Ever since I bought my 99 TL one thing has always bugged me. The beverage lid would never close. So here's the DIY to fix it. No parts needed, only tool is a screwdriver and about 15 minutes of your time.

Beverage Holder Lid Doesn’t
Close Evenly
The beverage holder lid on the center console of a
’01–03 3.2CL or ’99–03 TL can be a little
temperamental. If you put too much pressure on
the lid halves when you close the lid, you can
cause the lid gears to skip. If the gears skip, half of
the lid closes while the other half stays partially
open. To fix this problem, don’t replace the
beverage holder; re-synch the lid gears instead.
Here’s how:
1. Refer to section 20 of the appropriate S/M, and
remove the rear console. (On ISIS, use the
keyword REAR CONSOLE, and select Rear
Console Removal/Installation, from the
list.)
2. Remove the beverage holder.
3. Remove the lid gear cover (two screws).
4. Remove the lower right gear.
5. Close both lid halves, and reinstall the lower
right gear.
6. Open and close the lid halves to make sure
they’re flush when closed.
• If the lid halves are flush, go to step 7.
• If the lid halves aren’t flush, repeat steps 4
thru 6.
7. Reinstall the gear cover.
8. Reinstall the beverage holder.
9. Reinstall the rear console.




This is the gear that you have to remove to resync it.

 

This hasn't happened to me yet (as I always leave that shit open)... but good write-up (even though your fat chubby finger blocks my view on one of the pics)

Sticky this in the DIY section...

 

I'm trying to point at the gear... sorry.

 

Mine will get stuck closed- do you think this will fix the problem?
I have to leave it open all the time now- what a bummer!~

 

I know, I was just messing with ya...

 

When you open up the gear area you can see that its a basic lever system. the "push" button is load to a spring that presses down on the lever that releases the gear to spin and hence open the door up. I would say its worth a try to pop it out and inspect the gear system to see what is hanging up the doors. It may be the screws are loose and the system isn't catching the gears and is just spinning. That was my second problem with the lid system. I had to retighten the two screws that hold the top left and right gears in place because they were just spinning on the gears and not catching.

So... I think its worth the 15-20min. it takes to pop it out to see if it will fix that problem as well.

 

Nice DIY, my buddy did the same thing for me when I first got my TL. The cup holder wouldnt close properly before, works like a charm now

 

I've tried to do this, but I cant get to the stupid cup holder. I took the center console apart, but the cup holder wont budge. Looked for hidden screws,.. nothing. I finally had to put the whole thing back together so I could fight with it again some other day.

 

you have to remove some screws from the back seat area. took me a while to find them all, there are two on the side of the arm rest down towards the seats, then 4 in the back of the arm rest. two under the carpet in the armrest.

 

I did this but my screws striped the plastic so the gears don't hold.

 

I had to do this a while back when mine was stuck open but I finally figured it out. Not I don't have to worry about it or not being able to hold drinks with my CL cupholders.

 

I think that I missed the two screws under the carpet in the armrest compartment the first time I tried to remove everything.

Here's the thread on fixing these doors that helped me about a year ago:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147164

But it would have been great to see all the photos back then.

 

Take some glue and drop some drops down into the hole and screw into it as its drying. That may hold it.

 

a trip to the auto recycling yard- formerly known as junkyards, may yield a replacement console or the small parts you need off it- always worth a try