TerryL

I have a 1995 ES 300 does anyone have a step by step on how to replace the cupholder?

Arsenii

Hello,

Here is a post that explains how to take the radio out on a 1995 ES300. That process also involves removing cupholder assembly.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

BMeek

Looks like @Arsenii gave you a good pointer on removal. Did you find a replacement assembly?

I'm afraid the 97-01 ES300 cup holders were next to useless while in mint condition - too low and flimsy, so when mine broke I didn't want to replace it. I found this landscape irrigation piece at Home Depot along with one of those long 1/4" industrial twist ties... Now I can confidently drive mountain roads at high speeds with a tall cup of coffee standing by!


Shot this to show a friend my Android head unit and wireless charging phone mount... But checkout the cupholder mod!!!

Arsenii

Yeah, despite my infinite respect to my 2000 Lexus ES300, cupholders are not its strongest point.. Good thing I don't use them very often. Mines also broke at some point, and since I didn't find ES300 with tan interior, I had to Frankenstein my broken cupholders with the ones taken from a car with black interior, and it did work out alright..

While your mod looks much sturdier than a stock decision, I would still appreciate an ability to fold them shut, so I would probably stick with OEM design for now..

P.S. I was also looking for a way to brighten my interior up a bit, maybe I should also plant some seedlings around the interior..?
In all seriousness though, I've got chrome handles off of Coach Edition, but those are the only chrome parts in the whole interior, and that does grind my gears quite a bit..

BMeek

I suspect you might use your cup holder more often it were... useful. I added another few images below with captions to show how effective it is and how easily it can be removed.
​​​​​​Absolutely! I was waiting for seeds of weeds to sprout in the accumulated dirt, sand and German Shepard hair of my car interior, but I grew impatient. So I added yet another image for the greenery... I happened to have a bunch of silk Bamboo leaves and actual Bamboo around (another story) 😄.



A view from the driver's seat. An oversized coffee mug sits firmly in place. You can see the two ends of the 32-inch "Gear Tie" bent around the underside of the base.



A view from the passenger seat... I decided against strapping in a second polyethylene insert for the passenger - I want a comfortable place to rest my right arm and reach the shifter. My

24oz water bottle

24oz water bottle

stays put within the polyethylene insert with the help of that "industrial twist tie" that's wrapped around the bottom of the retractable cup holder base.



After the initial bending of the Gear Tie into place, removal or replacement of the hack takes maybe 10 seconds.



Here you get a better view of the cheap cup holder hack. The wide slots cut in the polyethylene are to accomodate a coffee mug handle (as shown above), or to lift out a shorter paper cup that slips down below the top of the insert. Note that the stock retractable clips of my car's original cup holder have broken off and are gone (good riddence!). FWIW, the insert will just fit with the clips in place... In other words, one doesn't need broken cup holder clips to use this hack.



A

wireless charging smartphone mount

wireless charging smartphone mount

camouflaged with silk Bamboo leaves and... a piece of Bamboo. Note that it's positioned to let the glove box open fully .

Arsenii

Huh... Suffice it to say, those mods do blend-in within the interior rather nicely..

Maybe I will also look into a "revision" of my cupholders, since even my Frankenstein solution is held-up by one's nice word, and one sharp turn will be enough to ruin the whole day.. The biggest problem is that Toyota trusted a 4mm cylinder to hold all the stress, and it didn't really work out as planned..
When it will eventually crumble apart completely, I will probably just drill a hole right through the assembly and put something like a bearing needle right through to hold it all in place.. That should be quite a bit sturdier than a stock design.


The needle in this shot is a bit bigger than it frankly should be, but I don't have any other right now..

BMeek

So is that pin/"needle" what the base pivots on or what? For me, the underlying retractable base of the cup holder has held up well enough as a pedestal for my "bubblegum & baling wire" solution. The result seems sufficiently solid. BTW, I believe the "baling wire" I used is this "Gear Tie" 2-pack I had found while in a Home Depot store on a road trip.

Arsenii

My idea is that I am not using cupholders too often, and I want to preserve an OEM look. The idea is to replace the reason why it breaks - that small plastic pin that serves as a pivot and holds the whole "ear" is not nearly strong enough, hence why I want to drill the hole through the assembly, and use a bearing needle (dowel pin) to replace that pin.

P.S. I called it a bearing needle because of my twisted mind; for me, dowel pin is always associated with needle from a bearing. I wouldn't say that those are that expensive, and with that, those are hardened and made to high tolerances, which makes them into a good working material.. Here is where you can find some for sale.



Hope this helps and best of luck!

BMeek

I do get your preference for an OEM look... my cheap cup holder hack is f-ugly (functionally ugly? ; - ).

Thanks for clarifying what you're thinking to strengthen. For my usage, a stronger pin / hinge / pivot would help, but wouldn't overcome the poor design (a flexible narrow brace about an inch from the bottom). I would eventually forget that it's designed for small papercups, or a stout travel mug of a very specific diameter, and put a taller drink in there that would tip over sooner or later.