'00 w210 nuisance

hi,

i was wondering if anybody had similar problem - the doors on my cupholder compartment and the storage sill under the radio in the center console are not opening/closing right.

the issue is for both closing and opening, can be 10-15 times before they work.

I tried lubricating with wd40 and it seems to help for a very short while.

any ideas? I was thinking about taking them apart and lubricating/cleaning individual parts, but maybe there's an easier way?

thanks in advance.
andre
(traded ML320 for a E430 4matic - feel like a kid again)

[Paul Bennett]

Sorry, can help but chuckle

"The cupholder in my car won't close"

That headline deserves a place next to some 'Evil Empire' or starving third country news. Please excuse me as my Ferrari doesn't have a cupholder so I'm just jealous.

[aTOMic]

andre,
My cupholder had a lot of spillage in it from a previous owner. The dor worked OK so I just took apart the up/down cupholder ass'y and washed it (after soaking in hot H2O and dish soap) it cured it - now works like a charm. I did not lubricate it but if you want to try that first I think a dry silicone lube would be better than a petroleum based lube. I also drilled a small hole in the very bottom of the cupholder in the center and put in a short self tapping trim screw to stabilize it in its opening (I don't remember if it was broken or just worn but it was loose and the stability keeps it from binding).

My dash openings work fine, you might inspect them carefully from a close angle with a bright light, I found the previous owner's eyeglass prescription wadded up behind the ashtray door which casued a crinkling noise each time it opened.

I also had to clean and lube the bellows on the glovebox door there are some instructions
HERE.


Paul,
I have a friend from church who owns a MB and that's HIS name; pretty small chance huh. RE the relatively small crises dealt with here; this forum is EXACTLY for these tiny minutiae that PLAGUE the world of the super-rich (AKA Mercedes-Benz owners) Thank GOD we can concern ourselves with these problems and not any "real" problems.

-tom

[richunters]

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??

thanks guys...

I guess i never thought that there would be such a reaction from some of you...

Naturally, improperly closing cupholders are very minor in comparison with world peace and widespread malnutrition, but what does it have to do with this forum?

Anyway, I'll inspect the stuff a bit closer, but it does look like a disassembly is required... it's funny but on my 90 w124 all those little things always worked perfectly...

thanks again.

[Hocky]

My 1994 C180 has a cigarette lighter door panel which won't close fully. You have to give it another few very gentle pushes before it closes flush. If pushed too hard, it has a soft opening auto mechanism which is hard to disable which will again fully open the door. Gentle...gentle! The other door opening has this mechanism too, but is on the centre console in front of the storage bin in the console. What it is designed to hold you can guess! Too small for a cup or a coke can, too deep and has a plastic holder which is removable.

[Peter Guenther]

The cup holder along with the retracting assembly pulls up and out so you can clean the well. I watched in horror as my service advisor just janked it up. If the door does not stay up it requires the console to be removed. I was amazed when I complained the parts department had several in stock (that should tell us something)!

[richunters]

Well I took out and cleaned the cupholder per aTOMic's instruction above, but the holder still will not stay retracted. So now I just leave the mechanism out and use the empty space for cups or storage.

Now if I can only figure out how to remove that useless mercedes car phone from the center armrest, and the phone headunit from the dash, then I will have plenty of storage space