Metal Cup Holder Removal

[AnonNomis]

It took three days for me to finally get the passenger side cup holder out. This piece must be removed if you are going to remove the piece around the shifter during a head unit swap. I guess the first generation ones were plastic and easy to break. The metal one however is wedged in there by the forces of evil. A forum post I read said to take the little screw on the underside out. If you intention is to remove the cup holder in order to remove the silver plastic part around the shifter then DO NOT REMOVE THE SCREW! Because I removed the screw the little metal plate was difficult to get back in tight enough to squeeze into the housing without scraping the top and bottom of the casing. This also had to do with the fact that I bent the metal tooth inward with my screwdriver in the many attempts to get this thing out.

Here is what I did to finally get this out:

Take a flathead screwdriver and stick it underneath the shifter housing from the passenger side. Poke up at the metal tooth really hard so that you kind of bend it inward. I tried wedging an index card underneath the tooth once I got it up high enough. I don't know if this helped. Next open the cup holder all the way then lift the plastic part that is meant to support the bottom of the cup up. You can keep it up by opening the cup holder all the way. Otherwise it kind of sticks out the bottom and may get caught as you are tugging. You can feel a little latch retract when you move this piece up and down. Just shove your finger up there and you should feel it. Next find the biggest baddest metal hook you can find. I used a really thick clothes hanger but even that bent a little. Now inside the cup holder there is a black post toward the front end of the car. This is really where the screw goes through so I really don't think it will break no matter how hard you pull on it. So tug on your hook and eventually it should budge and you may hear a pop at the teeth lose grip. Now grab the back end where the hinge is and pull as hard as you can. I don't think it will break as long as you have the metal version. The front may go back in a little. If it does just pull with the hook again. Eventually both sides should come free and you can ponder if all that work was worth it.

It appears that many parts of this are now made of metal or metal wrapped in plastic.

[AnonNomis]

More pictures....

[ChiliSky]

Thanks, I am going to print this off and take it to the dealership that keeps saying mine is fine.....then I get it back and it doesnt work.....

[gadget]

Not really sure why you would need to take that out to swap head units.

[AnonNomis]

Well I guess its only if you want to run your wires to the back through the center console. Things like gps antenna and backup camera.

[AnonNomis]

If your cup holder is getting stuck and needs a nudge to pop open then its most likely that the unit is not seated properly causing front bottom clip to rub against the part that pops out. If that happens try pushing it in or pulling it out a little. You can also try pushing the clip down away from the swing part. Good luck.