The cup holder in our new to us 99 XK8 failed to stay closed for the original owner so a local shop glued it closed. OK, bought a new one but it is not intuitive how to install and how to mount the cover on it. Car is 1000 km away so cannot fiddle with it. Would like to have a plan for when I get there. Any input appreciated.

 

The only useful input I can give you is to never use the new cup holder you are installing.


Using it will guarantee that any beverage placed in the cup holder will self-eject once you are “distracted” by the driving process. The arc it will take upon liftoff depends on numerous variables best explained by a NASA rocket scientist.

Z

PS not exaggerating or kidding one bit.

 

+1.... I'm sorry to tell you but I'd return the replacement you bought and get your money back... I just replaced mine and I'm contemplating gluing the brand new mechanism closed until I go back to the UK and can pick up a CUP-HOLDER-FREE armrest!

It's a very bad design as far as I can tell, compounded by 20+ years of plastic degradation. I've heard tell of clipping down the springs in the mechanism to weaken them so it doesn't spring open if you even look at it...

BUT, seeing as you asked! ... Replacing the broken old unit seemed straightforward enough... small Torx drivers to remove the whole armrest and hinge... separate the top from the bottom, a few more screws to extract the unit and some angling to get the front cover off. Reverse to install... The problem you might run into is fixings and clips falling apart or already being glued together by previous owners... It's honestly a pointless endeavor because even when working at peak performance, the cup holder was useless for anything except cans of coke or cheap beer... anything taller will fly out and cover the occupants with it's contents (NO HOT COFFEE!!!).

Mine was completely trashed when I got it... the lid had broken off and was hiding under the passenger seat, so my replacement looks better than that. But it would be much less annoying if I just glue it closed like yours!

 

the engineer that created this drink holder had a few too many belts of gin during the design process. .....

 

No cup holder, no problems.

 

As I advise anyone who attempts to use their XK8/XKR factory cupholder contraption, save yourself some time by going ahead and dumping the contents of your cup all over your console area as soon as you get in the car....

 

Rex,
You may have realized that our Cup Holders are not very well liked. They break easy and if they deploy, then they won't hold a cup !

That said, watch this informative vid from a fellow member...

 

My car was $81K new. I wish it’d have been $82K and they’d figured out a decent cup holder

 

Even though I really like my '06 XK8, the cup holder is a perfect example of my adage that "Britain is a perfect example of 200 yrs of history, totally unhampered by progress."

 

Ouch! That is not a good adage !

It is British progress that has changed your life forever, but, I do agree the CupHolder is **** !

Fyi, Here’s a few British inventions that have dragged the whole world out of the dark ages:- Flushing Toilet, Switch, Bycycle, Radio, Train, Telephone, Computer, Jet Engine, Generator, Television, Penicillin, DNA Profiling, World Wide Web, ATM, Vaccine and Syringe!, Cement, IVF, Tarmac, and the fastest car in the world.

Needless to say, I'm rather proud to be an English Inventor.

 

True. The British have produced some great engineers, unfortunately they didn't work on the cup holder. My car came with a broken cup holder so I replaced it. I replaced it again after I broke it when I brushed against it with my elbow getting the insurance papers for the police. I replaced it again when the wife accidentally leaned on it. Now the first thing I tell people when they get in the car is "don't touch the cup holder, don't even look at it". In the last 3 years I have replaced the cup holder 3 times. When it breaks again I'm going to do what David Dougherty did and get a cover that eliminates the stupid thing.

 

That is impressive. How do you come up with the idea of the flushing toilet?? I noticed when I spent time in London, most of the toilets did not seem to flush without backing up.
Sorry, had to get a little jib in. I enjoyed many days in London when I was living in Berlin with Pan Am back in the late '80's. Will take British live theater over Broadway anytime.
I do wish you could all learn to drive on the proper side of the road. Every time I exited a roundabout and started down the RIGHT side of the road, all the locals would wave at me merrily, but they only used one finger to wave???

 

the cupholders aren’t that bad unless you have a mega drink. they’re perfectly fine for medium size cans

on the x308 you can just use the seat jams

 

The Toilets in London have been backing up for years because everyone's been trying to flush the Cup Holders down them.

 

"By Jove I think you've Got it"!!!

Look forward to returning for some theater, and FINALLY some good British food, that is not necessarily, Indian.

 

I have what I believe to be one of the best condition 2001 XK8's around, and it drives great but right now the armrest is not installed. It's the only thing wrong with the car. I removed it and had it recovered. Reassembling and installing it so that the cup holder works has proven to be more of a challenge than I expected. I have not gotten my mind in the right place to take another shot at it. Alcohol has not helped. Alcohol has helped in many other aspects of life, but not this one. Patience is what will be required so when I get a sufficient supply of that, I'll go back at it.

 

What in the World are you Guys putting in your Cup-Holders? My 2005 XKR's Cup-Holder works just fine....I've never had any trouble with it....I can't imagine what your problem is? I wonder what our so called "Wonderful Engineers" here in the USA would have come up with to make it any better?

At least the XKR has a Cup-Holder! I'm told that the previous Jaguar Coupes did not even have a Cup Holder! Is that true? If so, we are pretty lucky, Guys!

Smile and be Happy!

Billy Clyde

 

Memory not perfect, however I don’t recall having cupholders is either of my e-types, nor the Triumph TR4a or the Spitfires either. I was too busy driving those cars to notice.

Z