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Oh, don't worry, those won't stay closed either. I actually used one of those to repair my original equipment center armrest. The bottom (with the pieces that slide in the slots) was broken, so I carefully removed it and did the same with the Chinesium replacement and then used the Chinese one on the BMW pad. It does not like to stay in place. Ultimately, it was a defective design and there isn't much that can be done about it. The Chinese one was manufactured using a mold taken from good original parts, but is made of inferior materials. The original is PA6 Nylon or maybe polycarbonate with fiberglass reinforcement while the Chinese knock off is just cheap ABS plastic. Plus, the Chinese one has terrible quality upholstery and foam that in no way matches the interior.
I took a chance and ordered the $15 arm rest pad from overseas.....shipping was real quick...and it's now on the arm rest of the '06 R52.....fit and function is fine...the top pad is a little softer than the original, and it now stays closed
Concur with the sentiment the eBay replacements are cheaper in both cost and quality. I did the same as above and swapped the OEM pad to the new eBay slide mechanism. Mine wouldn't stay shut until I epoxied 4 sets of neodinum magnets onto the closure. The more you add the better the mechanism will hold.
12-10-2019, 05:29 PM
