sticky melting dash
 

I just purchased a 2008 ES350 a couple of months ago. When I bought it, it had a sticky part above the instrument panel the salesman ( used car dealer- Toyota Mall of Georgia) said they would clean it up. Turns out it is not just sticky, the whole dash top when it sits in the sun starts breaking down. The dash is a foam, cushy material but I have found hundreds of threads on 2002 IS with the exact problem, but not so many o n th ES. Does anyone else have this problem with their dash? I know it is breaking down due to heat, and it ends up "shining" giving a reflection in the window that is distracting and unsafe. I anticipate pursuing Lexus further as they claiim they have never heard of the problem. Toyota dealer says there is a "paint" they can use to fix it.... I don't like this fix. I think this is a Lexus problem, and I will get this fixed. For a $30K used car, I drive a lot and driving in GA or the south for hours, I can't put a window reflector up- nor should I have to. It's a LEXUS??? Help?? Speak up if you have this problem. Again, ES350, not an IS with melting/sticky dash - unacceptable in my opinion and Lexus does not help. :mad:

I assume its out of the original warranty? Lexus isn't going to help. With it being used, you just have no idea what could have been put on the dash material, did it sit outside for long periods of time? etc.

I think you're going to be out of luck on this one...

Had a 2007 without that dash problem that sat outside from 10/06 through 10/11 in all weather. Maybe they have a dashboard top on e-bay motors that can replace it. It could have been residue from a protectant the was used by previous owner.

Having owned a couple of IS's,I've heard of this dash problem.I've never heard of a ES having this problem.
However,I would think both dashes are made of the same material.

melting dash
 

This car actually only has 31,K on it, so it is in the 50,000 warranty. What they are not admitting is that there is no problem they have heard of, - had to show him the issue on 2002 IS etc.., just played dumb and said it would cost a new dash. I would have to think this problem is wide spread, and the same issue as previous. Unless Lexus does a recall or assigns a judgement that it is "faulty", I'm SOL. Will probably talk to the interior guy who says he has a spray foam fix- and I do use a window cover when parked at all times. Only takes 5 minutes out of the house in the sun for it to start getting sticky and shiny. Maybe some lime green shag carpet to cover the dash with some fuzzy dice hangin fromt the mirror!

Depending on when it was first put in service it may be already out or getting close to out of warranty.
Lexus warranty is for FOUR years....
I would take it to the dealer ASAP

He may be out of warranty time wise.
4 years from in service date which may be late '07 or last week.If so the basic warranty is over.

I mean...you're on the largest Lexus forum in the world...and nobody here has heard of an issue with a sticky/melting dash on the ES350. I'm inclined to think there is no widespread issue.

As far as the 2002 IS, the materials are completely different.

Exactly! Been here for 6 years and this is the first mention of a dash issue. Couple this with the statement the OP made about paying $30k for an '08 and I'm calling BS!

I can believe someone would pay $30k for an '08...people over charge and over pay for things all the time!

To clarify about the dash on the IS, I didn't realize we were talking about the '02IS, I thought we were talking about the 07-current IS. Theres no way any material issue in a 2002 IS would have any reflection on materials in an 07-12 ES. All one has to do is sit in an '02 IS to know there are no similar materials. Even my previous '03 ES had completely different materials, the feel and look of the dash pad material has no similarities at all.

You just have absolutely no idea what the previous owner could have done do the dash, they could have put silicone tire dressing on it every day for years and that has broken down the dash material. IMHO thats a lot more likely than some widespread problem that somehow has never come up on the Lexus forums.

Wow!
$30K for an '08 ES a couple of months ago.:eek2:
The 4/50K basic warranty has to be over unless that car was put in service in 6/08.and it's not a CPO car.

Really?

I bet you can get a '12 right about now for not much more than that. With a small list of options.

TSB on sticky dash on a '06-'08 IS but nothing on an ES.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/7058740-post11.html

Its incredible what some dealers charge for used luxury cars...you can probably get a 2012 with nav for $36k, thats about the best you're going to do, and you're going to need incentives to get that because its below cost and holdback. You should be able to do a non-nav car for not much more than that I would think.

I would think the dash materials in an 06-08 IS would be the same as in the ES, but with there being so many ES's on the road compared to IS's, if there were an issue we'd have heard about it and there would be a TSIB.

True and true.