How To Fix The Center Arm Rest Cup Holder Issue On Subaru Legacy's

[Muditha420]

Found this thread on uklegacy.com http://www.uklegacy.com/forums/index.php/topic/130098-how-to-fix-gen3-jdm-cup-holder/ credit to this guy for doing this… I went a step further with all around images with his thread and images as well as my own.

You will need:

• Cup of tea (I had to as well… what to do it was my tea time)
• Phillips headed screwdriver
• Paperclips (possibly)
• Pliers

Step 1. Sip the tea Lol….

Step 2. Remove the center console area which is easy. 2 screws located under the armrest lid, a further 2 underneath the gear stick surround (Top most corner). Carefully remove the center console trim show below. IF it’s a manual tranny hopefully it should be the same technique. Start from the bottom corner of the trim and gently lift them up

Step 3: Remove the cup holder and mechanism from the trim. 3 bolts in total underneath.

Step 4: Yup I too had to stare a bit to wrap my head around how this was to be done. Sadly found that a piece of the cup holder was broken off (the bottom half of the lid) but for now needed to have the open flap fixed.

Edited February 21, 2015 by Muditha420

[Muditha420]

Step 5: Remove the first retaining plate (darker metal) and you'll be left with this... hopefully.

Now, there should have been a small shiny metal rod, no thicker than a paperclip (Sown below is what it might have looked like but this is the one replacing it now). I never found it even though I combed through the entire place so probably MIA. THIS was the offending item in my case as well, I can only presume due to wear and tear it became dislodged.

Step 6: Remove the second smaller retaining plate which looks like this:

[Muditha420]

Now the fun bit, you'll need to take EITHER your old metal rod (IF you find it that IS) OR your paperclip (Have one more paperclip as backup). If using the paperclip, cut to size and bend both ends to match the above picture. Its length should be that one end fits in the small hole shown below, and the other end sit in the very end of the groove in the mechanism (lid fully open position). In my opinion have the end that fits to the mechanism (OR lid) just 2-3mm from the end and have it bent.

Step 7: You can see what I am on about, the small hole near the bottom and the groove in the spindle where both ends of the rod sit.

Step 8: Refit the small retaining plate. Now, the following picture shows how I believe the plate is fitted from factory, however, I tried this and found the opening mechanism wouldn’t work, so I ended up fitting it so that the whole plate sat ONTOP of the rod, holding it in place... which worked for me. Try BOTH ways before putting it all back together. (I am keeping this exactly same as the author coz it might work as he say both ways but I too had the plate fitted over.


Step 9: Refit the larger retaining plate and again, try out the mechanism. If you've used a paperclip, you may need to experiment with the length to find what works for you.

Step 10: Once you're happy with it, refit to the interior.

Step 11: Try out your cup holder in a real world situation... marvel at your working interior as well as your handiwork.

NOTE: before you do fit everything at its place have them cleaned without fixing everything like a spanner with years of dust and other whatnots.

Now, I have another issue with my cup holder which you may or may not suffer from... the mechanism on the other side of the cup holder that controls the two 'flaps' working in unison.

I finished my rather “Alwathura tea” now and gonna get something to eat, so that fix will come later as well...

[Muditha420]

This is what I’m referring to...

Right got some chow and I am back!!!

Step 1. Remove the cup holder. There are four screws holding the arm rest remove those plus another two inside the cup holder mechanism, almost forgot one other screw holding the cup holder rings to the front lid. This will allow you to easily remove the whole assembly apart easily.

Step 2. In my case after staring for a while I found out someone who removed this console ions back had actually assembled it back in the wrong order and this was preventing the top latch of the cup holder from firmly closing. So I managed to fix it properly this time and abracadabra it’s all working okay. (Note: the cup holder unit should go from outside into the armrest unit and not the inside, this wont let the latch close properly)

I hope this is helpful… Enjoy!

Credit goes to [email protected] plus me