AdamB 29 Report post Posted November 23, 2020 So, on my first journey (driving the car home from its previous owner) showed me an issue with my new car compared to my old saloon... No Cup Holders! I ended up with the majority of a large latte in my gear gaiter, over the centre console, my leg, and on the recently treated seats. - all about 2 miles from the sellers house, and more than 250 miles from mine! D’oh! I hadn’t thought a lack of cup holders would’ve been so much of an issue, but it was certainly a shock! anyway, my old saloon has the original cup-holders front and rear, that as much as people moan about them, they always did the trick for me, and due to treating them with a bit of respect, they rewarded me with years of trusty service when required, the front tucking neatly out the way providing a nice iphone sized space. the new touring doesn’t have any cup holders at all. at the front, this seems to be due to the ‘TM’ Traffic Master button and knob. What I find weird is how BMW never came up with a solution to have both. (That I’m aware of) So I’m asking you what options there are. ive seen the 3D printed ones, but can only find the lhd versions advertised for sale. - only issue with this is they look a bit crude, and take away the place where I’d normally rest my phone. others have unplugged the TM button and retro-fitted original cup-holders. is there any draw-back in this? I haven’t had the chance to play with the car much yet, but it has the updated mk4(?) dvd nav pack - don’t really know what that means, or if I have it entirely right, but would be cool if I could keep all features working. has anyone any other solutions? any experiences of the 3D printed stuff? Or the retro-fit? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AdamB 29 Report post Posted November 23, 2020 Does the e38 cup holder with TM fit? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BarryM 277 Report post Posted November 23, 2020 Traffic master doesn’t work these days and sometimes creates power drain so remove it, fit OEM cup holders if they were work for you, I have ultimate cupholders that clip to the central tunnel and work for me Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AdamB 29 Report post Posted November 23, 2020 Sounds good, is there a guide on here how to remove? is it just a matter of unplugging something? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DennisCooper 798 Report post Posted November 23, 2020 Hi, There is a UK based owner on the Facebook groups making a 3D printed cupholder which as you mention, looks crude as it's just that, an unfinished 3D print. As Barry mentions, the TM doesn't matter nowadays so most owners remove it and refit OEM cupholders. If you look after the OEM ones, they will last quite well, if of course you use them extensively, the higher the change they'll break 'relatively' quickly. Mine lasted 10+ years ! Have a quick search around on this forum and the audio section as some owners have mentioned about just removing the TM module and panel in the dash area I think with some pics etc. Overall though, it's quite an easy process to do, its not in depth or anything. E38 stuff won't/doesn't fit Cheers, Dennis! 1 BarryM reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AdamB 29 Report post Posted November 24, 2020 I did a little more reading last night. Unplug the TM button in dash easy enough. unit in boot of touring is near the spare wheel, unplug a plug. Unsolder/cut 3 wires, and re-insulate. then a plug needs to go into the TV/nav box. sounds reasonably simple. I’m sure it’ll be clear what unplugs once I’ve had a proper look. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dbcrd 92 Report post Posted November 24, 2020 In terms of alternatives. There are dozens of threads on the forums about cup holders. The best are called TEC and fit in the arm rest cubby. They were sold by dealers for a while but now hard to find and expensive. There is a cheaper simpler one called ultimate cup holder that should come up on a Google search. The reason a lot of people moan about the original cup holders is that they miss the point (in my understanding anyway) that they are not actually cup holders so they don't hold a cup of coffee very well. I had to replace the coin tray lighter unit when I bought my car as someone had spilled sticky coffee into the lighter socket and beyond. My understanding is the holders are actually for 330ml soda cans(coke Pepsi etc) They fit perfectly securely. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ray112 258 Report post Posted November 27, 2020 On 24/11/2020 at 10:01, Dbcrd said: In terms of alternatives. There are dozens of threads on the forums about cup holders. The best are called TEC and fit in the arm rest cubby. They were sold by dealers for a while but now hard to find and expensive. There is a cheaper simpler one called ultimate cup holder that should come up on a Google search. The reason a lot of people moan about the original cup holders is that they miss the point (in my understanding anyway) that they are not actually cup holders so they don't hold a cup of coffee very well. I had to replace the coin tray lighter unit when I bought my car as someone had spilled sticky coffee into the lighter socket and beyond. My understanding is the holders are actually for 330ml soda cans(coke Pepsi etc) They fit perfectly securely. Maybe originals don't hold coffee cup perfectly, at the same time, for example, McDonald coffee cups feel quite ok in them. But I know for sure they hold cans of beer very well. tried that last year while returning from mate's wedding. Of course I was enjoying passenger's seat. