I wish Chrysler would have put adjustable armrests in the Pacifica. I find the armrests are way to low. So I decided to see what could be done. Here's what I found.
1) Take a small screwdriver and pop off the round plastic armrest cover at its pivot point. Below the cover you'll find a Torx bolt "T45" tip size.
2) Unscrew the shoulder bolt and the armrest will come off.
3) There is a fixture with a protrusion and tapped hole fixed to the seat (see picture of seat without arm attached). The protrusion stops the travel of the armrest by limiting the mating semi-circular channel in the armrest (the protrusion fits into channel).
4) By building up the inside of the channel (on the end that meets the protrusion when the armrest is in the down position) you can "adjust" its stopping position. This will "raise" the armrest.
I chose to use a 5/16" PVC fuel line that I cut in half. (see pictures). It adjusted the arm height to better fit my 6' 5" body. My wife (whose 5' 4") also prefers the raised armrest.
Maybe this info can help someone who also finds their armrest height to be to low.
Great post and thanks for the idea. Are you going to do the 2nd row seats as well?
How much does this actually raise the armrest and will that piece stay of fuel line stay in place after multiple back and forth movements or bumpy roads/vibration etc?
1) Though I didn't actually measure it (went by "what felt good"), I'd say it raised the "tip" end by 1.5" (I just confirmed with CAD Drawing). Anyways, I can now comfortably reach the steering wheel resting my arm on armrest. i.e. The way you should!
2) If you look at the one of the attached pictures (original post) you'll see a "bead" of clear glue to hold in place. However, before I cut the tube in half I tried it as a whole diameter (see picture attached). When it was a whole diameter it stayed in place w/o glue (curved arc stopped it from falling over). After a few days I realized it made the armrest too high, so I cut it in half.
This is literally just a 20 minute job to do 2 armrests for front seats. No I haven't done the two middle seats yet (4 armrests). They do have the same issue (to low) as front armrests did. Think I'll wait for cooler weather to do them.
They do not raise up the same way when tilting seat back (like adjustable armrests do).
Since the armrests are tied to the seatback, when you recline the seat the armrest do raise up a little, but they also move away from steering wheel at the same time. The pivot point of the seat back is in a completely different position than the armrest pivot point.
I other words I found it didn't help (wasn't comfortable).
I wish Chrysler would have put adjustable armrests in the Pacifica. I find the armrests are way to low. So I decided to see what could be done. Here's what I found.
(snip)
Maybe this info can help someone who also finds their armrest height to be to low.
The armrests aren't adjustable at all? That's a huge oversight isn't it? Especially when you consider how adjustable everything else is, the armrest should also be. I haven't come across a non adjustable armrest for the driver seat ever!
This seems as though it didn't actually raise the height of the arm rest but rather prevents the arm rest from folding down to the flat 180 degree position, so it sits at an angle.
Well, yeah. The pivot point doesn't change, so all you can really do is add a spacer of some kind to keep it from folding all the way down. Depending on your seatback angle, this will likely put the armrest at an angle. Pick your poison, I guess.
But that would be the case if it had a ratcheting adjustment as well. The only way it would be able to raise and lower without that issue would be for the pivot point to be on some kind of a slider that could move up or down the seat. Maybe some cars have a system like that, but I've never seen one.
Not sure if anyone else encountered this, but that torx bolt holding the driver's seat armrest on was ridiculously tight on mine. Hand tools and a power drill could not budge it. I ended up having to use an impact driver on its highest torque setting to get it to come loose.
Generaltso, I didn't have any issue removing the bolts. They had blue loctite on the threads but came out with a 1/4" drive ratchet. Maybe one of yours was cross-threaded at the factory?
I have a different issue with the armrests. I love the room in the pacifica (still deciding on buying) but the armrests are horrible. I am big and tall so my arms don't even rest on the armrests. Any ideas on adding a cushion-type of thing on top of the console?
BigBarry, I'm 6'5" tall 240 lbs and the hose trick fixed my issue. I'd say you'll be able to "dial in" the armrest height and be happy with the results.
Simple option: as you said, put something on top of the console, like a pillow or piece of foam.
Option 2: Buy a piece of foam. Cut into an "L" shape the length of the armrest, and as wide as you want. Cover with material of choice, if desired. Place on top of armrest and console:
First post here. I'm a career Ford Diesel technician, now retired and teaching Automotive technology at a local high school. I recently started a summer job at an FCA dealer training express lane techs. Had the chance to drive a few Pacifica's, and after my wife and I decided we needed something with more seating than our 5 passenger F350, we went to the dealer and bought a Pacifica. We test drove another and then bought one that the dealer had in transit because we didn't want black leather seats here in the desert.
Mine is a 2018 Pacifica Touring Plus. Within 2 minutes on the test drive, I noticed the armrest was ridiculously designed. I'm 6'3" big&tall guy and my arm is not even close to touching the armrest. I am already devising an adapter that would bolt onto the seat and allow actual height adjustment of the armrest. I don't see any reason this should be all that difficult. Perhaps when I finish it, I'll get a batch made and post them on eBay. Probably start with a metal prototype but the finished product likely will be anodized aluminum that would look nice and offer color choice. Perhaps after the first version, I may consider a 2nd version that offers adjustable angle also. I stay very busy, but when I have a finished product I'll post and let everyone know.
First post here. I'm a career Ford Diesel technician, now retired and teaching Automotive technology at a local high school. I recently started a summer job at an FCA dealer training express lane techs. Had the chance to drive a few Pacifica's, and after my wife and I decided we needed something with more seating than our 5 passenger F350, we went to the dealer and bought a Pacifica. We test drove another and then bought one that the dealer had in transit because we didn't want black leather seats here in the desert.
Mine is a 2018 Pacifica Touring Plus. Within 2 minutes on the test drive, I noticed the armrest was ridiculously designed. I'm 6'3" big&tall guy and my arm is not even close to touching the armrest. I am already devising an adapter that would bolt onto the seat and allow actual height adjustment of the armrest. I don't see any reason this should be all that difficult. Perhaps when I finish it, I'll get a batch made and post them on eBay. Probably start with a metal prototype but the finished product likely will be anodized aluminum that would look nice and offer color choice. Perhaps after the first version, I may consider a 2nd version that offers adjustable angle also. I stay very busy, but when I have a finished product I'll post and let everyone know.
You've got us all excited now, so don't let us down! I'm looking forward to seeing the design and prototype process--I hope you're willing to share updates!
Hgffrank is absolutely right - if someone can design a height-adjustable arm rest - yet durable - that'd be some patent. You want a right angle with wiggle room up and down.
But I have to believe (happy to be wrong) that seat designers and manufacturers have been looking for that unicorn for years. Maybe too many variations in terms of clearance across vehicles makes it unprofitable to produce.
Waiting while our Pacifica is being serviced, and noticed the 2020s have a new armrest design that includes a push button to lock the armrest at different angles. I see a retrofit investigation in my future!
You could buy a foam cushion and cover as some have done previously. See post 27. The cushion link doesn't work, but I'm sure you could find one using a search. I added the cushion and cover to the driver's seat armrest in my 2017 Pacifica.
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