2001 XK8 convert. Long story made short, I took apart the lid of my center armrest in order to remove the old cell phone assembly. I thought I had put it all back together correctly, but now the armrest lid doesn't close tightly. I removed and reinstalled the latch thinking perhaps I had not put it back with the lip facing in the correct direction. Still didn't close tight. I've tried adjusting the screws in the inside rear of the armrest and adjusting the lid-stay arm. Still doesn't close tight.

Now I wonder is the arm rest supposed to close tight, with a noticeable click? Is there some trick to installing the latch -- angling it some way, perhaps, so it fits more secure into the notch in the arm rest?

This is no big thing, but it bugs me.

 

OK, mine doesn't either. Been on my 'to do' list for a long time. Guess it is time to explore that issue.

 

My 2000 XK8 closes tight/flat and you hear a click when it closes.

 

Remove the two screws holding the lower part of the armrest latch, reposition the latch so that it is under the ears of the lower liner of the container and the top will close tightly.

 

Upper and lower latch parts match up. The issue appears to be that the vinyl material top/bottom is too bulky for the latch to catch. Tomorrow.

 

Max: Not sure what you mean by "under the ears of the lower liner." Guess I'm dense.

 

Could it be a problem with the upper latching mechanism, which seems to be spring loaded?

 

Your not dense, I had a devil of a time trying to figure out how to explain the repositioning of the latch, without writing a book. My brevity may have caused the confusion.

Take out the two screws holding the bottom portion of the latch and two pieces will come loose. The large piece that the bottom part of the latch comes through and the latch itself. With those two pieces taken out you will see what looks like two ears of the armrest bottom liner with holes in them, the screws that were taken out also go through those holes. The bottom part of the latch should then be inserted below those ears and the large hold down piece put back in place.

If the bottom part of the latch is inserted on top of the ears it will stick up too far and its shoulders will stop the top from lowering far enough to latch.

Let me know if this helps.

 

That did the trick! Thanks, Max. This forum is a such a great resource.

 

Your welcome Alwann, and glad to be of help. Your absolutely right, these forums are a big help to us all.

 

Although I am not having a problem with the armrest, I do have a problem with the cover over the lighter and ashtray not staying closed which is right in front of the armrest. I took the screws out of the armrest latch and removed it so I could see behind to determine why it won't stay closed. The space is too small to really see anything. Obviously it does not operate on a magnetic catch. Do you know how it's supposed to operate? I don't see anything else I can loosen to get back in behind it to really take a look. Any advice on the next step?