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Leather armrest bubbled/cracked?

47K views 25 replies 18 participants last post by  bridgh 
#1 ·
Hello guys, as the tittle stated, my armrest bubbled up and now its tearing up.. I don't think im under warranty so I was wondering if any of you guys knows where I can purchase a new one other then a Honda Stealership? Thanks in advance

BTW I did a search on this topic and all I see are people getting replacement from the dealership because they're still under warranty.
 
#13 ·
Ebay: Replacement cover under $30.00..easy to remove from car..easier to remove the vinyl cover...I had a old hot rodder replace mine..tough to stretch and staple..check with your local trim shop...the cover is real leather and comes in two colors black and beige.

69,000 miles factory Vinyl armrest worn out and bubbled
Dealer no help said our skin was too oily $192.00 Trim Shop $185.00
Disgusted, went to ebay search: 2009 Honda Accord Armrest Cover
Purchased under $25.00 and this is a LEATHER replacement
Easy to remove old factory vinyl cover..short staples
Friend in a hot rod stretched and stapled ebay cover on no charge to me
You will more than likely have to take cover to a trim shop and pay the labor
But I can assure you this is a better than factory replacement part from ebay..
Nice job Black Bandit what kind of material did you use?

I have this same issue and I don't know how to fix it.
As you can see, there is now a bubble forming on the other side too.

Full page picture
Go to ebay....search 2008 Honda Accord Armrest Cover..pick the Leather version Under $30.00 including shipping
7 or 8 screws remove armrest lid
Take cover and lid to local trim shop for best results
Good Luck:thmsup:
 

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#17 ·
I just ordered this cover from Amazon for my 2008 Accord. This isn't by chance the same as what you installed, is it?

 
#16 ·
I took the liberty of getting a new cover with nice grey stitching and much thicker quality leather when I got my accord a 5 or so months ago. Was the first thing I did.

No comparison to the stock thin leather cover.

And vinyl does stretch, more than leather. There are also different types of vinyl and some stretch way more than others.

IMHO the oem cover is bonded leather meaning it's got a thin layer of leather bonded to a substrate (likely vinyl) and so it stretches over time.

Real leather hide is 10x harder to stretch. When I installed mine on my lid it was incredibly annoying to get pulled tight because it doesn't stretch like vinyl. You can only pull it tight.
 
#20 ·
On mine it was just vinyl, no leather. Most manufacturers use vinyl for the arm rests, console, door panels etc.

Leather is very tough to stretch, you have to get warm and/or use steam. It is easier than people think to tear or over stretch leather when trying to pull it tight.
 
#18 ·
I ordered a replacement true leather cover from a company called Kar Designs. I went through eBay. I used them for a cover for my old Infiniti as well.

I took it to a local place to install and they said it was a pretty good cover. Said it was cut and sewn to account for the rounded corners and that a lot of replacements don't have that.

I was going to try it myself, but for $30 it was worth to get it done right the first time.
 
#19 ·
Thanks for the video kenjisan. I just bought a leather armrest cover on eBay for $25.
 
#21 ·
There is a sticky on this.
 
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#22 ·
I bought one on eBay for under $25
 
#25 ·
On the non-DIY side, I'm going to a trim shop today (Monday) and will let y'all know what it costs. I already have the cover.
 
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