5 3D Printed Car Accessories That Are Actually Useful

Buying a 3D printer was one of the best decisions I ever made, especially since I am a huge DIY enthusiast. From organizing your desk clutter to printing useful kitchen gadgets, 3D printing gives you the opportunity to design and create your own objects. You can also save a significant amount of money via 3D printing, especially by printing replacement parts and small accessories instead of buying them. As part of this endeavor, I decided to print a few car accessories that are actually useful. There are many tools and objects that can make your road trips more convenient. Most people buy these accessories, either online or at gas stations, but you can print them at home with ease, which also gives you the option to choose from multiple colors and designs.

For instance, I was looking for a tissue holder for my car, but I could only find black ones online. The issue is that my car's interiors are light gray, so a black holder would have looked out of place. Thankfully, there were a lot of designs online that I could print in just a few minutes, in any color I liked. I had some white PLA lying around, and the finished product looks great when installed in the car.

There are so many accessories you can print for your car, and some of them are truly mind-blowing. Here are the best ones we've tested first-hand, and which we can recommend you print. These are all simple prints that can be done on budget-friendly 3D printers, as well.

Trust us when we say this — a trash can is an accessory that everyone must have in their car. Whether it's a long road trip or a short commute riddled with traffic, my wife and I often find ourselves munching on various types of snacks; chips, protein bars, candies, and whatnot. Until the time we had a trash can in the vehicle, we would store all the empty bags and packets in a corner inside the car, so that we could dispose of them once we got back home. To fix this, I finally decided to pull the trigger and print the trash can for the car by MakeIt3D on Maker World, a small bin that fits into the door pockets or in a cupholder inside your vehicle.

The top of the trash can has a swivel mechanism that opens every time you push garbage through it. I printed it in black PLA, and it turned out perfectly fine. There are a few rough edges at the opening of the lid, but you can use a piece of sandpaper for a smooth finish. If you live in a region where temperatures are often very high, or if you're going to place the bin in a location where the sun shines directly on it, I would recommend printing in PETG or ABS. Thanks to this quick yet effective print, we don't end up with a pile of junk in the car anymore. This also means there's a lot more free space in the car's door pockets to store water bottles or other useful items.

This is probably the simplest print on this list, but it's the one I use the most. I wear a pair of prescription glasses all the time. While driving, though, my standard pair of spectacles isn't too comfortable, since during the day the sun hits my eyes through the windshield. That's why I prefer wearing a pair of sunglasses when driving. This is exactly why I printed the car sunglass holder by Steco3D.

For the longest time, the transition between prescription glasses and sunglasses was quite cumbersome. I would have to remove one pair, put it inside the carrying case, remove the other pair, and wear it. Not ideal at all. Well, it seems like all I needed was a simple 3D print.

The car sunglass holder has a simplistic design that hardly takes any time to print. It clips onto the car's sun visor on either the driver's or the passenger's side. The other side of the clip has a slit where you can hang your spectacles. The multistep process to switch my glasses now takes only a few seconds when I'm entering or exiting my car. I also figured that the same clip can also be used to store tickets, small bits of paper, or even currency notes that you want quick access to. Since this is going to live on your car's sun visor, I would recommend printing the holder with ABS. Otherwise, there's a good chance you may end up with a melted holder in a few days. Notably, there are more sophisticated models if you want an enclosed solution.

Honestly, this is one of the coolest 3D prints of all time for me personally, simply because of how well the mechanism works. The gimbal cupholder for your car is exactly what it sounds like. If you place a cup or a can inside the standard cupholder in your vehicle, there's a high chance your beverage may spill when turning or driving on a rough patch. Not anymore with this amazing gimbal contraption! While it works using a sophisticated mechanism, the model itself is a great beginner 3D-printing project, as it doesn't require any screws or magnets to put together.

You just have to slide the top portion into the bottom one, and attach the two concentric rings inside each other by snapping them together. Then, slot the device inside your car's cupholder. You'll still have space on top of the contraption to slide your cup into. Thanks to the mechanism, even if you drive over a pothole or make sudden turns, your drink isn't going to spill. I've tested it quite rigorously, and it works like a charm every single time! The creator of this model, nitroturd7856, has included two versions — one for 12-oz cans and another for 16-oz ones — so you can print the size used by your favorite drink. While the creator recommends printing this in PETG, I printed it using PLA+, and it turned out just fine. Just make sure you take a look at the instructions on Maker World before you start assembling the print. Also, you will need to enable supports when printing and then detach them carefully before assembling.

Here's yet another 3D-printed accessory that clips onto the sun visor in your vehicle. This is a simple tissue holder meant to replace the generic tissue card box that can't find a fixed place in your car. I also find that most tissue boxes ruin the aesthetic of a vehicle when they're kept on the dashboard, which is why I looked for a more subtle solution. The Tissue box for car sun visor by TinkeRaph has a large opening at the rear to store all your tissues. Simply get a tissue box, rip it open, and transfer the tissues into the 3D-printed housing. Make sure you slot the first tissue through the slit in the front. If you transferred the pile of tissues in the exact order, you will be able to use your new 3D-printed tissue holder just like a standard box of tissues.

The model is rather customizable based on your car's type. The designer has provided multiple sizes for clips, so you can pick the one based on how thick your car's sun visors are. Considering that this tissue holder is going to be exposed to the sun pretty much all the time, it's recommended to print it in ASA or ABS. There are no supports, so this is a print-in-place model. The creator recommends printing it with gyroid infill for better structural integrity, which is exactly what I did. I've been using it for over two weeks now, and it has held its shape well. It's also easy to refill, since all you need to do is slide it out, insert a pile of fresh tissues, and clip it back on.

It rains cats and dogs for three months straight where I live, so an umbrella is indispensable to me. The biggest issue with using an umbrella, though, is that when it's time to get into your car, it will be dripping wet. You can't place it on the seat or on the floor, since both areas really shouldn't be getting wet. While you can safely put it in the boot, by the time you walk from the rear of your car to the front door, you'll get drenched. Like so many problems we've spoken about on this list, this one, too, can be solved with a simple two-hour 3D print.

The car umbrella holder can be installed in your car in two ways. You can place the holder inside the front door's pocket, or you can mount it on a felt car mat, using the built-in holes for clips or with the help of Velcro tabs. Regardless of how you use it, this helpful accessory keeps the water inside, allowing your car to remain dry. It also has air vents on the sides that allow the water trapped in there to dry up.

It has a simple yet effective design: When you reach your location, you just pull the umbrella out of the holster, and you're good to go. I've printed a few of these for my friends, too, since I liked it so much. If you live in a region that receives a lot of rainfall throughout the year, this is a no-brainer.