one thing ive noticed is that on newer 5th gens, the armrest pops up real fast making it look kinda chintsy. i noticed this at the car show and again on a friend of mine's 2k1 max. whereas when i hit the button for mine to come up it is in a slower controlled motion and just looks better. it was like this since it was new. its not like it has a hard time coming up or anything, it just doesnt bang at the top of the track because it isnt moving as fast when the button is pushed. is there something different in there? mine was built 8/99.

 

Mine is slow too - 7/99 build date. I have only popped it a couple of times in 17k mi.

Dave