DIY: Euro Cupholder

[the.ronin]

DIY: EURO CUPHOLDER

by the.ronin

This document is for informational purposes only. Any vehicle modifications should be done by a certified VW mechanic. Neither the author nor this site will be held liable for actions taken resulting from the information set forth herein.

Retrofit may take you up to 4 hours depending on how comfortable and familiar you are with the interior cabin components. Others have done it in 2 hours - I finished it in almost exactly 3 hours trying to be as careful as possible. A lot of components will be removed along the center console from the rear cooling unit to the ash tray to the side footwell fascias and ultimately the entire center console itself. Be organized and methodical but first and foremost be patient.

This DIY will walk you through (or at least try to) the removal of (i) the rear cooling unit, (ii) the gear shift, (iii) the ashtray, (iv) the side footwell fascias, and ultimately (v) the center console itself - in that order. The DIY will not walk you through the second half of the installation which is simply the foregoing in the exact reverse order.

Stock U.S. cupholder from a MY06 2.5L Jetta 6sp tiptronic package 1 ...

Retrofitted European cupholder ...

Parts Needed

European cupholder p/n 1K0 862 531 A UBN

Note: I swear I've seen photos of the cupholder closing from the safety brake towards the shifter but this particular p/n can be installed only one way. Most others seem to install this way as well.

Tools Needed

* Required tools. All others will just make your life a whole heck of a lot easier.

* T20 torx bit
* Wrench w/ adapter for T20
* Trim tool
Mechanics mirror or magnetized rod to deal with screws in tight places
Plastic credit card or like tool

Removal of Rear Cooling Unit

1. Turn up the armrest cover and use the trim tool to remove the black rubber mat at the floor of the cooling unit.

2. Use the trim tool to pry off the panel containing the internal air vent.

3. Behind the panel, you will find your first torx screw of many many many many many torx screws. If you look real close, you can see engraved, "Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here" ... silly Germans.

Tip: The good news is, you will only be dealing with T20 screws. The bad news is, you'll have enough to melt down and suffice the metallurgy needs of the United States military complex three times over. I used a bunch of little envelopes and as I removed certain sections, I placed the screws (and tabs for the footwell fascias) inside and marked the envelope respectively. I stacked them in the order they were filled. When it came to reinstalling components, I went through the envelops top to bottom.

Here's a shot of all my envelopes towards the half-way point for your entertainment pleasure.

Yeah. Martha Stewart aint got nothin on me.

4. Move onto the small rear storage compartment where you'll find two more torx screws (red circles).

5. Remove that rear storage compartment using the trim tool.

6. Remove the rear air-conditioning unit by pulling in the direction of the red arrows.

7. With the rear air-conditioning removed, you'll find two more torx screws on the lower sides - one on each side.

8. The rear coolant unit can now be removed - except you still need to detach the harness connecting to the power outlet. Lift up the coolant unit carefully just so you can get in there and detach the harness (see next step).

9. Remove the power outlet harness by pushing in the locking lever as indicated by the red arrow. Once that is disconnected, pull on the parking brake as far up as it will go - it can be lifted surprisingly far! Proceed to fully remove the rear coolant unit and put it aside.

Removal of Gear Shift Selector

10. Use a credit card or similar tool to pry up the front end of the base of the gear shift selector. I found that starting near the middle and working to the right works out. I also found that the trim tool I have was not thin enough to get under there and my trusty pocket knife seemed too sharp for my comfort.

11. Before removing the shifter itself, lift up the base to reveal the wiring harness. Disconnect this harness first in case you get overzealous and yank that sucker so far out off that you rip the harness right out. That would be bad juju. Remove the harness by pushing in where the red arrow indicates and slowly and carefully wiggling the harness out.

Once removed, pull the shifter button out as far as possible - you might feel or hear an audible click but you will know that it is out (see next step for a good tip). Next simply pull the shifter itself straight out. Pull in the general parallel direction of the metal shaft underneath. For example, if you are in "N", pull straight up. It takes a little bit of force but it will come out and come out hard. No wiggling or shifting right and left - just pull straight out.

