S70Houston

I think the cup holder design on this car is the biggest piece of s*** ever. What were the Engineers thinking?
My original one broke a while back, so decided to get a replacement on eBay, as I was too cheap to pay the 85 bucks at the dealer.
Got the new one from eBay today, installed it and after a few tries the same thing, the spring on the bottom of the cup holder fell out and the cup holder therefore is no longer properly working.

Does anyone know of an AFTERMARKET replacement which has an insert for the cup holder hole to hold a cup/bottle, but without this stupid folding mechanism?

I am pretty frustrated about this and was wondering if any of you have come up with a better sollution.

Thanks very much in advance.

rapidoxidation

I ordered a cupholder from Ebay, installed it, and two days later the little wing in the cupholder that is supposed to push the cup against the holder walls became loose from the spring pin falling out. I got in touch with the company and had another one sent to me gratis. Removed the little wing, the original cupholder is still in the car, and a fresh one awaits its inevitable employment when the first one breaks more dramatically. Yup, they're over-engineered. Shouldn't stop you from getting in touch with the seller, presenting your case, and getting a new one sent your way.

S70Houston

Thanks very much for your reply.

I did get in touch with the seller to see how this issue can be resolved.

Unfortunately, this does not answer my question if there is a different AFTERMARKET design available, as I do not wish to install this same piece of over engineered garbage again, as it will only be a matter of time until it will fail yet again.

cMazara

Just ordered one on eBay also, hopefully it’ll last.

2MERKS

Wow...The only logical answer that I have is to take it out clean it wipe it real good purchase some white Lub ( home depot) $4.50ish apply to the spring and tracks ....that's exactly what I did...that part is quite high, amongst other stuff!
2MERKS

angelglo

Simple fix. The plastic area that the spring attaches to is a weak point. Just strengthen by placing a piece of metal around it. I used a Metal brace strap. (the ones with holes in the middle), I just cut it to the appropriate size and wedged it into place. No gluing and it will last. And I wouldn't exactly say it is high quality as there have been many reported instances where this part fails.

S70Houston

Great idea.
Now how does one get the spring back into its original location, as mine fell out of the bottom of the cup holder and is now lose.

Stuttgarten

How about having nothing placed in that cup holder area? You could certainly place a small water bottle in there.

S70Houston

I truly appreciate everyone's input here.

Unfortunately, no one was able to answer my question in my original post:
"Does anyone know of an AFTERMARKET replacement which has an insert for the cup holder hole to hold a cup/bottle, but without this stupid folding mechanism?"

Based on no one having any input here, I must assume that the answer to my question is a definite NO.

mcleantmw

You should search this forum for past postings on the replacement of the spring that sometimes comes out........I recall a few years ago there was a posting with photos. I'm on my forth replacement unit........I gave up trying to repair the things. The online Genuine MB Parts dealers have them for sell for @ $75 plus shipping (e.g., www.getmercedesparts.com and https://parts.mercedesbenzofdurham.com).

S70Houston

I have seen this posting, tried to repair it and it did not work for me at all. I as well gave up trying.

vagt6

Thanks for the great suggestions here. After viewing this tread, I removed the cup holder from my '04 E320. It's gone.

With the holder removed it leaves a pretty nice storage space, and room for most cups. Much better than the MB contraption, IMO.

All good.

MB320nubee

Dorman Part # 41025