Well it's official, I broke my interior.. actually not all of it.
On saturday, i'm opening the armrest to get some change for the tollboth and "SNAP"- the small plastic lever used to open the arm rest breaks off. Of course I pull into the nearest Acura dealer to get a replacement.. Seeing as it is a saturday and I am about 100 miles from home, the cannot fix it that day. I have them sell me the part because I figure- it's a couple of screws to attach..how hard can it be.??

Wrong!
I got the arm rest cover assembly off, but for the life of me I cannot open up the inside portion and the screws I need to get at are covered by the "panel" with the credit card holders in it.

Does anyone have the instructions on how to take this portion of the armrest apart? I tried searching all over the internet, but cannot find anything.


Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

awww man i did the same shit too shoot i didnt replace mines yet dont really use it much

 

Open the armrest all the way. There are 2 screws in the rear those will allow you to remove the entire top section

 

Did that.. After you remove the arm rest cover (whole assembly with the leather "cap"), you still need to take it apart further.. There are 4 screws in assembly that appear to be related to holding the leather piece on, but there are none in the panel that I am referring to and you cannot access the 2 screws that hold each of the latch levers (yes, each lever is held in by 2 screws) without removing this panel.

 

Shoot, I posted this same problem just 30 seconds ago without doing a thorough-enough search. I'm waiting for a call back from my dealer on this same subject, I asked whether it's covered under the warranty (it certainly should be -- parts shouldn't break off the interior under normal use). I'm really unsure about letting one of their grease monkeys mess with my car's interior over a $3.70 latch.

I have the Helm's manual at home, I'm going to consult it tonight w.r.t. dis-assembling that armrest. I'll post more after doing that.

 

I never looked into it, but I'm taking a wild guess, could there be some screws on the out side covered by the sliding part of the arm rest??

 

Looking in the Helm's manual (pg. 20-78/79 for those following along at home)...

- Take off the armrest (2 screws on the hinge... simple).
- Slide armrest forward fully
- "insert a large flat-tip screwdriver wrapped with protective tape (elec. tape) into the center of the gap between the consile armrest and the console armrest base. (into the "front"). Gently push it straight into the opening ("straight down, if the armrest is vertical) until both the inside hooks of the console armrest come off the stop portions of the console base".
- slightly slide the console armrest forwards to get the inside hooks over the stop portions, then remove the screwdriver.
- remove the console armrest from the guide rails of the console armrest base.
- remove the screws then slide the bracket
- separate console armrest upper base from lower base. Remove the screws, then remove the armrest lock and the tray lock from upper base.
- re installation is reverse of removal.

 

Curls, thanks a million. That must be in the 04/05 Helms. I have the '04 Helms and on 20-78/79 it talks about removing the dashboard vents. Great info, I'll report back on whether the new latches work better than the old.

 

If you want to reference the pics, etc... it's in the section of "Body", Interior, Center Console.

I have lubed the hinge a few times since I got the car 1.5 years ago (used), and it seems to help. Silicone lube works well IMO.

 

Curls,

What else can I say other than... THANK YOU!
Now I can finally get my baby back in one piece.

If you ever get to Massachusetts or Connecticut, I owe you a beer!

 

Just pay it forward on this site and I'm happy.

Although a beer sounds nice right now, a drive from Ottawa to Massachusetts isn't in the plans. BTW, that is probably the first time I've had to ever spell "Massachusetts". LOL.

 

Worked like a charm, and extremely simply to do. Thanks again, curls, for the step-by-step. The '04 Helms manual doesn't have them, the new latches definitely work better than the old ones, and the lubed hinge makes the whole thing slick.

 

just broke mine off this past weekend too, do you have the part # by any chance and the cost (or was it $3.70 you mentioned)?
thx

 

Sorry,

It was so long ago that I don't remember the part number.. or the exact cost I paid at the dealership.. Just call the parts department and describe to them that it is the center armrest cover latch release(they also need to know if it is for the upper tray or not (since there are actually 2 disctinct parts- one for each side)..

Total time to repair (once you have the lever).. about 15 minutes...

Cost.. less than $ 5.00 and whatever your time is worth

Cost at dealership.. I don't even what to know... (especially at $125.00 per hour).. I'm sure the Honda manual has them disassembling the entire center console to replace a lever on the armrest/cover

 

thx man