Help! Brother Made A Potentially Expensive Oops!

[ArmyofOne]

My brother made a mistake today. My brother took the concorde to the bank today, he currently doesnt own a car. When he came back he informed me he "accidentally" put a cracked CD into the CD player, and now it wont eject. Thats just fine, but this is potenially a $2000 "oops". What a Birthday present huh?

So is there any way to manually eject a CD from a factory CD player? My warranty just ran out 450 miles ago...so this could get expensive. I was told by the dealer once already that if anything happened to the stereo, the center console has to be removed to get it out (which i thought was crazy, may not be accurate) and it will cost serious dough. So if i can just get the CD out, that would be great.

If I push the eject button, i hear a grinding noise. sounds like plastic gears stripping. The CD player will not even read or switch modes. The car is a 2002 Chrysler Concorde Limited. Should be the same model stereo as is in the higher end Sebrings. it is a single disc, not a changer.

[vcv10guy]

When you say the CD is cracked, do you mean that it's in pieces inside the cd player or it just has a crack but it's sort of together? At any rate have you tried using some tweezers to try to pull out the cd? I think that may be the only way to remove the cd besides taking out the radio itself and diassembling it. !Removed! luck with that.

[ArmyofOne]

When you say the CD is cracked, do you mean that it's in pieces inside the cd player or it just has a crack but it's sort of together?  At any rate have you tried using some tweezers to try to pull out the cd?  I think that may be the only way to remove the cd besides taking out the radio itself and diassembling it.  !Removed! luck with that.

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the CD is in one piece (AFAIK) it just had a crack in the middle, i think around the inner part, where you would normally clip it into say, a personal CD player.

i havent tried tweezers, but i will.

[yoji6365]

If that doesnt work, try a longer thin, very thin piece of metal on each side to stick under the CD and see if you can pop it up and then slide it out to you.

Unless its the kind where the CD drops down inside the stereo.

[ArmyofOne]

If that doesnt work, try a longer thin, very thin piece of metal on each side to stick under the CD and see if you can pop it up and then slide it out to you.

Unless its the kind where the CD drops down inside the stereo.

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no you stick the CD in the slot and it sort of sucks it in...if that makes sense.

[denslexusgx470]

disconnect the battery and reconnect it and see if it will eject it.

[yoji6365]

Im thinking it sucks it in and then lowers into a slot. It may not have seated properly. Maybe you can wiggle it around in there to see if it will seat better, then it might eject on its own.

[fastball]

I've been a home and car stereo technician for about 7 years, and I've seen this happen numerous times. If a CD is not PERFECTLY smooth (i.e. no cracks, uneven surfaces, or stickers or labels stuck to the top of it as one might use for a CDR), it will more than likely get jammed pretty bad. All the gears, rollers, and sensors in any slot type CD mechanism are made with such close and tight tollerances, that anything which can throw them out of synch will do exactly that. Not to mention, there are little sensors inside that tell the microprocessor which position the disc is in. So, if the disc isn't exactly positioned right, one sensor may be telling the processor one thing, and another something else. That's most likely the case here. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the head unit needs to be removed and dissasembled down to the CD mech to remove the disc and make sure everything is aligned correctly. There is no other way to do it.

Now, you could save yourself serious cash if you can remove the head unit yourself (or you know someone who can). If you take your car to Best Buy, they are usually pretty good with this kind of thing, and they won't charge you dealer rates to just remove the head unit. Once it's removed, take your head unit to an electronics repair shop first, before taking it to a dealer. And if your head unit is not repairable for a reasonable cost (I'd say less than $200.00 would be reasonable), you may need to purchase a new one.

[ArmyofOne]

I've been a home and car stereo technician for about 7 years, and I've seen this happen numerous times.  If a CD is not PERFECTLY smooth (i.e. no cracks, uneven surfaces, or stickers or labels stuck to the top of it as one might use for a CDR), it will more than likely get jammed pretty bad.  All the gears, rollers, and sensors in any slot type CD mechanism are made with such close and tight tollerances, that anything which can throw them out of synch will do exactly that.  Not to mention, there are little sensors inside that tell the microprocessor which position the disc is in.  So, if the disc isn't exactly positioned right, one sensor may be telling the processor one thing, and another something else.  That's most likely the case here.  Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the head unit needs to be removed and dissasembled down to the CD mech to remove the disc and make sure everything is aligned correctly.  There is no other way to do it. 

Now, you could save yourself serious cash if you can remove the head unit yourself (or you know someone who can).  If you take your car to Best Buy, they are usually pretty good with this kind of thing, and they won't charge you dealer rates to just remove the head unit.  Once it's removed, take your head unit to an electronics repair shop first, before taking it to a dealer.  And if your head unit is not repairable for a reasonable cost (I'd say less than $200.00 would be reasonable), you may need to purchase a new one.

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Called the dealer yesterday. service guy said the center console will have to be removed to remove the headunit. this is not something i can do. dont have time or tools. maybe a custom car audio shop will know a trick?

[fastball]

Called the dealer yesterday.  service guy said the center console will have to be removed to remove the headunit.  this is not something i can do.  dont have time or tools.  maybe a custom car audio shop will know a trick?

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That's why I suggest you take your car to your local Best Buy mobile install bay. They do this sort of thing every day for people who buy new stereos and have them installed. Even though you aren't buying a stereo from them, I'm sure they'd be happy to remove your head unit. They have all the tools and their techs are trained on all the lasted cars to work on. They'd probably charge you 50 bucks, but it's better than the $80.00/hr labor rates at the dealer.

You can actually call them right now, ask to speak to their mobile install technician, tell him the year, make, and model of your car, and ask how much it would be to just remove the head unit.

[ArmyofOne]

Called the dealer yesterday.  service guy said the center console will have to be removed to remove the headunit.  this is not something i can do.  dont have time or tools.  maybe a custom car audio shop will know a trick?

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That's why I suggest you take your car to your local Best Buy mobile install bay. They do this sort of thing every day for people who buy new stereos and have them installed. Even though you aren't buying a stereo from them, I'm sure they'd be happy to remove your head unit. They have all the tools and their techs are trained on all the lasted cars to work on. They'd probably charge you 50 bucks, but it's better than the $80.00/hr labor rates at the dealer.

You can actually call them right now, ask to speak to their mobile install technician, tell him the year, make, and model of your car, and ask how much it would be to just remove the head unit.

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was told by them yesterday, that they will not do an install on this car. the dash and center console have to be removed, as they are a single, integrated unit. what to do next?

[fastball]

  was told by them yesterday, that they will not do an install on this car.  the dash and center console have to be removed, as they are a single, integrated unit.  what to do next?

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Oh, boy. If Best Buy told you they wouldn't do it, it must really be a job for the dealer only. I'm sorry, but it looks like you will have to take it to the dealer.

[ArmyofOne]

  was told by them yesterday, that they will not do an install on this car.  the dash and center console have to be removed, as they are a single, integrated unit.  what to do next?

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Oh, boy. If Best Buy told you they wouldn't do it, it must really be a job for the dealer only. I'm sorry, but it looks like you will have to take it to the dealer.

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:( not good.

took it by the dealer today, one of the techs said he sees it quite often on the 300M/Concorde/Intrepid Platform. he also said that removal and install of th headunit w/ new unit was over $2,000. looks like i will be living without the CD player for a while. meanwhile i will be getting second opinions.