Split Armrest Issue

[new to ford]

Tricia,
my drivers armrest was replaced once under warranty, well the replacement is splitting again! I am at 66K miles. I have ESP warranty but the dealership told me that trim is not covered. Can you help fix this design flaw?
Thanks,

 

[peterk9]

Tricia,
my drivers armrest was replaced once under warranty, well the replacement is splitting again! I am at 66K miles. I have ESP warranty but the dealership told me that trim is not covered. Can you help fix this design flaw?
Thanks,

To be sure that your message is seen, I suggest that you send a PM to FordService. Your dealer is correct in that it is not covered by the ESP. Exclusions list: trim, upholstery.

Peter

 

[new to ford]

ok thanks Peter.

 

[Jetman]

The armrest on my 2012 is splitting. I saw that Ford has shared the cost of fixing this with other people. My question is who do I contact? Thanks.

 

[bsolomon]

Arm Rest Material Separating

I have a 2012 Ford Explorer Limited and the armrest material is separating at the stitch (about a 3 inch separation). The vehicle has about 70,000 km and is past the 3 year warranty. The dealer said all they could do is try to glue it but it may not hold, or order an entire new door panel. The seats are two-tone pecan leather but the material on the door (I think) is not leather (some kind of vinyl or "pleather"). It is separating at the stitch (not sure it is a real stitch).

Has anyone ever heard of this before. The vehicle is treated pretty well and seems strange that this would happen at this stage of its life.

Thanks for your help.

 

[peterk9]

I have a 2012 Ford Explorer Limited and the armrest material is separating at the stitch (about a 3 inch separation). The vehicle has about 70,000 km and is past the 3 year warranty. The dealer said all they could do is try to glue it but it may not hold, or order an entire new door panel. The seats are two-tone pecan leather but the material on the door (I think) is not leather (some kind of vinyl or "pleather"). It is separating at the stitch (not sure it is a real stitch).

Has anyone ever heard of this before. The vehicle is treated pretty well and seems strange that this would happen at this stage of its life.

Thanks for your help.

Welcome to the Forum.:wavey:
Using the Forum' 'Search' program and searching on "armrest" I found this 9 page thread on the same topic and merged yours with it.
Also please add the 'model' of your EX to your profile so it shows in the margin when you post. Thanks.

Peter

 

[blwnsmoke]

I have a 2012 Ford Explorer Limited and the armrest material is separating at the stitch (about a 3 inch separation). The vehicle has about 70,000 km and is past the 3 year warranty. The dealer said all they could do is try to glue it but it may not hold, or order an entire new door panel. The seats are two-tone pecan leather but the material on the door (I think) is not leather (some kind of vinyl or "pleather"). It is separating at the stitch (not sure it is a real stitch).

Has anyone ever heard of this before. The vehicle is treated pretty well and seems strange that this would happen at this stage of its life.

Thanks for your help.

As Peter merged your thread, I was merging it as well to a different thread with pictures in it. Both of those have been merged to one big thread so there is plenty of reading on here for you to go through.

Reality is Ford might step up and replace it but being out of warranty, it would be a good will option. The door panels are not cheap so if Ford won't replace it, best bet is to see if glue would hold it together as your dealer suggested.

 

[aznkidlee]

I have a 2012 Explorer with about 52K miles now and I had the rip on my arm rest early on. Probably around 30-35K. I used super glue to fix mine.

 

[Christa]

Same problem with armrest

Is anyone getting a reply from fordservice? I sent a PM last week but haven't heard anything yet and wanted to check. Same issue. Very frustrating to see that it isn't just something that happens as it has happened to A LOT of us. Wish Ford would take care of the issue and its loyal customers.

 

[peterk9]

Is anyone getting a reply from fordservice? I sent a PM last week but haven't heard anything yet and wanted to check. Same issue. Very frustrating to see that it isn't just something that happens as it has happened to A LOT of us. Wish Ford would take care of the issue and its loyal customers.

Welcome to the Forum.:wavey:
FordService replied to 13 posts on the 26th and 2 on the 28th one of which addressed multiple members. Perhaps they are very busy as they also monitor other forums as well.
Also, please add the 'model' of your Explorer to your profile so it shows in the margin. Thanks.

Peter

 

[Christa]

Welcome to the Forum.:wavey:
FordService replied to 13 posts on the 26th and 2 on the 28th one of which addressed multiple members. Perhaps they are very busy as they also monitor other forums as well.
Also, please add the 'model' of your Explorer to your profile so it shows in the margin. Thanks.

Peter

Thanks. I understand that which was why I was asking about others experience with response times. I was just noting that this is obviously a very common issue and Ford should realize that and hopefully be willing to help us all and handle it accordingly. I love my explorer otherwise so far, just sad to have such an issue on a relatively new car with low miles. Thanks for your help. I hope to hear back soon.

