Cigarette lighter or charging port?

[Nick1994]

My iPhone lasts for 2 days so I hardly even use them for charging.

My Sonata has a USB port I use to play music, so it charges with that too. I use one of the accessory ports for my dashcam.

Originally Posted By: Claud
For some time now all the rental cars I've used in the USA refer to the outlets as "Power sources", I thought it was because the car makers wanted to avoid lawsuits because they were encouraging people to smoke. I don't think they have ashtrays any more either. Not like Renault cars from back in the 1970's, they had lighters, big ashtrays, somewhere to put your cigarette pack, even a place to rest your pipe!.
Do mainstream cars not have ashtrays in the USA today?, or is it just rental cars?.
Incidentally, when I signed for a car on a few occasions my attention was drawn to my liability for costs for burns in the upholstery or the car needing deep cleaning because of tobacco smoke.

Claud.
Cars haven't had cigarette lighters or ashtrays here for about 15 years.

 

[Virtus_Probi]

Those stupid car cigarette lighter things almost freaked me out when I was a kid...hated the way they popped out when they got hot, figured one day it would just shoot out into my lap and set my pants on fire. Anything that encouraged my parents to smoke even more was a bad thing, too....although, I will say it was even worse when my dad would choose to chew instead of smoke while driving and then forget to roll his window down before spitting. YUCK!!!

 

[artificialist]

I remember when my mom got her 1999 Honda CRV, it was the first time I saw a car built without a lighter. It had a cover that said "12V power." The ashtray was no different from back when cars were built with lighters.

 

[HowAboutThis]

Originally Posted By: 14Accent
Personally, I can't figure out why cars are coming with more and more ports anyways. My volt has 3 power ports, two of which aren't even in useful places for me since I'm the only one that rides in the car 90% of the time.

What's with new SUV's having 5-7 power ports AND 5-7 USB connections? And most of those USB ports are only 1 amp so they can barely power lots of today's devices let alone charge them.


Yeah, most USB ports are enough voltage to hold the battery steady, not charge much. Basically only useful for a wired connection to your stereo system. But everything is Bluetooth so not sure why cars need them. Spend the $7-10 on a USB car charger at a discount store, auto store, or Amazon.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: Ducked
Originally Posted By: buck91
Charging port here, also. I do like to keep an extra cigarette lighter insert in each vehicle as an emergency fire starter, though.


I have a cigarrete lighter in the vehicle as an emergency car starter. I use it instead of a choke.

 

[Hall]

My '99 Accord doesn't have an ashtray and has a "12v power" outlet in the general location where an ashtray would have been years ago. Our '05 Odyssey didn't have an ashtray and had (2) outlets on the center console/dash. My '08 G35 has an ashtray in the front and rear along with an actual cigarette lighter. Interestingly, the owners manual says not to use this lighter for anything else. It works fine as a 12v outlet though....

 

[daves87rs]

Charging ports for mine...no usb ones though!

 

[supton]

My 2010 Tundra came with a cig lighter. It sits with the ashtray someplace in the basement.

All my vehicles seem to have something in the port. GPS or various chargers. My daily drivers tend to eventually pick up wiring for amateur radio gear.

 

[Vdubuk]

Use it for powering a cb radio when in the mood or my led multi coloured strip lights ..didnt want any of these items wired fully into car electric system so the cig lighter port is ideal

 

[exranger06]

My CR-V has no lighter or ashtray, just a charging port. My Accord has a lighter and ashtray, but I took the lighter out and use it as a charging port. My Ranger has both a lighter and a charging port. I removed the lighter and now I have 2 charging ports. My Bronco surprisingly has a power port, as well as a lighter and ashtray. The Escalade has no lighter or ashtray, and has multiple power ports.

 

[SilverFusion2010]

I occasionally miss having a cigarette lighter, they were handy for quelling unruly passengers.

 

[HouseTiger]

"cigarette lighter" is where the Garmin gets plugged into. the ash tray holds my mailbox key. problem solves.