Hey Folks,
Simple DIY for replacing your driver's side "Oh Sh*t! handle", with a sunglasses holder. This DIY may also be somewhere else but thought it would be helpful to share and provide plenty of pics.
Cheers,
-Tony
Go From This:
To This:
I bought the sunglasses holder on Amazon. There are different styles, and colors; however, I liked this one as it has a nice texture and doesn't have that "shiny plastic cheap" appearance. AND, there are no product labels showing... You pull the sunglasses holder down and when you release it it goes back up:
A word of caution: NOT ALL SUNGLASSES WILL FIT THIS HOLDER. My Oakley wrap-around "Mark Cavendish" cycling sunglasses were too bulky/big to fit; however, my Ray Ban sunglasses fit just nicely:
Once you've done this install once, you'll be able to do it again in about 5 minutes. The first time took me about 15 minutes, only because I had to find out how to remove the plastic mounted covers without scratching/scuffing the Alcantara headliner. The "special" tool I found that worked was that tool used to open up paint cans. All you need to do is use a small corner of the can opener to wedge it into the slot and pop out the plastic mounted cover:
Next, using a medium size standard slot screwdriver you have to release the spring clamp -- There are two clamps per hole. Note, the newer BMWs have these clamps. The older BMWs used to use Phillip screws. The next 2 pictures show the BACKSIDE of the clamps. On the FRONTSIDE you will actually see slots where you can insert your screwdriver to grab hold and release the clamp:
Once you remove the handle bar, the area will look like this:
After that last step, the rest is a piece of cake. Install the plastic inserts that came with the sunglasses holder kit:
Install the screws, and then the plastic covers.
Put your sunglasses in the holder, grab your favorite beverage and rejoice in having done yet another project for your awesome BMW.
