Centre Armrest Cover Removal

[RK123456]

I have a 2013 Avensis T2 tourer as a company car.

It has the sliding / hinged armrest cover over the central storage compartment.

Is there any was of removing this sliding cover without doing any damage so that it can be refitted undamaged when the car goes back in March 2017.

The reason I want to remove it is as follows.

I have 3 devices all powered by the 12 volt sockets in the car, Sat Nav, Phone Charger and Electric Cool Box.

The sat nav is permanently plugged into the socket on the dash. The other 2 are plugged into a set of extension sockets that are plugged into the socket in the centre console. The problem is that the wires for the phone charger and the cool box need to come from the centre colsole and the top can't be slid shut withoutvtrapping and damaging the wires. The armrest cover on the centre colsole is the only thing I dislike about the car as I never rest my are on it and find it a pain to slide back and lift every time I want to retrieve anything fron the centre console.

[speedwaydthom]

There is a simple solution to this if you are prepared to use the central cup holder for an alternative use. I have a 12 volt adaptor which accomodates 2 sockets plus 2 usb ports and connects into the cigarette lighter socket. Have a look on Halfords website for an example. Cost circa £15. It would certainly eliminate the need to remove the armrest cover. Just a thought.

[RK123456]

Thanks for the info.

I've seen the round can size 2 x 12 volt and micro USB extension for 16.99.

My extension is 2 x 12 volt and USB in line and is too long to fit into the cup holder but I did buy it from Poundland!

I may invest in the round Halfords one.

[RK123456]

Update.

I purchased a plug in adaptor for the 12 volt socket which has 2 x 12 volt sockets and 2 x USB sockets. I considered the round one but would have meant more wires backward & forward. I changed my phone charger and sat nav cables from 12 volt plug in to shorter cables with a USB plug.

In my opinion, the 12 volt socket in the centre console is superfluous because of the sliding lid, it would be better repositioned at the back of the centre console in the rear footwell.

The main disadvantage of my adaptor is that it obscures most of the hearet / air con display.

It works but looks messy with three separate wires for the cool box, sat nav and phone charger coming from an adaptor.

[Thermal]

Why not buy a new socket, drill a hole in the back of the centre console where you want it?
Then install a plug and cable from the "superfluous" 12 volt socket to the new one and you're done.
If you work carefully, noone will ever notice the "upgrade" at the end of the lease.
And the next owner may even appreciate the feature. :)

Like this very nice one: