[Socket]

DIY - REPAIR E92 CUP HOLDERS

The cup holders on the E92 are wildly over engineered and are prone to hmmm well not working.... to be more specific, not staying locked in when pressed, or not sliding out when pressed

If your cup holder is not staying locked when you press it in, it is because the locking mechanism and/or pin is damaged and needs replacing

If your cup holder is not sliding out when pressed, then it is because the ribbon spring that powers the mechanism, is broken or has detached from its anchor point

The following guide takes a look at both the left and right cup holders (because the spring mechanisms are different) and walks through how to the cup holders work and how to repair them

This guide is actually not just for E92, is the same for all 1 and 3 series

I hope this help someone out... enjoy

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[Benjamin1956]

Excellent job thx Mate. H
How are u with freaky door locks,.

[Socket]

Originally Posted by Benjamin1956

Excellent job thx Mate. H
How are u with freaky door locks,.

You are welcome.... door locks? what do you mean Ben??

[Holly In Indiana]

This is the first time I have posted on this site so please forgive me if I'm not doing this the right way. I tried to find a past thread or past post regarding this topic but the results I got were overwhelming and didn't necessarily relate to my search. To a newbie, this site is definitely not user friendly.

Now to my question...
I have a 2006 330i driver side cup holder that I need to fix. It is no longer closing properly. I watched the tutorial videos on line and felt that it would be a fix that I could handle doing myself. So with all the confidence in the world, I sat down with my pry tool and my screw driver and my new replacement cup holder, thinking that this 5 or 10 minute job was as good as done. Unfortunately, my experience didn't go as smoothly as it did for all of the people on the tutorials that I had watched. After they had removed the trim and the screws from the dash they simply slid the broken or damaged cup holder right out of the dash. In every tutorial that I watched they we're all removed from the dash with ease. No snags at all. For some reason my cup holder will not pull through the opening in the dash in order for me to remove it. I have removed the trim from the dash and I have removed the two screws that hold the cup holder in place. It seems to be loose as though I could pull it out but there's something blocking it from being removed. No matter which way I turn it (to the left, to the right, tilt it up or tilt it down, or pull it straight out) it will not come out. Something is blocking it or keeping it from being removed. The way that it is sitting in the dash there's no way for me to really get in there and look to see what in the world is going on. Have you ever heard of this or do you have any suggestions of what could possibly be causing this?

Thank you so much to anyone who could advise me in regard to this situation.

[Socket]

Originally Posted by Holly In Indiana

This is the first time I have posted on this site so please forgive me if I'm not doing this the right way. I tried to find a past thread or past post regarding this topic but the results I got were overwhelming and didn't necessarily relate to my search. To a newbie, this site is definitely not user friendly.

Now to my question...
I have a 2006 330i driver side cup holder that I need to fix. It is no longer closing properly. I watched the tutorial videos on line and felt that it would be a fix that I could handle doing myself. So with all the confidence in the world, I sat down with my pry tool and my screw driver and my new replacement cup holder, thinking that this 5 or 10 minute job was as good as done. Unfortunately, my experience didn't go as smoothly as it did for all of the people on the tutorials that I had watched. After they had removed the trim and the screws from the dash they simply slid the broken or damaged cup holder right out of the dash. In every tutorial that I watched they we're all removed from the dash with ease. No snags at all. For some reason my cup holder will not pull through the opening in the dash in order for me to remove it. I have removed the trim from the dash and I have removed the two screws that hold the cup holder in place. It seems to be loose as though I could pull it out but there's something blocking it from being removed. No matter which way I turn it (to the left, to the right, tilt it up or tilt it down, or pull it straight out) it will not come out. Something is blocking it or keeping it from being removed. The way that it is sitting in the dash there's no way for me to really get in there and look to see what in the world is going on. Have you ever heard of this or do you have any suggestions of what could possibly be causing this?

Thank you so much to anyone who could advise me in regard to this situation.

Are you still having problems with this??

[e91er]

Originally Posted by Socket

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Do you or anyone here know if the centre cup spring is a stand alone replacement part.

If so.....where it can be bought.....Im in Australia.......and new here Thanks

[Socket]

Originally Posted by e91er

Do you or anyone here know if the centre cup spring is a stand alone replacement part.

If so.....where it can be bought.....Im in Australia.......and new here Thanks

You mean the coiled strap spring. If so no. It is not a stand along part. You are better off picking up the whole cup holder assembly from a wrecker or ebay or somewhere. Easy to replace as per the tutorial

[Phil325i]

Originally Posted by Socket

You mean the coiled strap spring. If so no. It is not a stand along part. You are better off picking up the whole cup holder assembly from a wrecker or ebay or somewhere. Easy to replace as per the tutorial

Problem is in my experience it's a poor design and a secondhand one is just as likley to fail (or have failed) in the same way

[Socket]

Originally Posted by Phil325i

Problem is in my experience it's a poor design and a secondhand one is just as likley to fail (or have failed) in the same way

I agree with that. Not the best design in the world. You can buy new ones. They are not too expensive