When I received the car my right arm and elbow bothered me. I knew prior to purchase that my car did not come with an arm rest, but once I drove I knew I could not do without. This started my arm rest quest.

Just a note to the 'Mericans. The Canadian DX is like the '16 US LX, with the 7" non-touch radio, cloth seats, 6MT, speedo in kph, gearing is the same, the rest of the good/bad issues the same, and does not come with any arm rest whatsoever. In fact the centre console is also different, and looks like the Asian/Indian/Mexican one. Therefore any arm rest raising solutions suitable for the US Fits and Canadian LX/EX would not work.

On I went to eBay and found a couple that might fit. They were ~$80US and came with ash trays. We do not smoke and buying anything with an ash tray was out of the question. Also their designs make a lot of space in the centre console inacessible, and I wanted no inaccessible storage space. I decided to DIY.



2016 Honda Fit, Canadian DX: Centre console, comes with 2 cubbies, one large and one small.

The '16 Fit DX comes with a centre console with, aft of the hand brake, a large and small cubby. The large cubby has a single M6 bolt anchoring the rear of the center console. My plan was to create a base that would fit into the large cubby and bolt the arm rest down with this single bolt. I still wanted access to the small cubby. On top of this base I would make a box of appropriate elbow height, inside would also be accessible from the top. The parking brake should be accessible. The top should be leather covered. The rear of the box would be accessible by the rear passengers. In the future additional 12v/USB outlets for the rear passengers could be run through the arm rest.

I made the arm rest out of pine, glued and bradded, stained black and varnished. I wanted some wood in a car that has way too much plastic. The top lid is pine, top front and side edges rounded over. I used a thin 3mm/0.25" foam layer, covered with black cow leather. The rear access panel is veg tan cow leather, au natural, held on either side by line 24 snaps. It is easy to remove but can also easily flex open and closed. The rear corners are hand stitched, saddle maker style. Later I will hand emboss some design on to the top, then condition the leather. I could dye the leather dark to match the top cover, have not decided yet,



2016 Honda Fit, Canadian DX: arm rest, left




2016 Honda Fit, Canadian DX: arm rest, right




2016 Honda Fit, Canadian DX: arm rest, top open




2016 Honda Fit, Canadian DX: arm rest, leather covered rear access cubby, for passengers. Corners are hand stitched.




2016 Honda Fit, Canadian DX: arm rest, base, which screws into the large cubby but leaves the small cubby accessible. The base is hinged to the top, independent of the top cover.




2016 Honda Fit, Canadian DX: arm rest, front left, parking brake fully engaged




2016 Honda Fit, Canadian DX: arm rest, top cover open




2016 Honda Fit, Canadian DX: arm rest, leather covered rear access cubby for passengers




2016 Honda Fit, Canadian DX: arm rest, front right

I still need to work on the rear leather cubby cover. I may emboss a design onto the leather, then condition it. I could dye it dark to match the dark car interior. As my car is white I was thinking to use white leather for the top cover, but daughter said it would get dirty too easily, even with conditioning.

I have been using this arm rest for about 8 months now and it is at the right height for me. There is room in the main compartment for a pair of gloves, some change and small items. The small cubby in the centre console is hidden but easily accessible, so I could put a phone and wallet in there, hidden away.

If I were to redo this arm rest I'd use a bit better wood and try to not use butt joints. Maybe mitre joints would look better. I haphazardly went from prototype to good enough in one fell swoop, but it got done. The wife says "meh, whatever".

 

Nice work. I love seeing an idea that comes to fruition. I wish I had the skills (and the patience) to do work like this....