SL/R230: Cup holder....
#2
Senior Member
Spray some windex on it and see if it releases. Sometimes the residual from spilled beverages dries and causes the cupholder to stick. If the windex alone doesn't do the trick, then press your finger on the edge closest to the center, and with even force drag your finger from the center to the outside edge while continuosly pressing to see if it'll help free it. If that doesn't work, the face plates of each cupholder are removable. They simply slide off. But you will likely encounter trouble trying to slide them off while the cupholder is in the closed position, but it is doable. Once the faceplates are off, you can slide a utensil in and free it that way. If all else fails, you'll have to pull back the wood trim to access the screws to remove the cupholder unit.
#3
My passenger side 03 sl55 cup holder was stuck for years. Finally pried it open today. Couldn't find what was making it sticky until I noticed there is a little rubber semi circle flap designed to softly hold the cup. It somehow slipped under one of the aluminium bars. It would bind about 1" from closed and not close easily or pop open. Slipped it above the aluminium bar and good as new.