Audi S3 2002 Arm rest stuck

[adamshaw]

Hello, My arm rest is stuck in the upright position, i hav eseen this happen on a couple of different S3's, does anyone know how to release it?

 

[FactionOne]

It's a common problem I'm afraid, components in the release mechanism break - Audi have something called an 'Armrest service kit' available which contains parts to replace the flimsy ones. That won't help you get it back to horizontal though, just stop it from happening again once you have...

As far as I remember there are two options to return it to horizontal pending a fix - brute force (but you may make more damage in the process, so be careful), or removing it and taking it to bits...

Defratos also has a 'home-brew' fix too: http://00626e1.netsolhost.com/formoshun/s3/Armrest.htm

There's a reasonable amount of information on the board about it if you search for 'stuck armrest' in the 8L forum...

Regards,

Rob.

 

[StrmsekS3]

dont buy the service kit!! i had this and just read posts on here and its a easy fix with a screw and glue and its taken some abuse now and still great!!

first get it in horizontal pos you can remove the washerd ect on the shaft and prise it down carefully then follow instruction on here for rest

its really pretty simple

 

[NHN]

Has this got the push button release or ratchet system?

Usually its the ratchet system thats stuck in position, need to remove from car & disassmeble the armrest to see if its just stuck or actually worn down/broken inside, I'm sure there was a repair kit for the 8L/B5 armrest when they did this.

On my old S3 the ratchet system actually had worn down from when I rest my arm on & no I'm not fat, guess the metal was fairly soft, I was lucky to still be in warranty

 

[NHN]

Ah beaten to the post, way to go Rob.

 

[GT130]

Mine got stuck in the upright position the day before going on holiday, put an order in for the repair kit which was 13 quid and thought i'd have a quick play in the meantime to see if i could get it down - if you use a tiny screwdriver (type you would use on glasses etc) you can push the ratchet in whilst you push the handle in, you will feel one side unclick then just do the otherside - got mine down and have not bothered to replace the handle yet - HOW DO YOU GET THE INSIDE TRIM OFF - any easy way apart from stanley knife scrapping it off from a corner ??

 

[ash_s3]

Mine got stuck in the upright position the day before going on holiday, put an order in for the repair kit which was 13 quid and thought i'd have a quick play in the meantime to see if i could get it down - if you use a tiny screwdriver (type you would use on glasses etc) you can push the ratchet in whilst you push the handle in, you will feel one side unclick then just do the otherside - got mine down and have not bothered to replace the handle yet - HOW DO YOU GET THE INSIDE TRIM OFF - any easy way apart from stanley knife scrapping it off from a corner ??

Dont scrape the felt off, just feel very carefuly for the screw heads, once you locate them put your torx bit in the screw head and unscrew them, only the felt that covered the screw heads is then removed. You dont need to scrape any off, you can remove the screws with the felt intact

 

[Pmol66]

i bought an s3 last week and it had this problem. im guessing mine is the push button type. there was a missing piece which must of been the button.
i located the four hidden screws as described further up this page.
i made my own button using the handle of a cutlery fork and its turned out ok lol...
i'll try and upload the photos now......
heres a link to the photos, they are in reverse order!
molineux84's Album: A3 S3 jammed armrest fix