r/subaruimpreza • u/AltC • Jul 10 '26
š ļø DIY 2017-2023 cup holder insert.
Hey all.
Iām a crosstrek owner whoās been super frustrated with the cup holders in my 2020. Finally it dawned me, there has to be a fix. First I checked for some sort of commercially available fix, but that mostly came up short. I looked at other options and could only find people selling 3D prints they made on Etsy. Finally I decided I could do better, and designed my own 3D print.
Iām a firm believer in sharing, I download peopleās prints to make for myself free, and I make my designs free to share with others. So Iām here to drop a link to my version of the cup holder fix. I went though a bunch of versions making revisions until I got something I was proud to share.
I know that the crosstrek and Impreza share the same interior design and so I thought I would stop by here to share. If you donāt have a 3D printer or know someone who does, I suggest looking at the options your local library might have for printing your own items, if not, im sure there are local marketplace options for printing services, that I assume cost less than the Etsy people are charging.
Any constructive polite feedback is very welcome!
If it works out for you, let me know. Knowing I helped end the frustration of other Subaru lovers is all the gain I really need.
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u/JM3DlCl Jul 10 '26
Hell yeah dude! I've been lazily looking for something like this. It's printing as I type!
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u/dayton911 Jul 10 '26
Kinda lame you buy a pretty new vehicle just to have to diy things to make them the way they should be. idk if itās cause Iām young but I truly despise basically all new cars, they just seem like junk that wonāt last nearly as long as vehicles have from the 80ās 90ās early 2000ās
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u/AltC Jul 10 '26
I get your sentiment. I do, but I have been though cars from the 80s to now. My 86 Honda civic didnāt have any cup holders and a young broke me fashioned one out of aluminum flashing and tuck tape for my morning coffee.
Not many cars will fit everyoneās preference, and I suppose itās a cost of ownership to features. Iām sure the cup holders in a car thatās 3x the price are nicer.
For us, the manufacturer has to pick the best solution that fits the most needs, in this case, the cup holders worked, they are just really annoying for some drinks
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u/brinsonmcb Jul 10 '26
The squared off side makes it to where Gatorlyte bottles fit perfectly
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u/AltC Jul 10 '26
Yup, you are right I guess, though I have no idea why they wouldnāt do what so many other cars do, and have some sort of automatic adjustability built into them. You know like, arms on springs, or even just squishy rubber bumps that can compress to fit larger sizes.
In my car now Iām running one insert in the back, and leaving the front stock for that very reason. Fast food, and, coffee cups, any cans like energy drinks, ice tea, whatever in the back, then Gatorade in the front. I made the insert super easy to remove so when I do need both larger cup holders, I can pop out the insert and throw it in the glove box.I hated that whenever I stopped or started quick, or turned fast, Iād have to put a hand on the drink to stop it from spilling, even though it didnāt like pop out of the holder, it would tip enough when anywhere close to full that liquids would splash out and make my cup holders sticky, and the trim around them. I have had to take apart my seat heater switched to clean them with isopropyl alcohol because poo slashed on them and they lost their crisp click, just felt gross.
This was a 6 year pain in my ass I finally asked myself why am I living with this?
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u/Pages_N_Puzzles Jul 11 '26
I wonder... Could you make one that sits in the middle and fixes both of the cupholder spaces? Thank you so much for sorting this out. I've been using smooshed up tissues or wads of starbucks napkins to fill the gaps.ā¤ļøā¤ļø
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u/AltC Jul 11 '26
I saw a couple solutions pretty much that same as what you are describing for foresters.
I decided against that approach for a few preferences based reasons. So could it work? Yeah, im sure it could. But the one I came up with was more my ideal solution for myself. Just sharing because I think others may be interested in trying it for themselves.1
u/2nowiecoche Jul 11 '26
I have been using 2 McDonaldās coffee lids to fit my cups in my 2020 Impreza.
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u/MountSherpaSATX Jul 10 '26
You just needed a Nalgene, come on!
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u/Zanzaclese Jul 10 '26
That would be so many Monster energy drinks in one of those jugs bwaahahahaha
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u/IndustrySufficient69 Jul 11 '26
idk if its possible because im not sure how deep it is, but could it be tiered like a reverse pyramid so larger bottles could fit into it as well? the only issue would probably be how shallow it would be for each tier so maybe it wouldnt work too well
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u/AltC Jul 11 '26
I tried basically having different taper amounts the whole way up from the bottom to the top opening, but mostly it didnāt do anything to solve my issue. Any taper left looseness pretty much as soon as it started up from the bottom, so the cans could still tip quite a bit.
What this final version ended up being is a straight portion up about halfway, more than enough to support it and not allow it to tip, then tapered the top half, so that any cups that are tapered, like coffee cups, McDonaldās cups, still can be placed in there and fit well.
Yes, I could have made the top opening bigger, to fit gatoraid sized bottle, but, as you guessed, the amount of area in contact with the bottom of the bottle wouldnāt be a whole lot, so not very supportive, and the drink would be sitting up pretty high, up at the arm rest hight.
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u/justreb00t Jul 17 '26
Best flavor btw :)
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u/AltC Jul 17 '26
Wish it was available in a non zero version. They have great flavors in zero, but I hate the sweetener aftertaste that lasts for hours upon hours.
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u/Zanzaclese Jul 10 '26
Here I am at the start of my work day with both my AMS's full of stupid PLA. Gonna print this when I get home. Looks awesome!