IStoSC

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?

hfahmy

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

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

Have you taken it in to a Lexus dealership and asked them to have the regional rep look at it?

IStoSC

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.

VTsuckah

iTrader: (1)

A lot of these threads pop up in the isx50 forum section. Its more common than you think. Since you are likely out of warranty, you may be SOL. Dashes are very expensive and install labor is quite a bit.

sydtoosic

Seems as though a harsh chemical was used to clean the interior... I could be wrong but it sure looks that way.

lbintab

iTrader: (1)

What exactly was used on the dash? That will help. May need something else to neutralize it.

mdorn98

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

Kappy550

iTrader: (4)

This happens to the dash when its cleaned with a product while the dash is really hot. Almost did that to the dash in my old car. Sorry man I think you'll be needing to dye it or replace it.

1QWKGS4

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)

99rx

iTrader: (6)

When your wife tried to "clean" he interior, what exactly did she use. This will help us decipher what may be wrong. I'm with 1QWKGS4 that it looks to be rubbing alcohol related.

PondScum

And despite the dozens and dozens of threads on the topic, some people still insist the problem doesn't exist, or is caused by using the wrong cleaner, etc, even when those with the problem clearly state they weren't using anything unsafe.

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.

IStoSC

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?

1QWKGS4

iTrader: (3)

If its "Melting" and 'Sticky".. This is known issue in the 2nd Gen IS's. I never heard of any LS's with this problem until now.. I thought they use different grade materials in the LS than the IS.. WOW I can't believe an LS with "Melting dash"!!

RandyV

Somebody at some time used an aggressive cleaner such as alcohol or lacquer thinner on these surfaces.