2005 Toyota Highlander Armrest Removal

Yes.

would you please be so kind to share your knowledge in removing the armrest. i tried my best to pry them out with my hands but they seem to be attached pretty well. do you have any instructions or know of any readily available instructions on how to remove the armrest for a

thanks again for your reply.

Ray O wrote:

With the armrest in the up position, take a look at the seam underneath the end of the armrest closest to the pivot point. There should be a zipper or velcro or clip or something hidden underneath the seam. Undo the zipper/velcro/clip, carefully peel back the armrest cover until you see how the pivot is attached to the seat. Remove the armrest, install your seat cover, and reverse the process.

See the plastic cap where the armrest pivots on the seat? Pry the cap off and behind it is a bolt which you remove and the armrest comes off.

thanks for the replies. really appreciated from a non-mechanic.

Ray O: i did look at the seam underneath the end of the armrest closest to the pivot point and unfortunately this seem is SEWED on. i do not see any portion of the fabric covering the armrest that will allow me to peel off the amrest cover from what i can see.

Craig B: popping off the plastic cap was my first attempt but it's attached really tight and i was afraid of breaking it off or breaking off the locking mechanism that i wont be able to pop it back in. also, i was thinking that it might be some kinda twist and pop kinda un-locking mechanism. pushing the material down to expose the locking cap as much as possible, i saw that it has a long tubular stem so i can't even guess how the locking part works and my idea of using a flathead screwdriver to pop it out would not work as then i would damage the tubular stem. have you pop one of these caps before? is there a secret to it like a push-down + twist + pry or whatever?

again, thank you so much in advance for everyone's reply.

Craig Baker wrote:

I have not looked at how the armrest is attached on a Highlander so I my advice was based on other cars with moving armrests. As far as popping plastic caps off, if they break, replacement parts are probably a few dollars, so worst case, if the cap breaks, you buy new ones.

Good luck!

replying to Ray O, john y wrote: I have taken both of mine off before.... push in around the cap with your fingers and get a good grip on it and then pull hard.... they do pop off.... got them off without any damage.... seemed as though the equal pressure around the perimeter of the cap helped... GOOD LUCK...

replying to john y, KenK wrote: I have a 2006 Highlander. My biggest challenge was removing the plastic cap. As you can see in the images I provided the cap is held in the arm rest by two tabs at the bottom end of the cap. I was able to remove the cap by getting fingers (on both hands) behind the lip of the cap then wiggling and pulling pretty hard. It looks like it might come off more easily if you squeeze the round body of the cap from both sides of the body and then pull, but you would have to squeeze at the point on the body where the tabs are located (and the tabs are not visible until you remove the cap). Hopefully the pictures of the cap will assist you in removing this cap.

replying to KenK, Albert L Hendrix wrote: I found that if you wrap some small diameter nylon cord around the cap a few turns, it pulls of pretty easily.

replying to Albert L Hendrix, lietzke wrote: This was the trick for me. Brilliant!