 

[jonredcorn]

just heard back from the service dept at gene butman ford. they will replace the entire door panel for $100 (my cost). they said that ford and the dealership will take the rest of the cost. he said it was a $400 panel. not sure about that but it's better than nothing since it's way past warranty at 57k miles and i don't feel like driving around with a super glued armrest.

This is what I Was told as well. I was at 40k miles. I paid the $100 for the replacement but do not drive the 2012 base as of 2 months ago. Now I'm on to a leather-trim 2016 that does not appear to have the same weak seams (for now at least)

 

[bsolomon]

Just got off the phone with Regional Customer Service and was denied any financial assistance for dealing with the issue. I have a 2012 Ford Explorer Limited with under 70,000 km but Regional ustomer Service Service Manager (Jane) said there were no "programs" available to assist me with the separation in my door armrest.
I notified her about people on this forum with similar problems that were given assistance but still was not offered any assistance.
I have to say that am very disappointed. I have a "Limited" vehicle just outside of warranty coverage and am surprised that with the high number of people posting on this forum (and probably others) about this problem, Ford will do nothing.
I don't want to be a complainer but it's bad enough that Ford would use material and workmanship that would lead to this issue, but it is even worse that they don't stand behind their product.

 

[blwnsmoke]

Unfortunately that seems very common for FoC... FoA seems to assist far more to customers who have just passed their warranty.

As unfortunate as it is, Ford does stand behind their product.. they stand behind it for 3 years, 36k (is it 60,000km?). They do have to draw a line somewhere... when do are they supposedoing to say no? At 100k? 150k? Etc.

 

[figg31]

2011 Ford Explorer XLT with 60K miles. The armrest material is separating at the seam on the driver side door ...I thought the stitching was real #designflaw ??

 

[peterk9]

2011 Ford Explorer XLT with 60K miles. The armrest material is separating at the seam on the driver side door ...I thought the stitching was real #designflaw ??

Welcome to the Forum.:wavey:
If this just started recently, it last a lot longer than a lot of members in this thread.

Peter

 

[Christa]

Got the same blow off

Just got off the phone with Regional Customer Service and was denied any financial assistance for dealing with the issue. I have a 2012 Ford Explorer Limited with under 70,000 km but Regional ustomer Service Service Manager (Jane) said there were no "programs" available to assist me with the separation in my door armrest.
I notified her about people on this forum with similar problems that were given assistance but still was not offered any assistance.
I have to say that am very disappointed. I have a "Limited" vehicle just outside of warranty coverage and am surprised that with the high number of people posting on this forum (and probably others) about this problem, Ford will do nothing.
I don't want to be a complainer but it's bad enough that Ford would use material and workmanship that would lead to this issue, but it is even worse that they don't stand behind their product.

Sorry to hear about what happened. The same thing happened to me. I kept hearing about all the great customer service from the forum here and how the customer service manager was going to contact me. I finally called her and then did not even get a call back but an email saying the same thing. It would be nice if they would at least consider caring about customer service and maintaining good Ford customer who would come back year to year. At this point I wouldn't buy another Ford because of the lack of care on Ford's part when this is obviously a manufacturers defect!! Very disappointing Ford and Ford Customer Service and it would be nice to actually at least be allowed to speak with a person before at least being told no!
Thanks Christa

 

[Rammer]

I noticed the same problem

A vehicle with 75K kms should not have this issue

I was at the dealership last week and its not covered under the extended warranty plan.

This is very frustrating!!

 

[Onoahimahi]

Hi - I just picked up a new-to-me 2013 Ltd last month that I absolutely love so far . I've been having fun trying to make the collision assist alarm go off and testing the lane-assist stuff by taking my hands off the wheel - it works!

Anyway, last week the armrest on my drivers door split in two places. I search around online and found this thread. I'd like to try to repair but don't know what to try - has anyone posted photos of their glue or stitching repairs?

For those who have repaired with superglue - are you gluing the vinyl to the foam or actually gluing the narrow seam together?

For those using thread, are you following the fake stitching pattern somehow? Or just stitching anyway you can?

Has anyone tried a hot glue gun? I'm thinking it may hold better then superglue and would use a color glue that matches my black interior.

Thanks,
-Scott

 

[peterk9]

Hi - I just picked up a new-to-me 2013 Ltd last month that I absolutely love so far . I've been having fun trying to make the collision assist alarm go off and testing the lane-assist stuff by taking my hands off the wheel - it works!

Anyway, last week the armrest on my drivers door split in two places. I search around online and found this thread. I'd like to try to repair but don't know what to try - has anyone posted photos of their glue or stitching repairs?

For those who have repaired with superglue - are you gluing the vinyl to the foam or actually gluing the narrow seam together?

For those using thread, are you following the fake stitching pattern somehow? Or just stitching anyway you can?

Has anyone tried a hot glue gun? I'm thinking it may hold better then superglue and would use a color glue that matches my black interior.

Thanks,
-Scott

Welcome to the Forum.:wavey:
Good luck with any of the methods you end up trying Scott. Let us know how the repair went.

Peter