[ILikeBimmers]

Decided to throw in the M Performance Alcantara armrest because I thought they looked awesome and roughly followed along a random kies motorsports video I found.

I was able to pull off the airconditioner assembly with just my fingers. As long as you have the mental confidence to pull it with a little force knowing you won't break anything it comes out pretty easily. The wires are long enough you don't even have to unplug anything.

Then came the worst part. In the videos I could find on this, the black axel rods are supposed to come out very easily. Mine did not, and at first I was afraid that they were glued in or something b/c of how much force I was exerting.

I was using a small pair of pliers and was literally yelling at the top of my lungs trying to push the pins so they'd poke out the sides. In the video, once he gets them to poke out, he just pulls them out with his fingers, but I had to go find some big heavy textured teeth pulling looking pliers. And teeth pulling was exactly what I'd describe removing those axel rods.

After that releasing the spring with a flathead was super easy, had to install some little white plastic pins in the sides of the new armrest, and then you just line it up and shove it in. I ended up having to use an actual hammer to knock the axel pins back into the assembly. After that screwdriver on the middle spring bar, a little click, and installation was done.

Later on I had forearm pain, grip weakness, come to find out I burst a vein in my forearm pushing those black little axel rods with every ounce of strength in my body . I think I actually spent some 30 minutes pushing out the rods and looking at random videos where people just pull the rod out with their fingers, and like 5 minutes on everything else.

TLDR: if you install the M Performance Alcantara armrest yourself, be brave removing the rear AC unit, you may need to use a lot of force to get the axel rods out. 1/10 difficulty otherwise, and DIY will probably save you a fair amount of change in labor costs.

[scott12v]

This is really cool. Thanks for posting.
(now I know I want this!)

[andip1985]

Had similar issues as you getting the little pins out (they went back in easily enough though!)
Found a small screwdriver was the best way to get them dislodged - just by pushing the inside ends of the pins towards the outside of the car. Definitely not a "finger" job though!

Works better with Congnac than I thought it would too....

[ILikeBimmers]

Originally Posted by andip1985

Had similar issues as you getting the little pins out (they went back in easily enough though!)
Found a small screwdriver...

I think mine were just exceptionally tight as I did try a flathead at one point but couldn't get enough leverage in that small center area between the springs so I had to use pliers and manually pull straight back.

Looking good in that pic tho 👌.

[cannockwolf]

my pins were easy but getting the spring off was tricky