interior fix? help

[wil465ner]

sorry if this is posted somewhere already, i have a 2015 bighorn 1500 crew cab, the premium interior amd my drivers side door (the arm rest) is seperating from the rest of the panel... when i look theres 2 white plastic clips that appear to have broke. i contacted my dealership and they said theres no parts for that the entire panel needs replaced but its like $800... has anyone ever encountered this and if so
whats a fix?

 

[hotrod45]

I'd start with looking for instructions on how to remove the panel. It's bound to be on here somewhere. You'll get access to that armrest one way or another. It seems like you should be able to put a short, heavy sheet metal screw in that and draw it up tight.

 

[chrisbh17]

Ebay is good for something, occasionally

Item 142961650137 is for a front door panel. There is a good pic of the back of the panel and you can see the white piece you are talking about. To me, it looks like they are not clips but rather "melted and squished" to the back of the panel, so if one breaks its not a simple replacement.

Without pulling the door panel I cant be sure, but its possible the dealer is correct. I personally would start looking for glues that might work to piece it back together...gorilla glue, epoxy, etc.

 

[wil465ner]

I'd start with looking for instructions on how to remove the panel. It's bound to be on here somewhere. You'll get access to that armrest one way or another. It seems like you should be able to put a short, heavy sheet metal screw in that and draw it up tight.

ill have to take it apart tomorrow and see, rig it somehow. its not bad but bugs me because i know
its wrong

 

[SitKneelBend]

Ebay is good for something, occasionally

Item 142961650137 is for a front door panel. There is a good pic of the back of the panel and you can see the white piece you are talking about. To me, it looks like they are not clips but rather "melted and squished" to the back of the panel, so if one breaks its not a simple replacement.

Without pulling the door panel I cant be sure, but its possible the dealer is correct. I personally would start looking for glues that might work to piece it back together...gorilla glue, epoxy, etc.

Plastic riveted...you could buy a whole panel on eBay for much cheaper.

It's very easy to remove the door panel to see about repairing yourself.


Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk

 

[regal81455]

I know this is old but did you end up fixing this? How so? Mine just seperated this morning. GRRRRRRR!

 

[LoadedExpressRam]

I took the panel off and used 5200 where the rivets meet the panel itself. That was about a year ago and its held up nicely but then again i dont have alot of opening/closeing going on. A quick fix but im sure there are better ways.

 

[regal81455]

I took the panel off and used 5200 where the rivets meet the panel itself. That was about a year ago and its held up nicely but then again i dont have alot of opening/closeing going on. A quick fix but im sure there are better ways.

What is 5200??

 

[Firetruck41]

3M 5200 Marine Adhesive... Most likely.

 

[LoadedExpressRam]

3M 5200 Marine Adhesive... Most likely.

That is correct.

 

[bruce219]

I have limited panels in mine,when I got them drivers door panel had this problem.I just drove some short screws in from the inside of the panel.Year later and never had a problem.Took about 10 min.

 

[regal81455]

I have limited panels in mine,when I got them drivers door panel had this problem.I just drove some short screws in from the inside of the panel.Year later and never had a problem.Took about 10 min.

This is good to hear. I'll be pulling the panel this weekend when I do the running light mod to the mirrors. I was hopeful it wouldn't a big issue. Didn't figure it was but wanted to check to see how others whom had encountered dealt with it. Very much appreciate your response.

 

[Mpgrimm2]

Here's my post where I pulled part of my panels off to vinyl wrap them...

https://www.ramforum.com/index.php?posts/2072886

M² Mods.

 

[duckman631]

I know this is old but did you end up fixing this? How so? Mine just seperated this morning. GRRRRRRR!

Pretty funny that I stumbled on this thread just now. Amazingly enough, my girlfriends 2014 door panel arm rest area separated right in front of the window switch panel And she showed me last week. I decided to pull the door panel and noticed they are pretty much plastic rivets and they also looked like they melt them a little. Anyway, since the rivet head broke, I was able to just pry the head Of the rivet off the plastic and luckily enough the rivet goes into a thin plastic piece that’s on the other side of the rivet hole. That piece actually had a small hole going into it. I was able to take a small screw with a flat washer to cover the hole so the screw head doesn’t fall through and it went right in nice and tight. Arm rest is now nice and secure to panel.

just FYI, when I took off panel and say everything plastic and riveted and “melted” I was freaking thinking it wasn’t fixable.

 

[regal81455]

Yeah Ive had the panel off before when I replaced the speakers. Recalled it all being plastic but didn't really inspect it at the time so only vague recollections. Glad that it should be an easy fix. Unfortunate though that a 4 yr old truck would even have this problem but it is what is. Very much appreciate everyones responses as well. It's comforting to say the least, at the time it happens it certainly is an AW CHIT moment...

 

[Electro73]

I have a 2017 Ram 1500 and I could not believe when I saw this. I pulled it apart and removed the plastic rivets that I saw were broken and used 3 self-drilling screw with hex washer head 10-16 X 3/4. I screwed them into the plastic part of the arm rest from the inside of the door card. It drew it in tight and I am hopeful that it will be a good fix for a long time. Anything to keep from purchasing a door card for $800.

 

[Jared Worley]

Kinda makes you angry at the dealer trying to sell you an 800 dollar part when ten minutes and a screw will do...

 

[Naptown97]

I just bought a 2017 Ram 1500 Big Horn and my driver's side door had the same problem. $2.75 later and it's better than the original assembly.

 

[Writer-Man]

Just back from the dealer, same problem on my 2017 1500. They wanted $1,100 for the door panel. So glad I found this. I’m going to dive in this weekend. UPDATE; took an hour, I had the screws and washers so Zero cost. Works perfectly. Looks great. $1,100 saved. Thank you all.