S40 (New) Trim : - Rear bottle holder / tunnel console removal - Page 2

froggyted · Mar 20th, 2012, 20:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daim

As the cover has to be changed, you can press the cig-lighter inwards and force it out of the plastic mounting. These are stuck in from behind... Not glued, but clipped.

That doesn't look possible from that pdf. document you linked to, Daim, where it shows the lighter being pulled out rather than pushed in. It is indeed clipped in but it looks slimmer on the inside than on the outside of the panel.

froggyted · Jul 1st, 2012, 14:42

A belated update on this, although the problem was (finally) resolved about two months ago.

This task, which i expected to take less than half an hour, was an ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE, and was finally resolved after many hours and a lot of expense, and for what it was worth (a new bottle holder) i wish i'd left well alone.

Firstly, the rear bottle holder panel at the back is stubborn to remove and you will have to employ careful use of trim removal tools to do so without damaging the console. If that's the only problem you have you will be very lucky indeed - read below!!

When i finally remove the panel i couldn't get the wiring off the power socket because there was insufficient slack in the lead to get my fingers behind. I spent about an hour trying do so with plyers etc. and finally got a hacksaw to the panel and had to cut it in three pieces before i could get my hands behind to remove the lead! This ultimately achieved very little, because when i came to fix the new panel, i couldn't mate up the wiring and the power socket, again due to the lack of slack in the lead. After much cursing and headscratching i decided that there was no other option but to remove the entire tunnel console. I followed the official pdf manual mentioned in an early post very carefully, and yes, succeeded in removing the console - but at a cost: there is so little clearance between the console and the handbrake lever (at least in the 08 facelift version) that i ended up damaging the leather on the handbrake. I may have decided to live with this if i hadn't, during reassembly, dropped a screw into the recess beneath the console and had to remove the console all over again: perhaps i was rather tired and well hacked-off by this juncture, because despite being wary of the danger, i ended up causing even more gouging to the handbrake leather. The problem is that the the tunnel console is so large and unwieldy that you have to be watching several places to make sure you don't damage not only the handbrake lever, but the seats, the dash, and the headlining too, and as i've said there's very little clearance between the lever and the console. In the end i decided i couldn't live with the handbrake leather and that it had to be replaced. Well, guess what, even that wasn't simple: you can't get a replacement handle, you have to replace the entire handbrake assembly! The leather is bonded to the assembly, and in any case it isn't even available as a separate part. I had the main dealer do this job, it's not one i would have trusted myself to do, and this didn't leave me a lot of change out of £200.

To anybody planning to remove the tunnel console i would suggest wrapping both the handbrake leather and the seats, or at the least the seat adjustment knobs, and taking great care when undertaking the job. It's difficult enough removing the console without damaging the handbrake but the greatest danger is when you attempt to replace the console where, if you don't present the console to the handbrake in the correct way, you're in trouble.

What's particularly annoying about all of this is that, having removed the console, there was actually sufficient slack in the power socket lead, it was just the way it had been clipped in place during manufacture. I readjusted the lead so that if i ever need to remove the bottle holder panel again i won't have to repeat the above scenario. What should have cost me about £25 and half an hour of my life ended up costing me about £200 and many hours of time. You have been warned!

Nikesh · Jul 2nd, 2012, 00:07

When I took my bottle holder off, to take power off the cig lighter to power my speed camera detector (easiest place to get ignition switched 12v from).
When I put the bottle holder back on, to give it more slack, I made up a short length of 2 core cable with 2 male and 2 female electrical spade terminals on each end (the male to go in the cable end, and female to connect to the cig lighter socket)
This will help no end with giving you a bit more to play with.

Jul 1st, 2012, 14:42	#12
froggyted Master Member Last Online: Dec 27th, 2023 13:19 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Bristol	A belated update on this, although the problem was (finally) resolved about two months ago. This task, which i expected to take less than half an hour, was an ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE, and was finally resolved after many hours and a lot of expense, and for what it was worth (a new bottle holder) i wish i'd left well alone. Firstly, the rear bottle holder panel at the back is stubborn to remove and you will have to employ careful use of trim removal tools to do so without damaging the console. If that's the only problem you have you will be very lucky indeed - read below!! When i finally remove the panel i couldn't get the wiring off the power socket because there was insufficient slack in the lead to get my fingers behind. I spent about an hour trying do so with plyers etc. and finally got a hacksaw to the panel and had to cut it in three pieces before i could get my hands behind to remove the lead! This ultimately achieved very little, because when i came to fix the new panel, i couldn't mate up the wiring and the power socket, again due to the lack of slack in the lead. After much cursing and headscratching i decided that there was no other option but to remove the entire tunnel console. I followed the official pdf manual mentioned in an early post very carefully, and yes, succeeded in removing the console - but at a cost: there is so little clearance between the console and the handbrake lever (at least in the 08 facelift version) that i ended up damaging the leather on the handbrake. I may have decided to live with this if i hadn't, during reassembly, dropped a screw into the recess beneath the console and had to remove the console all over again: perhaps i was rather tired and well hacked-off by this juncture, because despite being wary of the danger, i ended up causing even more gouging to the handbrake leather. The problem is that the the tunnel console is so large and unwieldy that you have to be watching several places to make sure you don't damage not only the handbrake lever, but the seats, the dash, and the headlining too, and as i've said there's very little clearance between the lever and the console. In the end i decided i couldn't live with the handbrake leather and that it had to be replaced. Well, guess what, even that wasn't simple: you can't get a replacement handle, you have to replace the entire handbrake assembly! The leather is bonded to the assembly, and in any case it isn't even available as a separate part. I had the main dealer do this job, it's not one i would have trusted myself to do, and this didn't leave me a lot of change out of £200. To anybody planning to remove the tunnel console i would suggest wrapping both the handbrake leather and the seats, or at the least the seat adjustment knobs, and taking great care when undertaking the job. It's difficult enough removing the console without damaging the handbrake but the greatest danger is when you attempt to replace the console where, if you don't present the console to the handbrake in the correct way, you're in trouble. What's particularly annoying about all of this is that, having removed the console, there was actually sufficient slack in the power socket lead, it was just the way it had been clipped in place during manufacture. I readjusted the lead so that if i ever need to remove the bottle holder panel again i won't have to repeat the above scenario. What should have cost me about £25 and half an hour of my life ended up costing me about £200 and many hours of time. You have been warned! __________________ 08 S40 2.0D Powershift SE Lux

Jul 2nd, 2012, 00:07	#13
Nikesh I've got a new White S40 Last Online: Apr 28th, 2016 15:41 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Braintree, Essex	When I took my bottle holder off, to take power off the cig lighter to power my speed camera detector (easiest place to get ignition switched 12v from). When I put the bottle holder back on, to give it more slack, I made up a short length of 2 core cable with 2 male and 2 female electrical spade terminals on each end (the male to go in the cable end, and female to connect to the cig lighter socket) This will help no end with giving you a bit more to play with.

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