Rear Armrest won't come down

[blackc2004]

My rear armrest has been "stuck" in the up position basically since I bought the car. I've always gone through the fast lane and they don't fix things like that. So today I took my truck in for it's 20,000 mile tune up and the rear brake light recall so I asked them to look into it.

They just called me and said the "fix" is to "put your elbow into the leather as you pull on the handle to release the latch".

Doesn't this sound Ridiculous??? Is anyone else having issues with the rear seat armrest getting stuck??

(also, my truck apparently has an oil leak....)

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[Khyron]

My rear armrest has been "stuck" in the up position basically since I bought the car. I've always gone through the fast lane and they don't fix things like that. So today I took my truck in for it's 20,000 mile tune up and the rear brake light recall so I asked them to look into it.

They just called me and said the "fix" is to "put your elbow into the leather as you pull on the handle to release the latch".

Doesn't this sound Ridiculous??? Is anyone else having issues with the rear seat armrest getting stuck??

(also, my truck apparently has an oil leak....)

Mine is super hard to pull down as well. When pulling on the little fabric release strap I swear that it's going to rip off before finally unlatching and opening. So I'm curious to know if anyone has a DIY to fix this too.

 

[Zaph]

Mine felt like it was stuck too. I just pulled harder and it popped out. The good news is that it starts popping out easier as you use it.

It's kinda like closing the rear seat. I closes hard until you close it a bunch of times then it clicks in easier.

 

[GT5050]

If once you open it and you look at the way the latch catches, you’ll see where it gets stuck. I was grappling with the same thing on Rangers I was looking at.

Basically, if you pull by the tether it forces the latch into the catch, making it hard or impossible to release. I believe this is when the padding on the armrest is new so it’s kind of tight when shut and already wanting to push out, if that makes sense. So the latch is already forced into the catch with some pressure.

So in my experience, if you slightly push the armrest in (doesn’t have to be an elbow) while pulling on the tether at the same time, it’ll release the latch and then you can open it the armrest. Again, just push on armrest with slight pressure and pull the tether to release the latch. This has been flawless and my 10 year old can do it so while it may not be ideal it works just fine.

 

[FX4Offroad]

So, mine was the same way. Pulled and pulled but it wouldn't come down. I got angry and pounded the top of it and it came down.

Like was said, it gets easier the more you use it.

And no, I don't have anger issues. Don't judge me

 

[weasel1]

So, mine was the same way. Pulled and pulled but it wouldn't come down. I got angry and pounded the top of it and it came down.

Like was said, it gets easier the more you use it.

And no, I don't have anger issues. Don't judge me

*Avatar checks out

 

[FX4Offroad]

*Avatar checks out

Your welcome.

 

[Msfitoy]

Cloth seat...no problem

 

[levimac`]

My rear armrest has been "stuck" in the up position basically since I bought the car. I've always gone through the fast lane and they don't fix things like that. So today I took my truck in for it's 20,000 mile tune up and the rear brake light recall so I asked them to look into it.

They just called me and said the "fix" is to "put your elbow into the leather as you pull on the handle to release the latch".

Doesn't this sound Ridiculous??? Is anyone else having issues with the rear seat armrest getting stuck??

(also, my truck apparently has an oil leak....)

So, have they put the arm rest down for you and show you how to do it? The day I bought my Ranger I attempted to get it down and it took two guys and me to get the thing down the release is real sticky and needs a real hard pull on the strap and pull on the back of the armrest to get the hook to popup so it will come down, I tried it after it did release and it was fine.
These things are pricy enough and you guys pay high taxes and the dealership and sales staff need to fix it for you not give you advice,
my dealer is going to take my air dam off for me no charge just cause I don't like it. Service is what we pay for and service and customer service and relations is what we should get.
50 years of automobile purchasing gives me that attitude and close to a car every year too.
Did the knot heads fix the oil leak or are they saying "That's the nature of the beast, and they all leak" if they did, mine doesn't leak ect...?

 

[levimac`]

So, mine was the same way. Pulled and pulled but it wouldn't come down. I got angry and pounded the top of it and it came down.

Like was said, it gets easier the more you use it.

And no, I don't have anger issues. Don't judge me

Haaaaaaaa, of course you don't we all know that, like your comment.

