Hello everyone. Just bought a 2003 CLS6 with 150k. The gap in the door armrest has been bothering me so I figured I'd try to fix it. I saw a post from about a decade ago by Misdby1 explaining how to do this. Thanks to him for the tutorial, all credit goes to him.
https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-cl-f...-issue-485828/

First step was to remove the door panel. I chose to remove the tweeter triangle first. It is held on by two clips and has a plug. Easiest way to remove this without snapping anything is to start at back (flat part that faces the rear of the vehicle) and pull/wiggle easily. those two clips will pop out.


Next I removed the interior door handle. It is held on by one screw behind a trapdoor. Take this screw out. Easiest way to separate the door handle fixture from the door is to slide it towards the front of the vehicle and gently pull.


Next you have to remove the rotating clip from the door handle bar. push the clip back and rotate clockwise.


Undo the wiring plugs


There is another screw under the armrest. Remove it using a long Phillips screw driver.


Next gently remove the door panel from the door. Easiest way to do this is to start up near the mirror and go clockwise pulling the clips out as you go. After all the clips have come loose, lift the entire panel upwards and slowly pull it away from the door. Remember, all the wiring plugs are still connected.


Next unplug the wiring plugs. There should only be four that need to be removed.


On the inside of the panel, there are 12 or 13 screws holding the arm rest on. Mine were gold. This picture only shows the front screws, there are screws in the back as well.


Here are the materials I used. I picked up all of this from Harbor Freight for $12.00. I used Gorilla Glue because Misdby1 said I could pick my favorite African mammal. He used Rhino Glue. Just make sure the glue your using will work on foam. (I received a free set of screw drivers for my purchase as well.)


So once I was in there, I was disappointed to find many of the clips were broken or badly mangled. This is to be expected in a 14 year car, but it made the job much harder and made it so I wouldn't be able to have a perfect result. Here is a picture of a broken screw holder that I tried to glue back.



At this point I stopped taking as many pictures. Sorry guys. Here is a picture of how I glued the armrest. Used as many clips that would fit and an old blind slat so the clips wouldn't leave marks on the leather. The glue will expand almost two times so don't over glue. Glue will harden when dry. I had to trim some excess glue, not a huge deal. Misdyby1's post has much better pictures of the actual gluing procedure.


I also did the bottom of the armrest because the foam was coming apart down there as well. Use this gluing method anywhere you see foam coming apart from the plastic.

The main problem with my car (and why I wont be able to get a perfect result) is the missing plastic clip holder at the rear of the window control assembly (I assume). Once you are inside and have everything removed, you will understand what I mean. Mine has broken off and disappeared into the abyss. Long story short, without this piece that the little metal clip goes into, the door armrest cannot be stretched all the way taut. Also, once I replaced some missing screws and put everything back together correctly, the armrest bowed out a little bit. I assume this is from being stretched for many years. Here are my results.
Before:


After:


Al in all it was an interesting project and I managed to close the gap slightly. Most importantly I replaced a few missing screws and made everything tighter and more secure inside the door. Over the years the heat has taken a toll on the leather/plastic material. This car has spent its entire life in the southeast.

I do think I could glue the gap totally together using the Gorilla Glue, but that would involve gluing the armrest to the window enclosure itself. I might try the passenger door next week.

Any advice on how to get a perfect result would be greatly appreciated.

Also, found this official Acura Post-It pad in my car's executive slot above the radio. It has the Acura symbol in the bottom right of the pages. Looks to be the original pad that came with the car. Pretty neat.

 

good job! i enjoyed reading that!

maybe you can use your favorite african mammal to glue the gap it self closed

 

question for you: the plastic piece that surrounds the window switches and mirror adjustment - can you pop that off without removing the whole door panel?

 

Thanks justnspace. I might try that, depends on how much the gap starts bothering me in the coming weeks. If the interior was black it wouldn't be so noticeable.

gnuts: No, due to the screw that connects the switch housing to the door panel. (Someone probably tried to do this in the past. It was broken when I took the panel off. I fixed it with glue and replaced the screw.)


You can see the screw missing in the picture below.

 

you've convinced me to go back through my interior to fix the broken clips that I broke...

 

Do it for peace of mind. I will say, the Gorilla Glue needs to cure overnight. Especially in a humid environment like where I am. The box says 1-2 hours but it was still tacky at that point so I left it overnight. It was totally cured after sitting overnight with the clamps left on.

 

Wow, that's more intensive than the shower rod method I did in my `02 TL (didn't require taking anything apart).

 

TheMightyQuinn: Could you possibly post a DIY of the "shower rod method"?

 

I'm guessing it's glue then shut the doors and wedge an adjustable shower rod between the drivers and passenger arm rests.

 

It's this one over on the TL side:DIYoor peeling (experimental way)

 

Work smarter not harder. I like it, might try it next. Thanks.