Us B6/B7 A4 owners are all aware our armrest lid catches are prone to breaking. Replacing this can be expensive, especially if it’s trimmed in leather or Alcantara and I’d previously read the upholstered top of the lids couldn’t be separated from the plastic base. Well I don’t like to accept that something can’t be taken apart, so when my catch broke I thought I’d take a look.

There are six clips, six glued male/female round plugs and two semi-circle plugs. The glued plugs feel horrible to break apart but in my case the glue gave up before the plastic did and without applying any heat, which may of helped a little. I prised the pieces apart with a range of screwdrivers, cracking open the glued plugs one at a time.

I also removed all the staples holding the fabric in place, just because.

So it should be possible to buy a cheap, working fabric lid (either from a dealer or an ebay find, if you’re lucky), and swap your leather top onto it.

// Matt