 

[blackc2004]

So, have they put the arm rest down for you and show you how to do it? The day I bought my Ranger I attempted to get it down and it took two guys and me to get the thing down the release is real sticky and needs a real hard pull on the strap and pull on the back of the armrest to get the hook to popup so it will come down, I tried it after it did release and it was fine.
These things are pricy enough and you guys pay high taxes and the dealership and sales staff need to fix it for you not give you advice,
my dealer is going to take my air dam off for me no charge just cause I don't like it. Service is what we pay for and service and customer service and relations is what we should get.
50 years of automobile purchasing gives me that attitude and close to a car every year too.
Did the knot heads fix the oil leak or are they saying "That's the nature of the beast, and they all leak" if they did, mine doesn't leak ect...?

Honestly the Ford Dealer Maint is really turning me off from ever buying a Ford again. Not sure if it's just the SF Bay dealers who don't give a rats about service because they know there's plenty of people who keep them busy or what.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Honestly the Ford Dealer Maint is really turning me off from ever buying a Ford again. Not sure if it's just the SF Bay dealers who don't give a rats about service because they know there's plenty of people who keep them busy or what.

Another Back Story:

Got the SF Attitude in spades on a 1985½ Aerostar signoff Drive...the drive that sends the Okay for production letter. It is a big deal with hundreds of people evaluating the products. We had around 15 Aerostar prototypes and we based out of SF and Reno and drove between these cities. Executives flew into SF or Reno and drove to the other city. I believe I did 5 round trips on this drive, having a significant part with Aerostar NVVH. We had a 4 banger Dodge Caravan in the drive rotation. One one of the drives from SF toward Reno the Dodge jumped camshaft timing for some reason. Since I was known for my mechanic skills, they had me diagnose the problem and I correctly determined the cam timing was off...but we had limited tools so no way to fix on the side of the road. So the decision was to have me and one of my engineers drive the wounded Dodge back to SF, get it fixed and drive it back to Reno. This is before cellphones, so found a pay phone and made a collect call to my Secretary to make arranges for an afternoon emergency repair. I would check back with her later on the road when she had the time to show up at the Dodge dealership. Called later from the road and she said all set for 3pm... Driving this slug was slow going but we hit the dealership about 2pm. Thought we would just get the Dodge in the que, but the service writer would not accept us, telling us to come back next week. What a snot...so I headed to the service manager...Cripe!...even a snottier person than the service writer...so to the general manager waiving my horsepower as a Ford Executive (a bit of a stretch at that time). Finally got someone helpful and we got the Dodge in the que asap. Whew... When waiting for the van, I engaged some other customers and got an ear full of car dealerships in SF.... Came away with the impression there is an attitude among all brands in SF.

Anyway...got the fixed van back and headed back to Reno, just in time to go to bed for the night...long day... Next day we started the trek back to SF with the Aerostar fleet and the now properly running Dodge Caravan.

Fall out from the trip....The 2.3L lima 4 cylinder in both Auto and Manual were dropped from being a production offering as the 4 banger was just too under powered, especially the auto trans as you could time its 0-60 time with an hour glass. In the end...I believe it was a good decision, but I thought the 2.3L manual was still acceptable... Oh well!

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[MannyS]

So, have they put the arm rest down for you and show you how to do it? The day I bought my Ranger I attempted to get it down and it took two guys and me to get the thing down the release is real sticky and needs a real hard pull on the strap and pull on the back of the armrest to get the hook to popup so it will come down, I tried it after it did release and it was fine.
These things are pricy enough and you guys pay high taxes and the dealership and sales staff need to fix it for you not give you advice,
my dealer is going to take my air dam off for me no charge just cause I don't like it. Service is what we pay for and service and customer service and relations is what we should get.
50 years of automobile purchasing gives me that attitude and close to a car every year too.
Did the knot heads fix the oil leak or are they saying "That's the nature of the beast, and they all leak" if they did, mine doesn't leak ect...?

Push the armrest in while pulling the handle.

 

[olgzr]

Fall out from the trip....The 2.3L lima 4 cylinder in both Auto and Manual were dropped from being a production offering as the 4 banger was just too under powered, especially the auto trans as you could time its 0-60 time with an hour glass. In the end...I believe it was a good decision, but I thought the 2.3L manual was still acceptable... Oh well!

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

I had a 4 cylinder with 5 speed manual Aerostar we bought new in 1986 (IIRC). Power was ok, not great but I did tow an early bronco from Yuba City, CA to DFW with it. It was definitely underpowered while pulling the bronco. I put about 150K miles on it before trading it in on an Explorer.

 

[Truckee Bill]

I have the cloth interior and my rear armrest feels like it was sewn in place. But I will try the various fixes once I remove the waterproof seat cover that is currently installed (great for pets, wet stuff and children...)

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