KPC

Hey guys, I dont know whether or not to call this a problem or just a defect in the material of the dash board, but in my 2003 is300, the square of material where the SRS AirBag is on the passenger side keeps melting when its exposed to heat. Although in the morning or when its cloudy out and the dash is cold, you can touch the SRS Airbag section without smudging it or getting it all over, but when its hot out, its a black, sticky, and very annoying mess. Is any1 else experiencing this with their 2003 model is300 dash board? does it happen in the later models?.....does any1 think that the SRS Airbag peice is under warrenty and will lexus replace it for free?
thanks guys.

btorok

Yikes, that doesn't sound good. I'd ask the dealer about it. Could even be a recall item.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

hopefully you still have warranty, this doesn't sound right at all

SDLexus

I've got an '03 and that's definitely not normal. Take it into the dealership.

IS3Hundred

Never heard this problem before. Definitely take it to the dealership.

KPC

Hey guys....thanks for the input....i did end up taking it to the dealership and they have never heard of it b4 either....luckily the peice WAS under warrenty and they ordered a new peice for free....gotta love that warrenty!

btorok

That sounded scary, like burned to the ground IS300 scary. Good thing you got it taken care of before it caught fire. Warranty is nice Mine is almost up. Won't be covered anymore, but at least I can mod!

B.Diddy

iTrader: (1)

You sure you are not exxagerating that melting? That seems extremely odd. Any pics if this phenomenon? Hopefully the dealer fixes it and provides an explanation.

LXotic

take it to the dealership

2002ISdude

I came across this thread and i have the same problem. I have an 02 IS - And since i live in FL the heat here is retarded hot. Its not just that piece either, its the entire "rubberized" dash. Hoping someone else was having this issue....

Its not that its "melting", the material just becomes a sticky/gooey mess. You cant even touch it without leaving a permanent mark. Anyway, since i am far out of warranty, i am looking for alternatives. Probably going to end up pulling the entire dash apart and getting it bead blasted and painted....

RareSC

I too have the same problem with my 2002 Sportcross. The rubberized black paint on the dash never cured and one can rub it off with one's finger. Leaves sticky deep finger prints in the paint when you touch it.

I took mine to the dealer and they blew me off. They said it was caused from adding armorall (or something similar) to the dash. I argued the point cause when I removed the navigation screen, the paint under and behind the dash was the same way (definatlly a defective dose of paint).

I am in the process of fixing mine. I removed the paint with prep solve and paint thinner (carefully!!). Paint comes off like loose dirt. Mask off the areas and repaint with flat black. I am going to leave the paint on the textured areas on the top of the dash and glove box and avoid touching them. Only the smooth trim areas on the dash I am repainting.

I also wanted to mention this has been the most poorly assembled Lexus (or car for that matter) I have ever owned. There are missing bolts & screws from the factory, all kinds of elecrtical problems, bad Navigation, it eats tires, bad cd player, 3 bad 02 sensors, bad ignition assembly, trac light comes and goes and the paint on the outside of the car (black) sucks. I have had problems with what the dealer called "fall out" which is when bird poop has removed the paint in several places. The dealer is not covering any of this. I purchased the car with 12K miles (one owner) now has 24k. It is a shame cause the car looks perfect otherwise.

Hope you all are having better luck with yours.

Auburnsky

my car eats tires, has a ****ty cd player with no ipod integration and thats about it; I still love the way it drives, handles, and its my baby tho =)

Brainstorm

Hi, everyone! I own a 2002 IS300, and I have the same problem with a sticky or decomposing dashboard airbag (though nowhere else on the dashboard). The problem has been developing for years, and this past Independence Day (7/4/07) I decided I would try a little harder to clean the sticky surface. It was a warm California day, and as I tried to clean the face of the airbag with a wet paper towel, little bits of paper came off all over the surface. Pressing harder to remove the sticky black substance actually smeared the surface of the panel; i.e., it did not appear that there was simply some residue on the surface that could be cleaned off, but rather that the original finish was being altered. When I saw that, I just left it and called the regional customer service number that week.

Over a period of weeks and after numerous phone calls, a dealership photographed the issue and made an assessment. They said it appeared that something had been "spilled" on the surface of the airbag - though presumably, I might add, in a nice rectangular shape identically matching the face of the airbag and damaging nothing else - and that they would not be covering the cost of any remedy. Replacing the entire airbag - which the dealership said was the only solution - would cost about $2,500 for parts and labor.

At this point, and to some extent based on reading other posts, I have three possible explanations for what is happening - and please chime in with your experiences: 1) in some cases the surface of the airbag (and occasionally the entire dashboard) naturally decomposes over time due to some error in design or manufacturing; 2) the airbag surface is vulnerable to the application of certain store-bought cleaners, such as Armor All Cleaning Wipes - I personally used these (and nothing else) a couple of times over a five-year period; 3) when a used Lexus is resold by a dealership, certain chemicals are applied to the dashboard which damage the surface of the airbag.

So I have some questions: 1) Is there anyone who is having the sticky dashboard problem, is the original owner of the car, and has never applied any kind of cleaner to the dashboard? 2) For that matter, is there anyone with the problem who is the original owner of the car? (I bought my car as a 3,000-mile, 3-month-old repo.) 3) Is there anyone with the problem who has never used Armor All, but has used another product? 4) Is this only a problem for 2002 & 2003 Lexus IS300's, or are other Lexus models - or non-Lexus cars - experiencing this effect? 5) Is there any chemical or material difference between the dashboard airbag surface of a Lexus IS300 and that of these other cars? 6) Is it significant that the surface of all these damaged airbags is black (since many other Lexus models are often not)? 7) Is the 2002/2003 dashboard airbag surface chemically different than the dashboard surfaces immediately surrounding it? Input welcome.

RareSC

I am the second owner of mine and the original owner mentioned he had never put anything on the dash. Nor have I. I purchased it with 12K miles.

My entire dash has this tacky paint problem everywhere with exception of the glove box, the plastic frame around the instrument cluster and the panel under the dash in front of the driver. Everywhere else, I can remove the paint with my finger. I just finished refinishing mine (painted it flat and semi flat black/two tone) and it now looks fine. I removed the sticky paint with prep solvent and it came off like grease, all the way down to the original plastic.

I got the same bullsh#t answer from the dealer about something I applied to the dash caused the paint to decompose. However, I tried to make the point the problem is all over the dash, even areas where chemicals could NOT get to. I had taken out my defective navigation screen and found the paint problem inside and behind the dash as well. I have years of experience in automotive finishes and it looks to me a defective mix of paint. It looks to have never "cured" properly.

It may be good to collect VIN numbers. I'll bet all the cars with the dash paint problem were built at the same plant and at roughly the same time. It would be interesting and a very compelling argument if they were that this is a manufacturing defect...

Mine is a 2002 SC with all black dash. I purchased it from a guy who lived in FLorida.

Anyone else have this problem?

Brainstorm

Thanks, RareSC. So you never used anything on your dash, the previous owner didn't either, and there was no dealership involved in the resale. That's all very important information.

Congratulations on being able to strip and repaint your dash, though most of us probably lack that kind of skill - not to mention the fact that it doesn't seem like this problem is my fault. I hope others will share more detail on their experiences.

By the way, KPC from last Nov/Dec made it sound like his dealership just replaced a face panel and not the entire airbag. I wonder if his 2003 is different than my 2002, since I've been told I'll have to replace the whole thing.