I own a 2018 GX460. So my wife got into the car and when she took off her mask, her diamond earring went flying off and it is nowhere to be found in the vehicle. She thinks it flew into the backseat. Newton's Second law would suggest that it went flying forward (also her ear would have prevented the earring from flying backwards). I think it may have fallen into the defrost grill or behind the drivers' panel (by the airbag). Ideally, I would like to remove the top defrost grill and the lower panel underneath the steering wheel and get a good look inside those areas. I have already tried a boroscope to no avail.

I'd like to give it the college try before I waver and shell out another few thousand dollars to replace the earring. Does anyone have a diagram or a procedure to assist in this endeavor? I'm pretty handy (used to do all the mechanical work on my 85 Corvette) but these new cars (with airbags and computers everywhere) look very intimidating.

Thanks in advance.

 

Given you have no idea as to the trajectory ... taking things apart does not make sense. It would have taken arcing path, and then potentially dropped via gravity into a ventilation duct or other place behind the dash. So your BoroScope approach makes sense assuming it is small, flexible with sufficient length to explore all potential places it could have dropped into.

 

Thank you for your reply. If it made it into the defrost grill, where would it have come to rest? Stated somewhat differently, do you know where the defrost grill originates from?

 

Schematics ? ... Anyone ? .... Anyone ?

 

There are some rough schematics here

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gx-...eshooting.html

I've attached dashboard removal instructions as well.

 

Before assuming the worst ... that it fell into the bowels of the dashboard ... check in-between the seat and the center console, specifically in the seat track.

 

Thanks we looked in the tracks with the Borescope. Not there.

 

File insurance claim.

 

If they were real diamond earrings I'm guessing you'd have valuable personal property insurance, submit the claim...

 

Have you considered removing the seat she was sitting on and have a goo look all around and even under that seat? This is still easier than going the dashboard route.

Did either of you happen to hear the sound of the earring hitting the windshield/dashboard?

 

im sorry about your misfortune but couldn’t help but to have a little chuckle to myself about what a first world problem this is. My diamond earring is lost in my Lexus...

 

Get a shop vac with a clean bag and vacuum all the crevices. Then cut the bag open and sift through the contents.

 

I accidentally swallowed my key fob so I will be doing something similar to this tomorrow.

 

Two liters of MoviPrep ought to do the trick.....