Dashboard fading on 05 SE Sport?

[05ArcticSESport]

I bought a new 2005 Arctic Frost Pearl SE Sport V6 in March and love the car, I've noticed that the front dashboard has light/dark mixed areas like it has begun to fade and I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this problem. The fading is like blotching and is more prominant around the round air vents on top of the dash it almost looks like the surface or dye has been rubbed off. I live in Maryland and it hasn't been too hot here yet (except for this week) so the car hasn't been exposed to any long term heating of the interior (plus the sun shield helps with that). The interior color is listed as Limited Grey Leather, I haven't seen this color listed, but I'm guessing it's the same as the Dark Charcoal (it's dark grey). I keep a sun shield in the front window when the car is parked to prevent sun fading and I have used the Turtlewax 2001 Super Protectant on the non leather interior areas, I use Lexol on the leather/seat areas. I'm wondering if the Turtlewax product might have contributed to this, but it is only happening on the front dash and the same product was used on all non leather surfaces, plus I wouldn't expect this to happen in such a short amount of time. Any ideas on what to do to restore a faded area like this. I just thought I would post and see if anyone else has had this experience before I go running back to the dealer. Thanks for any help.

[JayDubz]

Dang that sucks.. yeah i would say look at your polishes as the cause.. i doubt the sun has started to make your dash fade that quick lol unless u park ur car under a hole in the ozone... i honestly tell people to just use a damp rag to wipe of dash.. no need to really wax it hard core... u should check out the local detailers and find out what they use on interior... thats the best way to keep ur stuff looking good and not mess it up...

[Astro]

Welcome to SG, try hitting up the Introductions.
I would show the dealer and see what they say. Also, contact TurtleWax they may be interested to know about your problem. I'd even have some pics incase they want to see the fading.

[so-cal_sol]

i got perma plate done to my car from where i bought my solara and it hasnt faded. they also gave me a "perma-plate care kit" that came with a chamois, a washing mit, leather conditioner, carpet shampoo, car wash solution and some type of wax to "revitalize" the paint job on it. so far it still looks good.

havent tried the leather conditioner yet, but it says to use it about every 3 months to bring back the shine on the leather. its supposed to "beautify and protect"

[RichD978]

polycarpet dash mat

[slingshot]

Hmm, leather surfaces and leather seats on an SE Sport? That's not standard right? Did the vendor upgrade that? I thought the SE Sports all had charcoal grey interiors with cloth seats standard. Your car is under full warranty so have the dealer fix it or exchange the car.

[CHRIS CLUTCH]

Welcome to SG. Definitely hit up the introductions forum so people can holla at ya. In regards to your problem I've owned my 04 SE Sport since April 04 and have sparingly used a sun-shield. I park it outside a lot during the day because I have no covered parking at my job and I have not seen any evidence of fading. I whipe my dash off with a damp cloth because any cleaner tends to leave it streaky. I would say it's got to do with your cleaner, but then again I'm not an expert on these sort of things. Hopefully you can get it lookin better. Good luck to ya and again Welcome to SG. Keep us posted on your ride and get some pics up.

[Down2TheC]

That's why I'm scared to put anything on my dash thus far. I have a little swiffer thing to brush off dust but I just don't trust any of the products out there to wipe it down. Same thing with the leather. Damp cloth when I get something on it.

I don't suppose the interior color is under warranty. (BTW, Dark Stone if it's a stock leather package. The '04 didn't offer anything but cloth though. (Ragtop anyway) And that was charcoal.)

Is it drastic enough for pics?

[05ArcticSESport]

Thanks for the replies; it doesn't seem to be a common problem so it looks like it's something specific to my ride. As for the leather interior on the SE Sport it was an option package already added when I bought the car, the dealer didn't add it, it came from the factory with the leather in it as well as a drivers side power seat, moonroof, JBL cassette/6 disc in dash changer/8 speaker/XM capable system. As for the color listing as Limited Grey Leather, I don't know where that came from, I think they just decided to write in something different for the Charcoal color to make it look special (you know those dealers), it's definitely darker than the Darkstone though, I'll have to look on the lot at some others to see if it's the same as the Charcoal or not, it's hard to tell looking at the photo's on here how dark other peoples interiors actually are. I used the same Turtlewax product on my last car a '96 Chrysler Sebring LXI with dark leather interior and never had a problem, different makes/materials do act differently though. Since the Turtlewax didn't seem to have this effect on any other part of the car I'm starting to think that maybe the dealer used a harsh cleaner when they prepared the car for delivery, areas do look like it was rubbed hard and the finish removed, I'll be taking the car there next week and I'll post what I find out. Not drastic enough to be able to see in a photo and I don't have a digital camera, but I'll have to borrow one so I can post some photo's of my ride, and I'll have to post on the intro page too, more to follow.

[04SolaraGirlie]

I use this stuff by mcguires called interior quick detailer, I like it alot because it does a good job cleaning the dash and makes it look like new(very smooth and clean), not all slick like...

[Ikhandi]

You should have been using some type of uv protectant. Aerospace 303 protectant should do the trick in keeping the dash from fading anymore.