HELP Ruined melted interior 2007 LS460 recovery?
#1
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
HELP Ruined melted interior 2007 LS460 recovery?
Friends, I hope all is well. I haven't driven our garage queen LS460 in months. Its been driven primarily by my wife. I finally drove it today and it appears my wife tried to "clean" the interior. Basically, we've noticed that its appeared melted for the last year or so (even though it sits in the garage?). Nonetheless, it looked very grey so my wife tried to wipe the dash and even out the color back to black--bad idea evidently. I've been extremely dissapointed by the LS460 interior which is very melting prone and is all sticky (our black/black LS 430 has literally been sitting in the sun since 2006 and has not even one sticky or melted part. I usually wipe the interior with a moist cloth and that has been fine on all of our cars . This is what ours looks like now .
The whole interior looks like this; however, the dash is clearly the worst as it looks like a mix of black and gray. Its really sad we love this car . We actually recently traded in our LS430 for an LS460 is there any way to prevent this?
Its all melted and literally feels sticky. Is there anyway to salvage this and fix it?
I have not used products on it in the past. Anything that could give the dash any even color or back to how it was?
The whole interior looks like this; however, the dash is clearly the worst as it looks like a mix of black and gray. Its really sad we love this car . We actually recently traded in our LS430 for an LS460 is there any way to prevent this?
Its all melted and literally feels sticky. Is there anyway to salvage this and fix it?
I have not used products on it in the past. Anything that could give the dash any even color or back to how it was?
#2
This is very strange... My wife's 2010 460L stays in the hot GA sun all week long and this never happened. You sure your wife did not wipe this with bleach or harsh chemical?? No need to panic, even so you can dye it black again. Google Lexus vinyl dye, you will come across companies like http://www.leathermagic.com/Pages/lexuscolrchart.htm selling dyes for leather and vinyl
#4
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
I have never used anything to be honest except a damp water cloth on all my cars for years. For the seats (which are perfectly intact I use a leather cleaner / conditioner). I may need to have a rep take a look at it.
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#8
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As just a starting step I would purchase a bottle of griots garage interior cleaner (clear, odorless, at auto zone), wait for the car to be cooled down like at night then gently clean the surface. While it won't fix everything it may help get rid of any product on the dash pad as well as getting a clear assessment as to what is actually wrong. At least to me it doesn't look like something water would do.
Hope this helps. Mike
Hope this helps. Mike
#10
Pole Position
iTrader: (3)
Looks like rubbing alcohol. My parents did that to their car once (they're doctors) and they thought alcohol cleans everything and this looks just like what it did to their car.. Thank god it wasn't their Lexus but it was on an old beater car of theirs.. (Life Lessons)
#12
My theory is that extremely high surface temperatures cause a permanent change in the dashboard material, causing it to become sticky and easily damaged. It seems like the problem is common at the lower latitudes (for those in the northern hemisphere), with lots of IR absorption to heat the dash (high ambient temperatures are not enough to cause the problem). Seems like the problem was solved for the 2009 or 2010 MY, at least for the ISx50.
OP is in Florida, a location where the melting dash problem is commonly reported.
#13
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
Hey guys I greatly appreciate the help. So we talked about it apparently she used damp-moist paper towels (soft texture) and wiped the dash gently. No alchohol, no cleaning agents, and definitely no bleach. Just South Florida water. Its so melted that I know she hasn't even used that much pressure. Literally any part of our dash / vinyl in the car whether its been wiped or not is sticky. Sticky to the point of leaving your finger print if you slightly touch it.I am surprised because we had a LS430 that literally has been in the blazing sun since is birth and has no sticky or ruined parts due to it and this car goes from the garage at home to the parking garage at work.
I'm thinking that even if I re-dye it, the stickiness may not go away? Anything at all you think would prevent this problem if I were to re-dye it?
I'm thinking that even if I re-dye it, the stickiness may not go away? Anything at all you think would prevent this problem if I were to re-dye it?