Replacing/Repairing sliding cup holder door in center console DIY
03-13-2014, 08:24 PM
#1
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Replacing/Repairing sliding cup holder door in center console DIY
This morning, I took it up to myself to fix both my cupholder and the sliding door over it. If you're reading this, you probably have the same, or similar, problem I had.
NOTE: Before reading ANY of the words below this, watch the first 6 minutes of this video. I followed it and worked perfectly, but my parts were stubborn. I literally kicked my cupholder out, contrary to this guy simply pulling it out... whatever works best for you.
NOTE 2: You don't need to take the ashtray out or move the shifter. Just leave it in park.
NOTE 3: If you are flat-out replacing your cover, go to part #14 on this_link. If your cover is wood, like mine, it is the expensive one. If yours is leather/vinyl, it is the cheaper one.
Onto the problem; congrats, you completed the hardest step. Now take that door to a flat surface.
Step One: Get the materials. In addition to the door, make sure you have the 2 screws that are attached to the tab. If those aren't there, well... any screw of similar size will do. They're roughly 1/2 inch long. Get a screw driver (I don't have a TORX screwdriver but this allenwrench worked just fine). Get a reinforcement; in my case, I used photogloss paper because it's strong. You can use anything you want, really, as long as it's thin and strong.
Align the paper/material to the holes on the door. If you haven't noticed yet, the tab fell off because the holes got too big. Draw a circle on the aligned material and poke a very small hole in it, gradually working up until the screw SCREWS INTO the paper. No bigger!
Make sure you do it to both sides and check to see if the screws still go through the hole. Don't screw them into the tab just yet.
After you are sure they line up perfectly, take the screws out of the paper. Put the front tab over the black cloth-like thing, align paper again and rescrew them into the wood.
All done! Now you just have to slide the door back into the console, and make sure it slides all the way back and forth a few times. Then watch the video above backwards.
If necessary, fix your broken cupholder. Mine had a little metal roundy thing that came undone, causing it to get stuck and never automatically pop up. Below is a video of a cupholder and sliding door on a W203 that actually works like new.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihcTj...ature=youtu.be
NOTE: Before reading ANY of the words below this, watch the first 6 minutes of this video. I followed it and worked perfectly, but my parts were stubborn. I literally kicked my cupholder out, contrary to this guy simply pulling it out... whatever works best for you.
NOTE 2: You don't need to take the ashtray out or move the shifter. Just leave it in park.
NOTE 3: If you are flat-out replacing your cover, go to part #14 on this_link. If your cover is wood, like mine, it is the expensive one. If yours is leather/vinyl, it is the cheaper one.
Onto the problem; congrats, you completed the hardest step. Now take that door to a flat surface.
Step One: Get the materials. In addition to the door, make sure you have the 2 screws that are attached to the tab. If those aren't there, well... any screw of similar size will do. They're roughly 1/2 inch long. Get a screw driver (I don't have a TORX screwdriver but this allenwrench worked just fine). Get a reinforcement; in my case, I used photogloss paper because it's strong. You can use anything you want, really, as long as it's thin and strong.
Align the paper/material to the holes on the door. If you haven't noticed yet, the tab fell off because the holes got too big. Draw a circle on the aligned material and poke a very small hole in it, gradually working up until the screw SCREWS INTO the paper. No bigger!
Make sure you do it to both sides and check to see if the screws still go through the hole. Don't screw them into the tab just yet.
After you are sure they line up perfectly, take the screws out of the paper. Put the front tab over the black cloth-like thing, align paper again and rescrew them into the wood.
All done! Now you just have to slide the door back into the console, and make sure it slides all the way back and forth a few times. Then watch the video above backwards.
If necessary, fix your broken cupholder. Mine had a little metal roundy thing that came undone, causing it to get stuck and never automatically pop up. Below is a video of a cupholder and sliding door on a W203 that actually works like new.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihcTj...ature=youtu.be
Last edited by ildd; 03-13-2014 at 08:37 PM.
03-17-2014, 03:57 PM
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'02 C320 Wagon, '78 308 GTS, '06 Highlander Hybrid
Thanks, I'll take a look at mine and see if it is worthwile to repair. If it is fixable, I'd rather do that than replace...I'm cheap like that.
03-17-2014, 05:01 PM
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03-20-2014, 03:41 PM
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'02 C320 Wagon, '78 308 GTS, '06 Highlander Hybrid
Similar. Mine is plastic and it felt like the bottom of it had some thickness to it not just felt like in the video. Mine did break at the same point as yours, but is still hanging on by a thread. The whole cover on mine seems to be one whole piece, unlike the wood ones that seem to be strips held together by felt. I'll know more once I get it out. Won't be for a couple weeks...we are headed to Yosemite on Saturday. 
