I posted this in the Armada/QX56 forum but have had no response, so I thought I would post it here.

I tried searching on this but found nothing.

The driver's side armrest of my 2006 QX56 is loose in the side-to-side direction. This is the armrest on the right side that is attached to the seat. The rotational motion up and down seems OK, it is just a bit sloppy (i.e. there is some lateral play) if i move it left and right. The passenger side armrest is fine.Thinking there might be a bolt or nut that can be tightened beneath it, I tried removing the circular plastic button cap that is fitted to the outside face of the armrest (the side facing the passenger seat) located at the pivot axis. I assume this cap is a cosmetic cover that hides an armrest fastener beneath it. I pried a bit and tried turning it but the cap didn't want to move and I was afraid of breaking it.

Does anyone know how I can eliminate this lateral play in the armrest? Do I need to access a fastener below the plastic cover, and if so how do I remove this cover without breaking it?

Any and all help is greatly appreciated!

I'm not sure if you have an FSM of your own but NICO's collection of FSM's for your QX56 only goes up to 2005. Hopefully it's the same for 2006. Starting on page SE-98 there's not a lot of detail but it does look like there's a bolt holding the armrest on that should solve your problem when tightened. Read a little further into the SE section and you may find more detail.

http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/QX56/2005_QX56/se.pdf

There is a technical service bulletin that addresses this issue - but I have used my daily allowance of downloads at my source. If I don't post something tomorrow, please bump this thread and I'll get an email that will remind me...

Heath

Thanks for the info goody90q45. The diagram in the FMS does look my seat, but it doesn't show the plastic button cover nor how to remove it.

Q451990 - You mention a technical service bulletin that addresses this issue. If you could share that I would be very appreciative. Also, do you know how to safely remove the plastic button cover? I might try pulling a bit harder, but last time it didn't want to budge and I was afraid of breaking. Not sure if it needs to turn or if there is aproper way to pry it off.

As soon as I can get the TSB, I'll post it here... I'm still "timed out" on my downloads from the site where I get these. These things are usually pretty detailed on how to remove things without damaging them so I would hold off on it until I can post the TSB.

Heath

Here's the TSB. Good luck!

Heath

Great info, thanks! I simply had to pull hard on the plastic button cap to get it off. It has a notched feature that positively retians it (versus just wedged in) and it took some force to get it to pop out. After that it was 2 seconds with a 1/2" socket to tighten the bolt and problem solved. If it gets loose again I will use some thread locker like the service bulletin recommends. Again, thanks!