This "mickey mouse" cupholder is poorly designed and seemed to be a common problem. I know because I looked at many cars before I bought mine (98 E300 D). Guess what, mine doesn't work either. The cupholder would not stay down after retracting, and the cupholder door is difficult to close. From the previous owner's records, this broke after 2.5 years and at 56K miles, just after factory warranty expired. Probably cost a couple of hundred bucks to replace- anyone know the cost??