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RichardP 1,190 Report post Posted November 27, 2020 On 24/11/2020 at 10:01, Dbcrd said: My understanding is the holders are actually for 330ml soda cans(coke Pepsi etc) They fit perfectly securely. That will be why they are called 'CAN Holder' then! https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=DE92-EUR-10-2002-E39-BMW-M5&diagId=51_2264 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AdamB 29 Report post Posted November 27, 2020 I got a quote for new ones from bmw.... sheesh! Most things are kinda reasonable... I’ll be getting these out of my old saloon before I sell it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jerome 12 Report post Posted November 28, 2020 What I did on mine is remove the blanking plate, push the TM button out of the way behind the dash and install the BMW original cupholder I got from another e39. No need to mess around with soldering the TM unit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dbcrd 92 Report post Posted November 28, 2020 (edited) When mine broke I got a new one from motormec. I think it was 25 or 30 pounds and made by febi. Motormec don't seem to be doing them at the moment as far as I can see but someone else on eBay has them https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/1937711165 Or there are genuine ones at over £50: https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/1009348820 The picture of the latter one shows left hand drive by the look of it though part number seems correct. Edited November 28, 2020 by Dbcrd Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BarryM 277 Report post Posted November 28, 2020 Great opportunity to show my TEC folding cup holder Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dbcrd 92 Report post Posted November 28, 2020 8 minutes ago, BarryM said: Great opportunity to show my TEC folding cup holder Impressive. These are practically unobtainable new now I think. Someone in the US had one for over a hundred pounds plus postage last time I looked. Is that a custom dock or connector in the ash tray location? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BarryM 277 Report post Posted November 28, 2020 1 minute ago, Dbcrd said: Is that a custom dock or connector in the ash tray location? That’s a Lumidock that Mr D Cooper sourced for me when I got the car years ago, originally took an iPod mini but now I connect my iPhone with an adaptor cable to get Spotify in the car via an Intravee - old tech but then so is the E39 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AdamB 29 Report post Posted December 12, 2020 Just fit the cup holders they said.... Doh! turns out that yet another part I’ve tried to work on us already been fucked with by someone else. got the Tm button out the way easy enough.that’s where the fun started! turns out trying to take this apart in the dark wasn’t the best idea before I fitted the cup holders I thought I’d address the noisy fan on the Climate control unit (IHKA). I watched the YouTube video, nice and easy I thought, Wrong! the last person to assemble the dash/centre console has made a mess of things (same as I’m finding all over the car). the wiring harness that should pull out about 8” to allow me to unplug the unit was pinched, meaning I could only pull the unit out about an inch. Certainly not enough to unplug anything, especially as at this point the cables were tight. no problem I thought, I’ll remove the centre console to get to be able to remove the 12v lighter socket etc and unhook the cable. as soon as I tugged on the gear gaitor, the whole silver trim piece came away with it. Whoever had done it before had snapped every little lug and just superglued it loosely back in place. im now sat in the kitchen, re-attaching the pins to the underside of the trim, so I can properly re-attach to the centre console. in other news, I got the cable free’d, ihka out l, apart and cleaned an epic amount of nasty fluff out. Hoping it’ll be silent when I put it all back together tomorrow. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andyrt200 125 Report post Posted December 17, 2020 (edited) On 28/11/2020 at 11:25, Dbcrd said: When mine broke I got a new one from motormec. I think it was 25 or 30 pounds and made by febi. Motormec don't seem to be doing them at the moment as far as I can see but someone else on eBay has them https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/1937711165 Or there are genuine ones at over £50: https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/1009348820 The picture of the latter one shows left hand drive by the look of it though part number seems correct. The kids just broke our original front cup holder, I was looking at the many 1 star reviews on lots of the eBay ones. Even that link to the genuine one has a 1 star review. Are the febi ones worth a try then? Edit: My friend works for BMW with a slight staff discount she can get a genuine one for £44. The lowest priced febi on on eBay I can see is £38 from some random seller who could easily be trying to pass of something else. Other febi ones £40 - £50. Edited December 18, 2020 by Andyrt200 Update Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dbcrd 92 Report post Posted December 18, 2020 I'm pretty sure the one I got from motormec is febi and it has been fine However if you can get a genuine one for £44 1 d_a_n1979 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andyrt200 125 Report post Posted December 18, 2020 32 minutes ago, Dbcrd said: I'm pretty sure the one I got from motormec is febi and it has been fine However if you can get a genuine one for £44 Motormec only have a rear febi one at the moment. If I hadn’t have put USB chargers in that hole I’d be very tempted to get a rear, the kids would love playing with it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andyrt200 125 Report post Posted December 18, 2020 3 hours ago, Dbcrd said: However if you can get a genuine one for £44 She said her discount was hardly anything so I’m sure Cotswold on here could do one for a very similar price. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AdamB 29 Report post Posted December 18, 2020 Not that bad considering. I got a quote from cotswold recently for the “front and rear retrofit” and it was about £180! I stole the one out my saloon... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
