Rob144

Has anyone explored the idea of upgrading the split center-armrest to the 2009 edition, with its denser padding? I'm finding that the center armrest in my '06 RL has lost most of its cushioning power (there's a dimple right where my elbow sits, with the padding potential of a folded Kleenex).

In my old Miata, I installed the rather lame stick-on armrest which did the job. Now I want to see about swapping the bin lids in my RL to something new, but still stock.

The question is whether you have to replace the entire assembly (the thing that hinges at the rear), or whether you can replace each of the flip-up doors. And, of course, will the colors match?

Rob144

sherman_nguyen

i have the same problem the cusion in my armrest is almost out.

christopher1

with my 2005.. i was hoping it is a easy way to fix this..

Professor

I had to replace my entire unit. You can not buy just the pads, you have to buy the entire assembly and it was over $500. The color matched perfect. Fairly simple to install.

BTW, my dog's claw ripped a four inch hole to prompt the change.

TampaRLX-SH

Ditto. My pleather was puckering and my dealer replaced mine under warranty.

When I asked if just the padded pieces were replaced he told me $500 for the entire upper hindged unit.

If I have to replace it again under my own cost, I would consider an interior leather upholsterer before buying another unit. I am sure you could get it replaced with higher density foam and real leather for that cost.

In the mean time I drive with my elbow wrapped in foam.

stevesrl

Interesting. I will look into this as I work for a supplier to the automotive market (interior applications). I am thinking replace the padding only. Of course this means taking apart, removing the foam, replacing, and putting back together. Worth $500 to me.

Chas2

Agree with this. I had to replace 5 sections of leather on my 95 Legend driver seat, and the local upholstery shop did an excellent job with Honda leather pieces. Service writers at the dealership wanted to know what I did to keep my seat in such good condition because the leading edges toward the door and side bolster typically go in 10 years, and look really bad, if not split or have holes in them. I told them I went to the local upholstery shop the dealer uses for all repair work, thus avoiding the dealer markup.

psheu

I got one complete center console (cup holder, center console, air vent, some kinda receiver) unit a while back from a junkyard in Louisiana for $70 (the vent was broken during shipping and they refunded me the entire balance and told me to keep everything.... so I guess it's free)... it's sitting in my garage shelf just waiting for such day (all dissassembled for storage of course)... but I condition my interior once a month.... so far the armrest is holding up nicely... i'll sent the pix of the unfortunate RL it came from after I get home from work tonite....

p.s. collecting RL parts is my other hobby:P

lland

Problem solved...click HERE!

LL

Kidding!!!

Rob144

Professor -- If you did the replacement yourself, how hard was it to swap the binlet?

$500 is just off the map for a fix (by about a factor of 10). Maybe I'll drop a hint at my next service appointment....

Rob144

jfarabaugh

This is the stupidest thing I have ever heard of by Acura/Honda. That part is clearly separate and I am sure someone has to sell it that way. See the illustration. You can buy everypart of the assembly by itself except for the top portion.
http://oemacuraparts.com/partlocator...layCatalogid=0

TampaRLX-SH

Parts sales are an excellent source of revenue! Especially for the dealer's parts department.

I have bought a trim piece online and had my tech install it for the price of a burger and pitcher of beer.

But in the future, I will be first soliciting Franken-psheu for needed parts!

psheu

^^^.... Wahhhhhhh..... It's alive, It's alive.....

Professor

The two trim peices on either side of the vent pop off easily. I removed the vent to give me more room. Take a phillips screwdriver and loosen each side of the unit. At this point with a little wiggling you can remove the entire unit.

The trick is getting everything aligned properly for the new unit. There are some silver retainers that have to catch the unit in a certain way to maintain the opening and closing movement of the unit. Take note of this position before removing you old one. After that tighten everything up, put in the vent and pop back on the sides.

psheu

I've remove the unit without poping any trims off.... on each side of the console arm you have 1 screw on each side to hold the plast that cover the actual console metal arms, pop that off, and you can detach the top and bottom box of the console..... the console box are put together by several clips and the seam is very well hidden.... i had to do this to replace the center clip that broke off (p.s. they don't just sell that center clip that hold down the console, you need to get a new center console if u break it)..... but if you want to change out the entire console box, you need to do what Professor said, just be careful, on each side of the arm you have springs.....