I see. I usually take that much along when I teach a class so I can keep on trucking.

 

but that is easy to clean, so don't worry guys...

 

You are right. It's already cleaned, thanks to Dennis.

 

hi guys! mine (driver's) stuck out and won't go back in properly, afraid to force it and break it, any ideas? thanks.

 

I love the cup holders- but I too suffered twice before with my '97 & '02.

 

When I picked up my 530 in Munich, the guy who gave us the car showed us his 'trick' to open the cupholder successfully. He said to hold that button in for a couple seconds, then let go. He said they told him in BMW that this always does the trick for opening. He did not however say there was any issue with closing them

 

mine work fine, except they feel a little flimsy n i'm afraid to put excessively heavy bottles in them

 

A couple of weeks ago the driver's side cupholder made a cracking noise when I closed it. Since then I've not been able to get it to open. I'm about to give up and take it to the dealer. This is the only problem I've had in the nine months I've owned the car.

 

I use my cupholder(s) quite a bit... 12 ounce cans, styrofoam coffee cups, 20 ounce bottles. I have no problem with any. However, 20 ounce bottles will not come out if you pull up straight. If I tilt the bottle toward me first it will release the holding mechanism and the bottle comes out fine. If I try to pull a 20 ounce out without doing this I can see how it could break. FWIW.

 

Lots of cupholder stories for you...
The DS cupholder stuck completely in after a few times use, nothing strange, just a diet coke can. It required persistent button pushing and prying with a knife to get it out. We left it out.
The PS cupholder then one day just started plopping all the way out... instead of stopping at the open position, it would just keep going, completely out of the dash. Once we got it refitted, if you pushed the button, it actually picked up speed and shot out of the dash rather violently, hitting the passenger seat. It became a bit of a "party trick" in the car. Everyone wanted to push the button and watch the cupholder shoot out.
Both cupholders were replaced at the dealer.
2 minutes after getting the car back, I pushed in the DS cupholder to see if it worked. It stuck in the dash completely & would not come back out. Same problem as the first time.
In to the dealer again. DS cupholder replaced again. When we got it back, we noticed this new, strange, off-kilter death grip the DS cupholder had. It holds all cans crooked, and with great pressure. I was leary of it. Well, I should have been. My husband put his coke in the cupholder. I was sitting in the passenger seat. Unexpectedly, and for no apparent reason, the cupholder grabbed the soda so hard it flung the can up in the air, flipping it over and landing in my lap, spilling coke all over me and ALL over my really expensive purse, staining it. Needless to say, I was VERY upset.
This new cupholder is very different than the previous 2. I don't know why it is different, and I really don't like it.

SO, BEWARE THE CUPHOLDER IN THE NEW 5!