Driver's Door Armrest - Pushed Inside Door Trim

I was getting in my car yesterday when I slipped and all my weight went on the door armrest. I felt something pop and the back part of the armrest was pushed inside of the door trim. Looking inside of the trim I could see what looked like part of a plastic post that the armrest had been connected to.

I took the inside door trim off to get a closer look. The armrest had a plastic tab with a metal washer attached to it with a rectangular slot in it. The door trim had what looked like the remains of a plastic post that evidently went through the metal washer to hold it in place.

Looking at the other plastic tabs on the armrest, it appears that the plastic posts that insert through the metal washers were "melted" in place in some way. There was no way that I could see to re-attach the back portion of the armrest.

Has anyone else seen this before?

This is the first problem that I have had with this car so far. I guess I will be taking it to the dealer and have them take a look at the next service interval. I do not see a way to fix this without replacing the entire door trim panel.

I knew this armrest did not feel very substantial but did not realize just how flimsy it really is. Be careful putting too much weight on your armrests.

 

Josh,

Thanks for the reply and the info. I will be sure to ask them to submit a DPR.

Dwight

 

Good to hear. Did they have it in stock or did they have to order it for you?

I am coming up on my 20K service interval and will probably wait until then to take it to the dealer. If they had to order it then I may go in early so they can have it when I go for the service.

 

Josh,

My dealer repairs the doors rather than replace. They have a local auto interior shop that repairs the doors for them. The advisor was telling me that when the plastic is melted around the posts on the main trim panel, that some of these are not melted very well. So the repair shop melts some additional plastic around the posts for better adherence.

I asked about the Dealer Product Report and he nodded his head and said he would do that. I did not get a strong feeling that he would follow through with this.

It is good that I have only 20K so if it happens to another door I still have time to get it repaired under warranty. If it happens to my door again I will press for a new one.

Thanks for your help,

Dwight