timbo813

My 2013 ES 350 has stains and pitting on the temperature display and the dash surrounding it. I clean my car myself and use standard cleaning products, so I'm baffled as to what caused this. It could be ArmorAll, air-freshener, leather/vinyl cleaner, or any number of products I've used to clean my car. I took it to the dealer and they declined to help me, noting that that other customers have not reported the same problem. The clincher is that they want $1900 just for the part. Apparently you can't just replace the plastic display cover, but it's part of a larger piece of the dash that has to all be replaced. I'm sick about this because I can't really afford to take $1900 hit, and that's just the part.

Has anyone else experienced this or have any suggestions for fixing it? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

bc6152

Are the stains on the clear plastic piece where the temp digits are displayed or on the painted silver above it where the hazard switch is located?

timbo813

Hi - The stains/pitting or etching is actually on both the clear plastic temp display and the painted silver around it. I've scraped them with my fingernail and it appears to be permanent pitting and not a stain, at least as far as I can tell.

bc6152

Well from your description it sounds like there's permanent damage actually in the surface. I can't imagine what would cause such damage other than a chemical that you may have used for cleaning. Those surfaces, in most cases, are very resilient for the many times they're touched by one's fingers. I don't see many alternatives to replacing the parts. Good Luck with whatever you decide.

Jets

Idea... Buy an overlay for that portion of the dash. Like wood or aluminum. Cheap and effective. As far as the display plastic, maybe putting window tint film over it will hide the pits. Or maybe cut out a piece of screen protector film.

lesz

I have a couple of suggestions.

First, if you contact Lexus corporate customer care, you might request that they do something for you on a good will basis. If you make the request in a polite, calm, and non-accusatory manner, they might well do something for you even if it is just an adjustment on the cost of the part and no cost installation. It might still end up being more expensive than you'd like, but it could be a lot less than what they are quoting you now just for the part.

Another option would be to check some salvage yards. Again, buying the part from a salvage yard might still be more expensive than you would like, but it would surely be much less expensive than buying a new part from Lexus.

While it is likely to be too late for your situation, for future reference, I'd suggest that most vehicle interior surfaces can be cleaned and maintained with only a micro fiber cloth dampened just with water. For cleaning any of the plastic displays, you can safely use a lens cleaning product, like the ones marketed for use on eyeglasses with expensive coatings, high quality photographic lenses, etc. And I would, without exception, stay away from using ArmorAll. I've read too many horror stories from people whose use of the product has caused damage to various interior surfaces.

dchar

That's not a bad idea.

For the silver painted plastic part...Aluminum vinyl wrap:
http://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/130818600703
You'll lose the writing/labels, but they aren't necessary anyways.

Arty101

What about trying a fine auto polish on the pitted areas? I'd suggest one without any abrasives on a small area and see it that helps, but perhaps not completely remove the pitting. At least this is the least costly or labor intensive option.

timbo813

Thanks for all the great ideas. I am going to try to find the part at a salvage yard first. I know I can cover/disguise the painted silver section, but the worst part is the temperature indicator. Almost can't read the temperature because of the stains. I'm just baffled that the replacement part is $1900.