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I know this has been covered in the past, however, after 12,000 miles my 2016 Z51 (LT1) center armrest lid's fabric/leather was warping.
My thanks to the members on this forum who visited their dealer for replacement and posted their success. This forum is very helpful and provides tremendous resources.
The local dealer was understanding and willing to assist...the new lid arrived yesterday and was installed almost immediately (albeit...three small screws to unfasten and tighten). They kept the old lid for validation.
I have attached a pic of the new lid. The old warped lid had two small ripples where my elbow typically rests.
Thanks again forum members for your assistance. If you have warps/ripples - you can probably get it replaced by visiting your dealer. I would love to hear about those dealers who refuse to replace the lid.
I've had mine (1LT) replaced twice already. Now that my 3/36 warranty is expired, when it does it again I'll be going with the 3LT lid and hope that makes a difference.
I'm kind of thinking there needs to be a behavior change if one expects the problem to quit happening. Try resting your ARM on the console lid rather than digging your elbow into the console lid. I'm rather surprised they even replaced it once. Sorry.
For me, not at all. Full tint (including the windshield), garaged at home and garaged at work (on the rare occasion I drive it to work). The only sun it really gets is the occasional roofless cruise on a weekend afternoon.
It is a bad design, not the fact we rest our arm on them. That is it's intent.
Originally Posted by beaversstonehaven
I'm kind of thinking there needs to be a behavior change if one expects the problem to quit happening. Try resting your ARM on the console lid rather than digging your elbow into the console lid. I'm rather surprised they even replaced it once. Sorry.
I'm kind of thinking there needs to be a behavior change if one expects the problem to quit happening. Try resting your ARM on the console lid rather than digging your elbow into the console lid. I'm rather surprised they even replaced it once. Sorry.
I have to agree with you on this one.
In my first C4 I owned, the armrest was in pretty decent shape, despite the car having over 150k on it. In a short span of time, I permanently indented it with my elbow. The fact it was damaged kind of urked me, so I started to be conscious of my "elbow" vs my arm.
Moving forward through my C5Z (which I still have) and our C6 I've had no issues at all. For me it was a simple act of being aware I was doing it. It's not that I feel inconvenienced in any way, now I just tend to rest my arm versus lean on my elbow at times, which is what I assume I was doing without realizing.
This seems like a wear and tear item and i'm surprised they replace under warranty myself, especially with clear elbow ripples.
There is normal wear and tear which is to be expected and isn't covered, but this was definitely excessive which is why I was able to get it covered twice within the 3/36 (obviously the dealer agreed with me). Blame me or my elbow all you want, but this is the first car I've ever had an issue with when it comes to armrest wear.
This is what mine looked like before it was replaced under warranty. Car is garage kept, I'm not a big heavy guy with monster arms or anything. Never had a car do this and I have had plenty of manuals where I tend to use the arm rest more.
I've had mine (1LT) replaced twice already. Now that my 3/36 warranty is expired, when it does it again I'll be going with the 3LT lid and hope that makes a difference.
I keep a black face towel folded a couple of time on my console to pad my elbow and provide a little extra cushion for the top of the lid. Mine still looks good after 3 years of daily driving
I agree that it's a poor material choice and the damage shown is not consistent with normal 'wear and tear'. It definitely should be replaced under warranty. The problem is unless the material has changed-which I doubt it has-the problem will reoccur. I have gone to the 'arm resting' mode and not allowing elbows to be on the armrest. This is really BS though, as previous Vettes and our Caddys have armrests that are used constantly with elbows and have no evidence of that problem. GM (or their supplier) must be having a fair amount of warranty claim $ for this problem. It will be interesting to see how some of these cars look in 3-4 years when many are on the resale market. The reproduction aftermarket companies should have a good business making replacements using a different material.
Have to laugh when someone says that a behavior change is needed stating that drivers are digging their arm into it when using the console armrest. We weren't aware you were inspecting our armrest/elbow connection when RESTING ARMS ON THE ARMREST?!?!?!?
PS My dealer replaced it no questions asked.....
05-23-2017, 10:39 AM
Center armrest lid warping - Pics
