Luckymba

So I've had my car 4 months now and worked my way down the issue list to one of my last. My cupholder is stuck. I believe how it is supposed to work is that you push the silver cover over the cupholders and it springs down and then the cupholders come out similar to the cd tray in the glovebox. Is that about right? I can't get the silver trim piece to come down to reveal the cup holders. It is still supple if that makes sense - I push it and it moves in slightly but there isn't any release. I've pulled on it with more force that I expected and it didn't come down either. Is there a backup release somewhere? Any thoughts on how to proceed?

larrytrk

Open the glove box and take out the 2 screws if you want to remove the entire assembly!

Luckymba

Nice. Thanks for the heads up. Then I can remove the whole thing and tinker with it outside the car. I appreciate it.

Edgy01

Press in on the top portion of the horizontal coverbar to the cupholder. That should cause the cupholders to be exposed. Then press in on the cupholder and it will come out toward you--spring loaded.

Sometimes they hang up a bit.

sclemmons

I am on my third cupholder installation. In my opinion, these are the weak point of the car. I agree that in the world of weak points, these are pretty benign, but still. When they work, they still splash liquid because they sit high above the driver/passenger and they stick out into the open space in the passenger department. And they don't always work.

Dadio

Putting cup holders in a Porsche was marketing idea and not looked upon by the engineers as a necessary element for thecars they designed to travel at speeds in excess of 175 mph on the autobahn. It is the easy to then understand why those same engineers didn't put much thought into the design of said cupholders. I believe the engineers at Porsche thought minivans where invented for people who wanted to sip a latte while driving to the grocery store and that Porsche owners would never actually use them.

DMoore

I've always thought the cupholders were designed by someone's idiot nephew. "The lad's a dolt but I have to find something for him to do. I know - he can design the cupholders for the Americans."

I especially love the way that if you forget to close the silver "door" over the cupholders, they're free to swing sideways as you turn and eject your drink. I can't be the only Porsche owner who figured that one out the hard way. Plus, in my GTS the driver's side holder hung up as often than it would open. I often had to pry it open with a screwdriver. I had it replaced recently, no problems so far.

Great car, but the world's worst cupholders. Second worst piece of Porsche design, in my opinion, is the removable crossbar for the trunk cover in the Panamera. I have the retracting rear window screen, so the things weighs a ton and is a major PITA to remove. Reinstallation isn't as bad -- but that's not to say it's easy.

The good engineers obviously work on car dynamics and, as far as I'm concerned, they're brilliant. The apprentices, or idiot nephews, or whatever, get the car "convenience" projects. At least, that's my opinion.

DMoore
'11 C2 GTS
'10 Panamera 4S

Fred R. C4S

Where in the Pantheon of dumb, poorly engineered ideas would you rank center lock wheels? Don't get me started on that one!

DMoore

Oooohhh... how did I overlook that one? And I have the CL wheels on my GTS. But I haven't had to deal with them personally (hands on) - I just have to stand there and give directions to the guys at my tire shop. It's a hassle, and they charge extra, but they haven't caused me any personal inconvenience. Unitl they do (like fall off at a DE) I'd rate them behind the other items on the aggravation/bad design scale.

DMoore
'11 C2 GTS
'10 Panamera 4S

paddyh

Porsche cup holders were only designed to hold espresso-sized cups. Anything larger and you end up with sticky wet patch on a surface hard to clean (Carpet, center console, etc).

My suggestion: unstick them for piece of mind, and then put them away for good.

rotesAuto

good luck...

these are the funniest/weirdest cupholders I have ever used! lol

larrytrk

Wifey put a ribbed plastic water bottle in one cup holder and then yanked it out, causing the holder to not close, I removed assembly and put back together, now works OK, didn't need warranty replacement.
We now treat them with kid gloves, when in use.

At Law

I never use the cup holders and if my passenger insists on having a covered bottle of water in the car, I always tell them the car does not have cup holders.

They are hidden so nicely, no one would believe otherwise.

Spiffyjiff

well, my feelings on how shoddy they are and whether a sports car even needs them in the first place aside...i will say they do seem to adhere somewhat to porsche's "form follows function" mantra in that their design allows the cup to be heated/cooled (depending on season, climate control settings etc) since they are in front of the vents when in the open position.

(ok, i actually read that somewhere but can't remember if it was a designer/engineer quote or simply an observation of the writer of the article )

sjfehr

Porsche is best known for being a daily driveable race car. And race cars don't need cupholders. Of course, race cars don't need air conditioning or radios, either, but daily drivers most definitely do! Might seem fickle of me, but I actually do consider the radio and cupholders when I buy a car; Porsche cupholders may suck, but they've at least had something that holds a can since 2002.

I've found the cupholders in my 2004 really only work for holding 12oz cans. Anything taller and it's unstable. Wider doesn't fit. Narrower cans/cups fall out. So, it's useless for coffee/tea or any hot drinks, and really only useful for soda. Which means I have to turn off the heater vents near the cupholders in the winter to avoid drinking warm Pepsi One. It's not a feature, it's a bug!