does anyone else have this problem? The driver side (left) armrest has cracked twice in three years. It's just a thin piece of plastic that cracks under the fabric where the lower part of your arm rests. The only time I put weight on it is when I do a quick adjustment of my butt in the seat. I only weigh 150 lbs, and I distribute my weight between both left and right armrests for about a second or less. I have a 2004 Prius and live in San Diego, so no extremes in temperature. Toyota only fixes it once for free, and they say that they have to replace the whole door panel (a $750 part).
Mine cracked about six weeks ago. I'm going to call in a few days for a repair before the 36K-mile warranty runs out.
Umm, push yourself up using your hands on the seat instead of the armrest. The seat is designed to bear a person's weight.
Oh yes I do. I noticed this cracking noise on the driver's side arm rest a few weeks after we took delivery of our 2005 Prius. I was going to have the dealer correct the problem, but haven't done so as yet. I've accepted this as one of those "issues" with a new car. It doesn't bother me all that much and have not done anything to have it corrected. That said, will Toyota correct this problem? I'm a little bit worried about having the door panel replaced for such an insignificant (read driveability) problem.
Yep, mine cracked about a month or two ago. 2004 Prius, left side. Cracked long ways. Thought about putting some sort of plastic brace underneath the crack, but I've been more careful about putting too much weight on it. Like you I used that armrest to adjust myself on the seat while at a stop light/stop sign.
My dealer has ordered the part under warranty. They took a quick peek at it, then wrote up the service order. They'll call when the part arrives and schedule the installation. In the future, I'll avoid putting my weight on the armrest, though I don't know if I ever did that the past.
