My apologies if this has come up before but I've searched for a while now and haven't seen this one before.

2002 LS 430 UL. Very well maintained by previous owner (best friends brother) so I do not believe this is a result of rough treatment or abuse. The center armrest is not mounted straight. As a result, when it's up the passenger side of it protrudes and when it's down it slants towards the driver side. There is not a lot of clearance behind it when it's down, and no way to see anything when it's up, so PD hasn't gone well so far. I was wondering if anyone else has ever seen this or, if they've taken the rear seat apart/removed it whether they know of a way to adjust this? It's not major but it bugs the heck out of me. Thanks!

 

put down the armrest. pull out the bezel and unscrew it, check of any screws are loose.

 

Could you please clarify which bezel you are referring to? Do you mean the inside cover to the lid of the armrest, which appears to be held in by four very small phillips screws, or something else.

I'm usually very comfortable/adept at taking things apart, but I've read enough in this forum to understand these cars are not trivial in how they come apart. I'm sure I'll get more comfortable working on it once I've performed a couple of surgeries on it, but for now.. I'm taking all the help I can get. Thanks.

 

Gee, I never noticed that before in my car, but now that you mention it I notice my UL looks just like your photos!

 

Yikes.. sorry I said anything. I hope it's not an undocumented feechur!

 

This thread is about to fall off the first page and I'm still hoping someone has some experience with the rear center arm rest and can think of a reason why mine might be crooked, so I am bumping it.

Dejavu, you mentioned removing the bezel and looking for loose screws. I assume you mean the bezel around the cool box. This came off easy and gave me a decent view behind the arm rest. The problem is, it all appears to be solidly bolted in place. Lots of solid metal back there so unlikely something is bent. It all looks perfect, but still it is crooked.

 

whoever took it out didn't put the center bracket the same way. it is rotate 180 degrees so is out.

 

Could it be that the armrest was bumped at some point by someone sliding across the seat to get in the car and that slightly bent the bracket?

 

I don't think so. All of the mounting hardware is typical lexus.. very solid steel. I would think something would break before the bracket bent.

I am not aware of this ever having been removed or worked on by the previous owner. Is there something in either of the photos that is suggesting to you that something is not assembled correctly?