I have a 1998 e300dt. The cupholder door in the console won't latch colsed. The door moves freely throughout its travel; it just won't catch. Any ideas?

colin,

I had the same problem, but I detected it while the car was still under warranty. The whole assembly was replaced. I never use the thing, so I do not expect to have to replace it again, and if it does fail again, I will glue it shut or something. I can't change old lessons drilled into my mind, but eating and drinking in the car when I was a kid could cost you a lot if my Dad caught you. So the idea of adding a mechanical Rube Goldberg gizmo to assist doing something I agree should not be done in a car strikes me as a waste. If you are going to do something like make a cupholder, do is simply and reliably, and most of all cheaply. Jim

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Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)

Above noted and appreciated. I hate the cup holder and only use it to hold sealed beverages for transport to my destination. I will have the thing fixed and never use it again. I might be selling the car soon, by the way. It is a 1998 E300DT black/black MB tex. with 110k miles. It has E430 wheels with the originals included. Glow plugs were replaced 1k ago. The car is flawless and was under warranty to 100k.

colinc

You may want to try using a non-petroleum based spray product with a spray tube. Something like a silicon based lube product. WD40 or the like can get very messy with interiors.

Locate the latch mechanism, aim the spray tube directly at it and give it a couple of short bursts. Be sure to have an absorbent cloth/rag handy to catch the over-spray. The idea being that it is both lubed and cleaned by the blast.

I just fixed a non-MBZ console latch this way. It, according to the owner, had never worked well until after we did this.

Appreciate above. Will try.

Flawless except that darn cupholder
Gilly

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