When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I think you didnt understood what I meant, this is OEM. Never replaced, I did order a part from ebay, but i dont know how to replace it. also i dont know how to take the center apart.
You can probably follow directions from the 3G forum and improvise. It's not too hard to replace the skin- just be patient and take your time. You might want to check out Shift boot store - RedlineGoods leather shift boots for improving the foam while you're at it. I notice Redline doesn't sell skins for the 4G unfortunately- I would go that route if they offered them.
Just take your time not to break anything. It should be very easy. You will need pliers, screwdrivers, staple gun, and 3M Super 77 Adhesive. Good luck!
My car is out of factory warranty, they aren't gonna do anything else to your car of sure.
I bought the leather from eBay, I'll try to reinstall it myself.
I had the same exact problem in my 2013 TL with only 15k miles! I took it to dealer, 45 minutes later brand new armrest was installed for free. Thank you warranty!
To Replace:
Pull off back part of center console (squeeze both sides of the back piece and pull backwards, there's 4 clips I think)
Remove the four Phillips screws from the back of the bracket
Remove the bulb / harness by turning to the left on the bulb holder
Lift up the armrest
There are two plastic cover pieces on either side of the front mounting points of the armrest bracket, pull them up and out ( 2 clips on each, look at your new part for reference
Remove the two screws and remove the armrest
Does any of you have a video clip or pictures of this process? That would be very helpful, I went to a shop and they want $100 plus materials. I think this is a rip off.
Its really not that hard to take off. The average Jo can do it. The hardest part is getting off the plastic cover that hides the screws that attach the actual armrest to the center console ( be careful not to break the clips) start prying it off with a skinny flathead screwdriver where the armrest gets skinny in the front. It should pop right off. Now the tricky part was trying to finagling it out and away from the armrest/console because the clips in the back hang down, I think I bent the back clips to remove completely away and out. Now you will need to remove the screws that hold the armrest to the console bracket ( like 6-8 screws). I had to use a special screwdriver to reach the 2 screws closest to the back seat, After that it detaches right off and now you can hold it upside down in your lap to remove the remains screws that attach the sliding tray to the shell. You will only need to take off the screws that attach the sliding tray/plastics from the actual armrest shell ( mine were marked with a green marked screw and a blue marked screw) I can't remember which color I removed. I started to unscrew all of them and realized only every other screw was necessary to detach it from the shell. Took me all of 20 min to totally get off.
Brought it up to my local upholstery shop and paid $50. Matches my leather perfectly with a much better padding and quality stitching.
06-30-2015, 12:07 AM