Tip: Once you've pulled out the shift button, wrap a rubber band around it to keep it from pushing all the way back in. You cannot re-install that knob with the button depressed. If you do, you may damage your shift mechanism!!

Removal of Ash Tray

12. With the gear selector removed, you'll find two torx screws holding down the front of the ashtray. Get at it, son!! You're now almost one-third of the way through!! Woot!!!

13. Carefully lift up the ash tray and find two wiring harnesses. Remove the white connector in the same fashion you removed the gear selector harness (step 11) and the power outlet harness in the same fashion you removed the power outlet harness from the rear cooling unit (step 9). Note that the wiring bundle for the white connector is attached to a guide (red arrow) which cannot be seen in the photo below. This is easily removed by pulling out to the right (not down).

Removal of Footwell Fascias

Ok the easy part is over. The frustration involved in the following steps is likely where most people will break connectors, lose torx screws into the abysmal holes scattered throughout the nooks and crannies, and generally go ballistic at the local Vons with semi automatic weapons. It's enough to piss off the Dalai Lama. Welcome to the suck.

14. Remove the tab cover and torx screw underneath each side of the footwell fascias. Don't worry, this part is deceivingly easy. It will get progressively and exponentially get suckier - sorta like Dantes' inferno meets German engineering.

Once these are removed you should be able to pull out and down on the fascias and remove them entirely ... this part is tough. It helps to move the seats as far as as they will go. The fascia only extends just past the front of the seats when they are in the furthest rear position. God speed, pilgrim.

With the footwell fascias removed, we can proceed to remove the 10 screws securing the center console. There is 1 in the rear, 1 in the rear cupholder, 2 on each side in the footwells once hidden underneath the fascias, and 2 God forsaken ones deep in the far end on each of the "oh sh*t" bars.

15. Let's go ahead and start with the straight-forward rear screw so we can build up a false sense of confidence.

16. Use the trim tool to lift out the rear cupholder pad and remove the screw underneath that pad. 2 down, 8 to go. Ha! That's like getting to the basecamp of Everest and claiming you are 1/4 of the way to the summit.

17. Proceed to remove the two screws on either side of the footwells that were previously hidden by the footwell fascias.

Wow you're just on a roll now right? Not so much. Prepare to hate life ...

18. Use the trim tool to remove the contoured sides of the oh ship bars. I found that starting from the bottom corners helped out. Once you have a side out, you can reach in there and pull with some force to remove it.

19. With the contoured trim removed, you can, evidently, get at the two final screws on both of the oh ship bars. If it gets too tight in there, use the ratchet with an adapter. Be very careful when removing these screws as they are apt to fall into the opening seen below never to be seen again until the fourth horseman of the Apocalypse.

Note that there are four screws on the sides where the ash tray used to be. I am pretty sure, in retrospect, these did not require removal in order to remove the center console. Be advised I am not 100% sure - if it turns out they require removal, then giddy up, Quimosabe!!

20. You will now be able to remove the entire center console from the rear (below) all the way to and including the oh ship bars. What manner of witchcraft is this, say you? Arcana it is not, young padawan. Adjust the seats as necessary - they do not have to be removed. Slightly bend the rear end to the extent necessary to pull it out and around the emergency brake. Do not worry, it's plastic and likely more malleable than you give it credit for - just don't get all medieval on its ass.

You can see one of the two screws that secures the cupholder above circled in red.

21. With the center console removed, you can undo the two screws securing the cupholder one of which was circled in red above and the other circled in red below. Proceed to easily remove the cupholder by sliding in the direction of the arrow.

Note: You can try and replace the cupholder without removing the center console by stretching the hole where the cupholder is and easing it out. I do not recommend it. It was very difficult to insert the euro cupholder. While I was able to remove and replace the rear screw, the front screw was nearly impossible.

