Dented Arm Rest?? Anyone else?

Mine dented around 28k miles. I looked at my wife and asked "has this always been here?!!?!"

Took it into the dealer at 30k for the crunching lumbar, headlights hazing and the dent in the armrest. They ordered parts for the seat and a new armrest, but won't do anything about the headlights. Hopefully the new one will hold up better than the old one. I was told by parts it was $245 for the armrest "door"
 
uggh i have the same problem in my arm rest and im lil female weighs 120.. it just makes me mad how its cheaply made
 
Wow. Seems like a disproportionate amount of you have broken or dented your arm rests.

First, I have have driven my 2011 4Runner 30K miles so far and even though my elbow rests in the EXACT same place every time there is no dent or deformation to the vinyl, foam or plastic of the console lid, or armrest. I am 6'4" and weigh 250 lbs. I have driven 29,500 of the 30K miles myself. In my opinion, this device has functioned as intended, which is to say it provides a place to rest the right lower arm while driving.

With that said, and I do not doubt any of you (including the op) have some issue with your arm rest, I think the arm rest COULD be deformed or damaged if it were used as a pivot or leverage point. An example would be:

1. Getting in, resting your elbow on the armrest and lifting your body weight with that arm in order to scoot or maneuver yourself into a more comfortable position, or
2. Using that elbow as a pivot point while reaching across the vehicle with your left hand, or
3. Something that will let over 1/2 your body weight rest on a point approximately the size of one square inch (elbow contact area) while that weight is moving.

If you guys (and girls) feel that Toyota should have designed an armrest able to withstand that type of force thats fine. I do not agree though that resting your arm on the console lid will deform or damage it.

It just depends on your expectations. My expectation for this device is "to provide a cover to store small objects out of sight and double as a place to comfortably rest my right arm while driving."
 
When the term 'arm rest' is used, I think some of you guys are talking about the center console lid and some are talking about the arm rest on the door card.

Now, i've only had my truck for about 2 days now, and I can easily say that the arm rest on the door card could be dent from repeated pressure on it, it's obviously a very low density foam underneath, similar to the kind they use around car speakers on occasion.

On the other hand, the center console lid seems pretty tough, not sure how it will hold up in the long run, but it should easily resist denting longer than the door card arm rest.
 
When the term 'arm rest' is used, I think some of you guys are talking about the center console lid and some are talking about the arm rest on the door card.

Now, i've only had my truck for about 2 days now, and I can easily say that the arm rest on the door card could be dent from repeated pressure on it, it's obviously a very low density foam underneath, similar to the kind they use around car speakers on occasion.

On the other hand, the center console lid seems pretty tough, not sure how it will hold up in the long run, but it should easily resist denting longer than the door card arm rest.

The OP said "right elbow." I directed my comments to the padded console lid.
 
The console lid on my '12 SR5 is dented by my elbow resting on it (sorry Engineer1). I noticed this within days of driving the vehicle off the lot. It sounds like a common problem.
 
The console lid on my '12 SR5 is dented by my elbow resting on it (sorry Engineer1). I noticed this within days of driving the vehicle off the lot. It sounds like a common problem.

After my post this morning I wondered just how rugged the lid was and if my statements werre correct. I took a 10lb weight (small weight with rounded end) and stood it upright on the center console for about an hour. I removed the weight and within a few minutes there was no depression. I stand by my earlier reasoning.
 
I am all about being at "home" but for $35,600 I think my home should remain pretty a little longer.

bad luck.. sorry to hear that!

out of all the cars I owned.. jetta never had that problem, both of my rovers never had that problem..

HOWEVER, my dad's c-class AMG got a very deep elbow hole. $80k sedan, just goes to show you it's not how much you pay. My guess is that half of the people that design cars/trucks ride the subway, and engineering is a day-job, not their passion.
 
1engineer is dead on. My armrest was dented from using it as a leverage point getting in the truck. It is, somehow, no longer dented. Since the lift and 285s, it is no longer used as leverage eliminating the problem. So, for about $3k you can keep this from happening to you, otherwise, don't use it for leverage :jaw drop:
 
Maybe a bad batch of center console covers or they changed something?Over 40k miles on mine, always resting my elbow on it and no dent or mark of any kind whatsoever.
Besides.....
3129307969_dcd291490d-1.jpg~original
 
harper7, a sense of humor, really? How cool. Now, if we can get 1engineer to just giggle a little, LOL.

A mathematician and an engineer are sitting next to each other on a long flight. The mathematician leans over to the engineer and asks if he would like to play a fun game. The engineer just wants to take a nap, so he politely declines and rolls over to the window to catch a few winks.

The mathematician persists and explains that the game is real easy and lots of fun. He explains, "I ask you a question, and if you don't know the answer, you pay me $5. Then you ask me a question, and if I don't know the answer, I'll pay you $5."

Again, the engineer politely declines and tries to get to sleep. The mathematician, now somewhat agitated, says, "Okay, if you don't know the answer, you pay me $5, and if I don't know the answer, I'll pay you $50!"

This catches the engineer's attention, and he sees no end to this torment unless he plays, so he agrees to the game. The mathematician asks the first question. "What's the distance from the earth to the moon?"

The engineer doesn't say a word, but reaches into his wallet, pulls out a five-dollar bill and hands it to the mathematician Now, it's the engineer's turn. He asks the mathematician "What goes up a hill with three legs and comes down on four?"

The mathematician looks up at him with a puzzled look. He takes out his laptop computer and searches all of his references. He taps into the air phone with his modem and searches the net and the Library of Congress. Frustrated, he sends e-mail to his co-workers all to no avail.

After about an hour, he wakes the engineer and hands him $50. The engineer politely takes the $50 and turns away to try to get back to sleep.

The mathematician then hits the engineer, saying, "What goes up a hill with three legs, and comes down on four?" The engineer calmly pulls out his wallet, hands the mathematician five bucks, and goes back to sleep.

Another:

There are four engineers travelling in a car; a mechanical engineer, a chemical engineer, an electrical engineer and a computer engineer. The car breaks down. "Sounds to me as if the pistons have seized. We'll have to strip down the engine before we can get the car working again", says the mechanical engineer. "Well", says the chemical engineer, "it sounded to me as if the fuel might be contaminated. I think we should clear out the fuel system." "I thought it might be an grounding problem", says the electrical engineer, "or maybe a faulty plug lead." They all turn to the computer engineer who has said nothing and say: "Well, what do you think?" "Ummm - perhaps if we all get out of the car and get back in again?"
 
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ALRIGHT! Now we got some posts going........

Did you hear about the Blond who bought an AM Radio?



Took her a week to figure out she could play it in the Afternoon........
 

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