My car had 12k miles on it when I got it and the center armrest part of the console squeaked. The car now has 45k miles on it and the squeak has never went away. This past weekend I took my car across HWY 129, AKA "The Dragon", in the Tennessee North Carolina mountains. Every turn had the armrest squeaking. It will squeak just about every time you touch the armrest. Setting still or moving.

Has anyone cured the squeaking armrest part of the console or for that matter does anyone else have a console that squeaks?

Either way answer the poll if you don't mind.

 

I suppose you have tried:
silicone spray on the hinges, loosen the 4 nuts that hold it down ?

 

I replied "No", because coincidentally, I just fixed the squeak just in the last few days. How? Easy.

Remove the console door assembly.......four Phillips screws on the hinge.......remove console lid lower plastic liner............seven Phillips screws (five from the door liner and two from the latch striker)........and remove lower liner and set aside.

Underneath the upper console pad liner section (the part with the upholstery attached), you will see six (6) horizontal ridges molded into the plastic on the underside. It is the flexing of those ridges on the against the lower liner that causes a great deal of the "scratchy" type squeak/sound whenever any weight or pressure is applied to the armrest. Each "ridge" is only about 1/8" wide

What I did was cut and glue (contact cement) six black felt strips on top of the entire length of each of those ridges. I happened to find the strips on a bulk roll at a fabric store for another project, and I had plenty left over. It apparently is commonly used as decorative trim, etc and it was sold by the foot. Cheap too. I cleaned the ridges with some alcohol first to ensure a good bond.

Another method would be to cut and glue (only need glue in one or two places) a piece of 1/4" foam either to the upper liner or the lower liner (doesn't matter). It then becomes "sandwiched" between the two liners when you screw them back together.

One other thing. Use some black Velcro (the "loop" or "soft" part) and stick it to the rear lower portion of the console where the lid makes contact when the door is shut. Look on the underside of your door (the lower liner referenced above) and you will see the "rub pattern" where it has been rubbing. I used a piece approx 1" wide by approx 5" or 6" long.

My result? Nice quiet console.

Btw, the biggest culprit appears to be the "ridges" I spoke of above. You can actually see the white, chalky, powdery, residue caused by the two plastic panels rubbing against each other.

HTH

 

I had the squeaks a while ago but nothing a dose of WD40 couldn't cure. It made the double hinge work better too. Mine was the hinge not any contact with the console.

 

I played around with the console cover on the way home from work this afternoon and found that most of the squeaking is coming from the latch of the armrest lid. There is some squeak from the hinge and some from the lid rubbing the console itself. I plan on using the advice you guys have given in this thread and see if I can make the console more quiet.

Anything else come to mind please chime in.

 

I popped the armrest off this evening and added some velcro to the bottom of the armrest cover as was mentioned. I also added some around the front and rear edge of the cover. My hinge was making one heck of squeaking noise. I tried to quiet it with some Meguire's interior detail spray. That seems to have helped. I really need to get that dude out of there and see if I can't lube it properly so it will shush some. Any ideas on how to get it out?

Here are the ribs mentioned in one of the earlier posts. I covered them with some of the velcro loops.

 

Remove the four 10mm nuts that are holding the rear armrest/console on. Two are under at the rear under a couple small black plastic trim covers, and the other two are accessible (and visible) when you pop off the traction control switch plate covers. You'll also need to disconnect your cigarette lighter power lead connector (easy) and also your traction control switch connector (a little harder than the other one, but still not bad).
Once you remove the console, just turn it over and you will see the four 8mm self-locking nuts on the underside that hold the hinge onto the console.

Btw, I chose to put my Velcro strip on the console side, not the lid side. Either way will work I guess. Did you see the rub marks where the lid has been rubbing on the console?

 

Drove the Z to work today and there was no noise at at coming from the console. The velcro works perfect.


On a side note, about 2 miles from my house, a new fawn jumped out in front of me and is no longer with us. I keep my eyes open for this kind of stuff when I drive to work. Today I was still in town and this little fellow jumped out from the side. I never saw it till it was too late. I hit the brakes and skidded the wheels for an instant. Luckily, it was small enough that it did very little damage to the vette. It cracked the passengers side marker lamp and broke the element for the turn signal on that light. The only other thing I can detect, and I don't know that it was not already this way, it looks like the headlight might be touching the hood now when it comes up. If you were to look at the car I don't think it is noticeable. But still, CRAP!!!

 

Mine doesn't squeak, but I bought a console cover from a company on the auction site, $49.00 and since mine is a 2003 with the ISC package, I got a cover with the gold 50th crest on it and since one of my friends does interior upholstery work I had him install it permanently with a little adhesive and stables ( You don't need to do this to install it on your C-5 Corvette by yourself, it only takes fifteen minutes to do it- off and back on) but it turned out so well I suggest any of you who'd like to dress up a little to your interion to look them up, PM me. they make a whole series of leather embroidered emblems for Corvettes.

 

Never had that problem on either of the two C5s I've owned. Try lubricating the hinges on the console lid - it might take away the squeak.

 

If that's where the squeak or sound is coming from, I agree. Problem is though, the plastic interior pieces rubbing against each other can be just as big a culprit.