That's it!! You are now HALFWAY done. BUHAHAHA ... have fun, guy.

******* End of DIY *******

Thanks to maloosheck (Vortex), Checkered Flag VW and many others.



Modified by the.ronin at 1:00 PM 11-23-2006

[HACBassoon]

Great DIY! Bravo. Sticky-ed, this should be

[svander]

Great DIY! Added to the FAQ.

[FUZE]

Rob comes through again with a great DIY! Thanks man

[FlyingTurtle]

great write up, too much work tho....Good job

[edisonr]

You're in a roll Rob

[the.ronin]

Thanks you guys ... I get so much help from members here this is nothing in comparison.

Well, aside from the DSG shiftknob the solution of which is nowhere to be seen, this will be the last mod in a while. At least ones that require torx bits ... hopefully new wheels are close.

Off to the fam's Thanksgiving dinner

[DaveMeacham]

That was a fun DIY to read. Great write up!

[Froster]

When you said '2 down, 8 to go' you did not literally mean 8, correct? If I counted right, its 4. The reason that I ask is that I'm wondering if you can just remove the screws with the centre console still installed, and then only loosen everything else up enough to actually get the thing out.

I'm sort of just thinking aloud, and will try to see if I can get away with less dis-assembly when I get my cupholder. It really is amazing that there is that much work just to get you the console. Certainly much more than the mk4 (which I took apart many times)

[LostSheepSquadron]

Quote, originally posted by DaveMeacham »

That was a fun DIY to read. Great write up!

X100

[SnowboarderX216]

wow i thought it would have been alot easier than that...

to much work for me to go through for a cupholder... maybe down the road or if i get bored...

nice write up

[DaveMeacham]

Quote, originally posted by SnowboarderX216 »

wow i thought it would have been alot easier than that... to much work for me to go through for a cupholder... maybe down the road or if i get bored... nice write up

It's worth ever second.... I did it when it was 110 outside... I'm glad i have it.

[dudleyrabbit]

You did all that work just to replaced the cup holder? WOW

[Sincity]

Thanks for the writeup. Hey Davespeed....are you taking notes?

[HACBassoon]

Not to sound cynical... but what is better about the euro? Other than the fact that it looks good closed if your not using it...

[the.ronin]

Quote, originally posted by Froster »

When you said '2 down, 8 to go' you did not literally mean 8, correct? If I counted right, its 4. The reason that I ask is that I'm wondering if you can just remove the screws with the centre console still installed, and then only loosen everything else up enough to actually get the thing out.

If you mean, keep the two screws deep inside each of the oh sh*t bars (4 total) and just removing the 2 one each side of the footwell (4 total), you would have to literally bend the console to the point of likely doing permanent damage. By all means, please do try it though and let us know if it works ... but also please be careful.

Thanks for the props, guys. As to the question of whether it's worth it, that's up to each individual to answer.

[ycchan]

Quote, originally posted by HACBassoon »

Not to sound cynical... but what is better about the euro? Other than the fact that it looks good closed if your not using it...

VW bottle opener

[Viking445]

holycrap and i sooo wanted that cupholder!!! oh well not with all that crap you have remove!!!!

[Veedubboy75]

HITF could ever remove the BUILT IN RED BULL HOLDER?

DAMN!

i'd never do that even for that damn bottle opener.

[BumbleBeeJBG]

You know what I love about Ronin, he's just as ****ty as a photographer as I am

You get the badge of honor for doing the mod, that's a bump

Also honorable mention for the DIY

And finally a for going ahead with this mod knowing what it would entail.

Oh geez.. hope you got drunk with the fam.

[Froster]

Quote, originally posted by the.ronin »

If you mean, keep the two screws deep inside each of the oh sh*t bars (4 total) and just removing the 2 one each side of the footwell (4 total), you would have to literally bend the console to the point of likely doing permanent damage. By all means, please do try it though and let us know if it works ... but also please be careful. Thanks for the props, guys. As to the question of whether it's worth it, that's up to each individual to answer.

