Door Armrest Repair?

[chasman]

Hello All,

At least on the 87 & 88 models, the door armrests are prone to crack from the pressure of one’s elbow over time due to insufficient support under the lightly padded surface.

Once damaged, has anyone figured out a long-term satisfactory solution? Unfortunately, the armrest is an integral part of the inside door panel. One cannot simply install a new armrest onto the door panel. A used door panel from the JY is very likely to have the same issue.

Thanks!

[Tommy]

uh...never had that problem with my gen2...

you can go get the ones from a 89-91 camry, same things, only nicer looking, maybe wont have that problem.

[chasman]

you can go get the ones from a 89-91 camry, same things, only nicer looking

I've not owned an 89-91 Camry. Do you have a picture or a link to a picture of the front door panels?

If I replace the driver's door panel (the one that wears out first) with a nicer looking 89-91 front door panel I'll need to replace both front door panels so they'll match. Will a pair of 89-91 front door panels "work" with a pair of 87-88 rear door panels, or will we need to replace all four?

Thanks again!

[Tommy]

i dunno, ive seen a few variations of door panels depending on the trim level of the car. some have carpeting, some have velour, some have leather, hell ive even seen some that are real stripped down and are just plain textured plastic.

id just go buy a matching one from a junk yard, cant be more than $10 for one and if its better than you're good to go.

[white90dx]

Paper mache... its a simple repair. I did it on my old camry.

Take off the door panel, use some wood glue to get it back together, layer some more on it with paper or whatever to strengthen it up. Let it dry and you are good to go. I repaired mine and it worked great for a year until I crashed the car. It probably would have kept on holding too.

Have fun!

-Charlie

[chasman]

Hi white90dx,

Originally Posted by white90dx

Paper mache... its a simple repair. I did it on my old camry.

Paper mache, how ingenious!
I suspected due to the armrest design, we were not the only 87-88 Camry owners with this issue.

Thanks!