Remove cupholders in mk3 Leon?

[Josh1.8]

Hi everyone,

I've put down a deposit to buy a 2017 mk 3 1.8 TSI Leon ST, which is pretty exciting. There is however a problem!

Having a nice coffee sat in the car in the morning on the way to work is one of my favourite indulgences, but the cupholders in the Leon are tiny and don't fit my travel coffee cups! I'd therefore like to replace them with decent sized ones. I've got a buddy who's got access to a 3d printer who reckons he could print me some, but I need to know how to remove the original ones first.

Does anyone know if it possible to remove the cup holder trim in the Leon?

I read the post about removing the trim around the infotainment by lozzy15, which ventures as far back as around the gearstick, but not back to the cupholders.

Very much looking forward to hearing your thoughts , thanks everyone in advance,

Josh

 

[Damo H]

Having recently had some bits off around there, you’re first going to need to remove the side panels that sit either side of it.

The front ones are removed by undoing a torx bolt in the front footwells. Slide the seats to the far back of the car. Then pull the panel out towards you to unclip one set of clips. Then you can then pull down to unclip from the top clips that the panel slots into. You can now gingerly direct the panel out of your car.

Thats as far as I needed for my project. For you, next you’ll need to slide the front seats forward to get to the rear side panels. Again undoing the 1 torx bolt either side.

I suspect you’ll also need to pull out the surround around the gear leaver using trim removal tools, and the arm rest insert (That’s just a sharp pull up).

This should then allow you to see all the bits you’ll need to get to, allowing you to remove the centre piece. You may find you need to remove the seats to get to some of the bolts, but I couldn’t say 100%

Or you could buy a smaller flask. My wife’s fit in ours fine. Failing that, AliExpress sell those cup holders that you can clip/stick on.

 

[Mr Pig]

Hi Josh,
If you lift the lid of the arm-rest, the tray behind the cup holders is big enough to sit larger cups and bottles in. You could 3D print an insert for the tray to hold your chosen cup. The big advantage if this is that you're not modifying the car. The cup holders are molded into the center console so you're not making them bigger without some pretty drastic surgery. Seems pointless when the tray next to the cup holders is just sitting there waiting to be used.

 

[Josh1.8]

Hi Damo and Mr Pig, thanks for your replies.

I didn't realise it would be quite such a major job :s! Getting a smaller flask does seem the most sensible option (which is what my girlfriend suggested too lol), although that does mean less coffee....and god do I love my coffee .

Your suggestion about printing an insert for the tray behind seems a nice halfway house Mr Pig, thanks for the insight. I've not picked up my car yet so I might give this a go and if it annoys my having it under the armrest I'll reconsider taking the whole centre bit apart.

The other mod I'd hoped to do when taking the center bit apart was to run a cable from the usb1 for Android auto back to the armrest storage bin, as my phone doesn't properly fit in the space under the infotainment bit.

Do you remember where the clips were when removed the side panel Damo? If I do decide to take the centre bit apart would be much easier knowing where they are; any chance you could post a photo showing where they are (i.e. circles on the photo to demonstrate location with it still assembled, not suggesting taking it apart)? Absolutely not a problem if you CBA/don't have time for such nonsense, I appreciate both of your thoughts already .

Ta

 

[Mr Pig]

My phone doesn't properly fit in the space under the infotainment bit.

Nothing does! They've fecked that cubby up. What's the point of having phone sockets in the cubby if your phone can't fit in the cubby or any other place anywhere near it? Of course you can't get your phone in the tray by the arm rest either, because they've fecked those up as well! You've got two cup holders which are so small that nothing you can actually buy will fit in them and a tray that can't hold anything you might want to put in it. Phone, sunglasses, a pen, forget it. It's the correct size and shape to hold a small slice of fruit loaf, because you know how we all need a place in the car for that, right?

A cup won't fit under the armrest but if you open the cover you can stand a cup in the tray. You'd have to drive around with the armrest up, and get something to wedge your cup in place, but it's the best option you've got. Welcome to the wacky world of Seat Feckupgrades.

 

[Damo H]

Do you remember where the clips were when removed the side panel Damo? If I do decide to take the centre bit apart would be much easier knowing where they are; any chance you could post a photo showing where they are (i.e. circles on the photo to demonstrate location with it still assembled, not suggesting taking it apart)? Absolutely not a problem if you CBA/don't have time for such nonsense, I appreciate both of your thoughts already .