OK. The aim of the question was to find as many places as possible to avoid using the trim removal tool. I might try this weekend just to see. Certainly, I would consider your solution as being the 'right' way. I just dont want to pull that much apart, and if I cant seem to find another solution, then I may cancel my order.

(One additional thing to note: the reason I think I might be able to find a little easier way is because I have a 2-door rabbit, which means of course that I have no arm rest or rear seat ducts going through the centre console)

[Gr8mafy]

wow that is def a very nice DIY..
thats a lot of patience as well

[jmj]

Another excellent write up.

The euro cup holders look pretty slick, and the VW opener is a cool novelty, but the seatbelts work just as well as openers (IMHO) and I've already spent time cussing at the lower trim pieces that go along the sides of the center console along the footwells as I tried to get them back into place.

[the.ronin]

Quote, originally posted by BumbleBeeJBG »

You know what I love about Ronin, he's just as ****ty as a photographer as I am

Dude, Ansel Adams aint got shiz on me bro.

Quote, originally posted by Froster »

OK. The aim of the question was to find as many places as possible to avoid using the trim removal tool .

... and I fully encourage you to find other methods. I would never presume that what I posted is the end all and be all. I was cognizant of trying alternative approaches but in fairness, by the two hour mark, I just wanted to get the thing done. Please do write up a DIY or post alternatives as you find them.

[jxmoth]

All that for some euro flavor

My heart is broken.

[golfxtz]

Quote, originally posted by the.ronin »

Well, aside from the DSG shiftknob the solution of which is nowhere to be seen,...

Did mine today in ~3 hours. I have DSG and instead of removing the console entirely, I just carefully slid rearmost part to the right, which allowed me access (reaching underneath) to the to torx screws holding the stock cup holder.

Most importantly, it IS a good thing to remove ALL of the torx screws around the bars. As ronin stated in an earlier post, it saves bending the console too much and causing damage. You just have to have a patience with "all eight" of the torx screws surrounding the bars.

ronin THANK YOU for the post - without your help this would definitely have been a pain.

[golfxtz]

...need to add that I did not have to remove the DSG shift knob...

[the.ronin]

Quote, originally posted by golfxtz »

ronin THANK YOU for the post - without your help this would definitely have been a pain.

I said the same thing about malooshak's DIY.

I'm just glad I did not miss a step somewhere ... although as mentioned I did fail to mention that you do NOT need to remove the shift knob. I did so since I was already planning on working in the area later for a different mod. Also note that there is a yellow lever / button deep in the upper right corner of the shift knob. Depressing it will allow you to unlock the hisfter and change gears so you can have more room to work with (i.e., put it in neutral).

[maloosheck]

Quote, originally posted by the.ronin »

Did you guys note the DUCT TAPE around the spring I guess in the arm rest?

Is this VW engineering?

[MkV PGH]

The tape was also in a loaner Jetta that i had. (the console was all broken apart when i got it)

I figured it was just a cheap fix by the dealer, but now i see it comes like that!

[the.ronin]

Quote, originally posted by maloosheck »

Did you guys note the DUCT TAPE around the spring I guess in the arm rest? Is this VW engineering?

Yeah I forgot to bring that up ... WTF??????

[Splisks]

Very nice DIY

[IchBinDarren]

That is the best DIY. BTW: congrats on the new wheels!

[the.ronin]

Quote, originally posted by IchBinDarren »

That is the best DIY. BTW: congrats on the new wheels!

Thanks bro.

[jimb]

Thanks to your instructions and my wireless Internet connection, I just installed the European cupholder in my GTI. If I had relied strictly on my Bentley manual, I would still be looking for all of the Torx screws. Great pictures combined with clear instructions made for a very easy install. Thank you!