river0

The center "adjustable" armrest is driving me crazy. I can adjust and lock the front of it in about four positions. But I can't lock the armrest to keep it from moving forward and backward. If I have a cup in one of the holders directly in front of the armrest, chances are better than even that the armrest will crash into the cup. Not good with the MMI control on the other side of the cup holders!

Have I overlooked how to lock the armrest totally in place? If not, does someone have an effective fix to prevent untimely forward slides?

Thanks.

mirekmal

Normally armrest should 'click' into maximum forward and backward positions. This is however not the keeping it firmply in these positions, so it is easy move it accidentialy. I've seen few posts around different forums reagarding this subject and people complaining about. So seems to be somehow car dependent - I have no problems with that...

James P.

My wife had exactly this issue recently with a cup of coffee... she leaned on the arm rest and it shot forward crushing the cup and making a huge mess of the dash and console. When I talked to my local dealer asking if they could tighten the tension on the forward and back motion, he said there is no adjustment possible. I then pointed out that my S4 has a much stiffer sliding mechanism and I wanted the Q5 to be like that. So, after investigating several of the cars in the showroom, just about every single one was different! The tension seems to vary widely.

So, to cut a long story short, the service adviser has ordered a new armrest with the hope that it has a stiffer sliding mechanism. The new part has not been received or installed yet.

UrbanExtant

The armrests also have a tendency to loosen over a period of time. The forward/backwards sliding of the armrest in our A4 was stiff as anything when we took delivery Sept '10, but now, we barely have to lean on it for it to go sliding one direction or the other. Thus far, the Q5 has stayed fairly tight, but I'm prepared for it too to loosen eventually. It would have been nice if it had a tightening screw designed into it for when it does loosen.

cptkloss

mine is fairly good - i have unintentionally slid it forward a few times tho ... fortunately with nothing in cup holders. I can see it being a problem if you put a paper coffee cup in the holder....

kbilicki

Mine has done this from day one and used to be the one and only thing I disliked about my Q. I am going on 18 months and it still does it but I just don't notice it much anymore. I don't drink coffee and most of the things I put in the cup holders are in a bottle (soda, water) and that may be why I don't notice it much now.

river0

Thanks, James. Given the differences in armrest tension (mentioned by others as well), I'm ordering a new armrest tomorow. Maybe if enough enough Q5 owners do the same, Audi will install a fixing screw or device. Hope springs eternal. :-)

gyTT

it's not the armrest's fault.
the cup holder should be relocated to the front (before the shift stick)?

dngrmse

It hasn't been a problem for me so far, but if it becomes loose, a couple of inconspicuous small screws should resolve it.

pfbz

I realize this is an old thread, but a quick bump...

We are loving our new 2014 Q5 2.0, but the freaking center armrest slider is definitely a bad design! If you dare put any pressure on it with your elbow, like to adjust yourself in your seat, it goes shooting forward. If you have a coffee or something in the cup holder, huge mess.

I also drive sometimes drive with my elbow lightly against the armrest, and found that a passenger can jar it quite easily, pretty distracting.

I'll check out the dealer and see if ours moves more easily than others, but it's one of the only things so far that really pisses me off about the car.

For comparison, I had a 2004 Touareg... they also had a sliding center armrest. But they didn't slide easily, and in fact many an owner had no idea they actually moved, unlike the Q5 which feels like your resting your arm on top of a skateboard.