, though) but this reminded me of a similar story that happened to me.<p>I was driving one day and while spiritedly going around a corner my cigar cutter flew off the front seat and landed on the floor of the back seat. No problem, I thought, I'll just get it when I arrive at my destination. Well, to make a long story short, in the course of my driving I hit just the right amount of turning and deceleration to make the cigar cutter slide into the rear ventilation tube under the front passenger seat! This amazes me as the tube is slightly wider than the cutter, and the cutter is fairly long (about 1.25" by 3.25"), so there was only one way it could get in there. I did not know this when I stopped, so I basically tore the car apart and could not find my cutter. I looked at the tube under the seat and thought "no way." Well, when I drove off again, I could hear the cutter slide down the tube under heavy acceleration and slide up the tube under hard braking. I could not get it out with my fingers, and eventually got it out by finding a steep hill, driving briskly in reverse down the hill and then slamming on the brakes to get the cutter to slide back out! This will never happen again in a million years.<p>Dave M - '97 1.8tm (occasional cigar smoker - never in my A4!)

DSills

Hmmm....Try that bent silver wire thing that comes in the jack tool compartment. Maybe thats what that thing is for. Or maybe you could try inverting the car and shaking it vigorously until it falls out (similar to Dave M's cigar cutter story)

Drew S.

I don't think any (American) coins are magnetic.<p>I thought about your problem and tried to think about it from the perspective of solving the problem with everyday items that anyone might have. I didn't come up with much. However, if you don't have any other tools to use, or nothing is small enough to fit in the seatbelt receptacle slot, then I do have one idea.<p>Take the wiper blade off of one of your wipers. Each rubber wiper blade has two long skinny steel support pieces. These will certainly fit in the belt receptacle. Use these to fish out the coin, but be careful not to bend the wiper supports. When you're done, put the wiper back together and tell people your new nickname is "McGyver".<br>

DavidG

When little, I used to fish coins out of storm drains with gum stuck on the end of a stick. Can you adapt this?

ChrisWB

That wire thing is for removing the caps off the 15&quot; stock wheels.

Philip M

I don't suppose you can disassemble the receptacle can you?

PaulS

Dear Dave,<p>I can relate to your story, especially as a cigar-smoker myself (never in my A4 either).<p>Like you, I was baffled when I tried to buckle my safety belt and found a dime jammed in there. The way I figure it, I could spend the better part of a day trying to intentionally get a dime to go into that slot and not succeed.<p>Well, when I figure it out, I'll let you all know<p>:-( Paul