Hi guys, I just bought a black 02 sc430 black interior , best car I ever owned, I am TOTALY in love wit this car! Everything on my car works Mint, except the cup holder, I push down on the right side of it and it wont open, is it safe to pry it up? what kind of mechanism pops it up and keeps it down?
Thanks.

 

welcome to clublexus

you can easily get the shift plate up (the cup holders are together with it) so you can fix the problem.

1) twist off the shift ****, put it in N (make sure car is not on incline)
2) open up center console
3) pop out the heat seat control by pulling it straight up, disconnect
4) leverage from the console end, pop up the shift plate
5) the part where the shift plate meets the radio unit (after popping the bottom clips), pull AWAY from the radio, more clips there

now the shift plate is out and you can fix the cup holder

 

I had to replace the cup holder mechanism too, once you remove the center console trim you can easily unscrew the cup holder mechanism. Unfortunately the part was $180 at the dealer.

 

Mine (02) stuck too. I gently pulled it up and after a few "cycles" it loosened and became unstuck.

 

Warning: SC cup holders can be a danger to your interior! The SC cup holders are almost totally useless (and can damage your intenior) unless you have a short cup or a top that is screwed on any bottled drink because when you turn a corner it will dump out onto the floor - even if you take corners slow! I have ecru interior and luckly learned of this "defect" in the SC's cup holders when a bottle of water with a cap fell out and onto the floor with the first turn I took.

So, sorry to hear that your cup holder is broken (ofcourse we want and expect everything in our SCs to work and it is annoying if not). However, when your cup holder is up and running you might not want to use it as intended and need to be careful or you will really have a problem if your cup of coffee ends up on your SC floor seeping into your carpet or into your passenger seat.

So since the cup holder topic has come-up I will take the opportunity to again ask if anyone has a solution to our useless cup holders (other than the previously suggested velcro on the cup bottom solution)??
Rustito

 

It's not a cupholder; it's a cellphone holder, and it works damn well !!
Actually, when I bought my car I made my salesman throw in a stainless steel Lexus thermal coffee mug, and it fits perfectly, never spilling or falling out of the cellphone holder

 

My cupholder also holds other things very well!! Lexus thermal mug sounds great but do you ever go to Starbucks or Dunkin Nuts??

 

I brew my own.... all kidding aside, I've spilled my share onto myself, the center console and the pass side; those cupholders were a definite miscue, as discussed many times in the past.

Here's one of many prior threads; one that you may recognize
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc-...g-thirsty.html

 

haha, thanks for the reply guys, I just pryed it up and it came up, it seems like the one part does not lock when its open, no big deal, I don't usually drink while I drive but I like the fact that its there, I am also the type of person that likes everything to be working. Eventually I will take it apart and fix it.
Jay.