Hi, I'm the brand new owner of a used 2005 RX330. This is my first post after finding tons of great info on this site. Looks like a very active and helpful community.

I have mostly driven mid-sized sedans, this is my first vehicle of this class and so far I love it. Put about 20K miles a year to and from work daily out here in Lawrence, KS. Cabin comfort and quiet ride was major selling point.

However, a week into ownership I am really not liking the seat armrest position- it is much too high for me. The width and padding isn't a huge deal- I've read the many positive accounts of the wide replacement armrests from jj products- my issue is the fact that it is fixed in place much too high for me to be comfortable.

My family's other vehicle, a 2005 Honda Odyssey EX-L, has similarly narrow but fully adjustable armrests. They have a ratchet-like adjustment with three levels to choose from. I always set to the lowest setting and find it very comfortable.

I note comments about the GX470 having adjustable armrests. Could someone share how these function exactly and if there is a possibility to transfer the mechanism from a GX470 to an RX330? Or has anyone done a mod to permanently lower the existing armrest in the RX series? I really don't need adjustability more than I want it at a lower position. It should at least match the slightly lower door-side armrest which does not cause me the same discomfort.

I haven't seen any comments on mods like this at all after quite a bit of searching. Thanks in advance for any tips or advice.

 

Your comment made me curious, because I would have sweared that on my RX both armrests are nicely placed at the same height.
In fact, coming to think of it, there's a difference: the seat armrest goes up and down together with the seat, while the door armrest obviously doesn't.
It sounds like you raised your seat a lot, which in turn makes you feel the door armrest lower.
Sorry, I realise this doesn't answer your question, but just explains the difference.
Btw, afaik also the larger armrest attaches to the same point on the seat, so I'm afraid the height is probably the same...

 

Good point about the armrest going up and down with the seat. I do have the front of the seat adjusted to the lowest limit but the rear of the seat raised slightly, really just a few "clicks" up. I did once raise and lower to the extremes to test the variety of options and I must say the seat can be raised up incredibly high! I am 5'11" and was almost able to brush my head on the headliner at the highest setting. Probably shouldn't have been driving when I did that test!

To your point though, I will lower the rear to find the position where the armrests match on both sides.

That said, I am confident the armrest will still be too high for me because it is likely more a question of my torso/arm length. In my 05 Odyssey EX-L the front tip of the armrest in its lowest position is below the pivot point attached to the seat. At either the middle or highest setting (can't remember) is where the armrest is "level," where the front tip is at the same height as the pivot point attached to the seat. This is too high for me, it is just like the RX330 at those settings essentially.

So to clarify I am really just looking to drop the front tip of the armrest and continue to use the existing pivot point on the seat.

Hoping someone can tell me it is as simple as sourcing the ratcheting mechanism from some other model's seat and swapping them out. Even if it may mean using the armrest from the other vehicle or something. For me comfort rules design/coolness factor for this particular issue.

 

I see. At a guess, that should be much easier than lowering also the pivot point, but I've never removed the armrest and seen how the rotating/locking mechanism works...
...Maybe someone who made the larger armrest swap can tell you more.
Good luck!

 

I sent a reply that wasn't complete?
If you look at the posts regarding the larger center armrests made in New Jersey you will see that the construction of mounting bracket is non adjustable. I would contact those folks and maybe they could make a different bracket for their larger armrests which are very good.

 

Thanks Bill C and spacecraft. Indeed a custom welded stopping point on the bracket should do the trick. Though feels like there must be a cheaper/simpler solution in installing an existing bracket from another vehicle via a cheap scrap yard purchase. I'll keep investigating.