(oops, accidentally posted this in newuser area… re-posting now, here)

A week or so ago, someone posted asking about a decent cup-holder for the Audi, and at least when I read the post all the responses basically said "oh my god, these are the worst cup-holders ever!!"

It would seem that the previous owner of my "new" 02 Audi A4 had the same understanding. I finally figured out why the display on the radio was a little bit funny.

My guess, utilizing CSI-like forensic methods and a plastic ball (couldn't afford the crystal), is that someone had a coke in the crappy pop-out cup-holder in the dash, and it went-a-tumbling. Liquid stickiness poured into the center console, possibly through the air vent?? but actually getting BEHIND everything. The radio display looks like it has some dried-out liquid behind it (fortunately you can only see it when the radio is off). And I realized that many of the buttons in the environmental controls are VERY hard to push when the car is cold. Once the car warms up, it's all fine. But when cold, the buttons feel like they are glued in place.

I pulled out the center ash tray and there is what looks like molasses underneath it. Nice, huh?

So, as I said, everything works so there's no real concern. But I wonder if this is the sort of thing that can even be cleaned? Maybe at least some kind of solvent, like a WD-40, exists that I could spray into every button on the dash to dissolve some of the crap behind there?

Any advice is helpful. And could someone please tell Audi that they need to redesign or simply remove the cup-holders in the car?

cheers
-Joseph