Ta

Undo screw 1

Clips 2 need to be released first. As your facing the panel pull towards you.

With those released you can now pull directly down to undo clips 3.

Position may not be 100% but gives you the idea.

 

[Mr Pig]

Position may not be 100% but gives you the idea.

Looks exactly right to me.

By the way, that panel is a lot easier to get off than it is to get back on! If you bend the clips marked in red out of shape you'll be cursing.

 

[surrealjam]

I feel your pain. The cupholders in the facelifted Mk3 Leon are totally pathetic. They might as well have put 1 decent sized one there as you can't even fit 2 small takeaway cups in there together.

 

[Mr Pig]

The cupholders in the facelifted Mk3 Leon are totally pathetic. They might as well have put 1 decent sized one there as you can't even fit 2 small takeaway cups in there together.

It looks to me like the whole plan was to make it look better and actually functionality was not a consideration. None of the new trays and cubbies are any use. They are all too small or the wrong shape. Even the larger touchscreen, looks better but is harder to use. Smoke and mirrors.

 

[Josh1.8]

Haha, well I do like fruitloaf, thanks seat! I suppose it's what's under the skin which matters, although it is nice to have somewhere which is a nice place to be given how much time we spend sat in our cars.

Shame you've confirmed they're too small for even small cups jam, at least I'm informed before I buy it!

Thanks for the photo Damo that's great, and for the heads up about the clips Mr Pig! I've not actually been in a cupra, is the glowing cupra badge standard or have you added it? What's the wire for too? Being nosy now!

Have you guys come across any cool interior mods to make the inside a special place to be? I've found quite a few external mods in here but not seen any internal ones.

 

[AirBM]

Absolutely spot on about the interior being designed for looks. It's so unpractical. Anyway, the cup holder situation is dire. All i can find is a few links on amazon to maybe help some.

This could attach to the airvent with velcro tie to secure it and a 3m sticky pad on the back to stop it waving around.

This may suit some, fits inbetween the passenger seat and console.

This one sits inside the cupholder but expands inside to give a nice secure fit.

 

[Damo H]

Haha, well I do like fruitloaf, thanks seat! I suppose it's what's under the skin which matters, although it is nice to have somewhere which is a nice place to be given how much time we spend sat in our cars.

Shame you've confirmed they're too small for even small cups jam, at least I'm informed before I buy it!

Thanks for the photo Damo that's great, and for the heads up about the clips Mr Pig! I've not actually been in a cupra, is the glowing cupra badge standard or have you added it? What's the wire for too? Being nosy now!

Have you guys come across any cool interior mods to make the inside a special place to be? I've found quite a few external mods in here but not seen any internal ones.

Not sure what bucket sized flask you lot are using, but the 3 Starbucks ones we have fit fine

 

[Josh1.8]

That second Amazon option actually looks really good, wonder if phone would fit in the middle too, might make the passenger seat less spacious, but who really cares if you're in the driving seat lol . Red stitching matches the fr interior well too, great find air.

Haha, I've got a bodom mug, it's pretty standard but I'm sure you can get smaller cups.

Might look into getting a 90 degree usb connector cable too, see if that means my phone will fit in that cubby.

 

[AirBM]

No worries josh. This was the one i'm interested in, can always pull it out for the passenger when needed.

 

[TrivialT]

Hi Josh. I also intend(ed) to change the cup holders and started a thread on that which currently has zero replies! I decided I didn't want to modify what was there without being able to put it back to standard in the future so I have actually bought the centre console used from Ebay so I can modify one and keep one original. The added bonus for me was that this came with two USB ports for the rear passengers underneath the rear air vent. Not bad for £40.

Anyway, there is definitely surgery required to modify the cup holders. To remove the area from the 12v socket to the cup holders you are going to have to cut them out of the moulding. I was hoping it was just glued in but it doesn't appear to be. I wish I had access to a 3D printer to get a more perfect new layout but I am relying on cutting holes for cup holders into a horizontal board and the glueing this under the lip that's left. If I ever get the time to actually try this then I'll attach some pictures on here. I have some slight reservations as I don't know whether you should technically notify your insurance company for such an interior mod. I may just add the usb sockets, whack the rest back on Ebay and cut my losses! What every you decide to do, let me know and good luck.