Interior Door Panels....grrrr!

[Lofty2k9]

I was a bit iffy about letting people in my car as most people dont give a dam, but picked my girlfriend up yesterday and she scratched the inside somehow, must of been one of her rings. So not happy seeing as she recked my old floor mats and made a hole in my carpet in my mazda3, so guess she aint going in my car anymore lol.

[reece]

Get a new girlfriend.

[Lofty2k9]

Working on it lol, Anyone no if there is something I can buy to help fix it? I no I wont be able to get rid of it completley but just want enough so it dont stand out.

[steveybaby]

This is pretty grim for a premium car at a premium price.

Might get some of the Autoglym before my car arrives - can't do any harm I suppose.

Short of price, I can't think of any other reason to sue such poor plastics.

[turniphead]

I think that should read "Former girlfriend"

[no_data]

Took mine to dealer other day & again asked if they had any complaints about how easily the panels marked. They said no & were not even aware so I took them to their showroom model & asked him to run his nail gently along as if caught it when getting out & he marked the door card & it would not rub out as the colour actually comes off, seems such a thin layer. No comment from dealer. I have tried Autoglym, 303 & Meguirs but still marks where the seatbelt goes, was advised by someone on here to put on/remove belt with door open. Hardly practical with a 10.5k car!

As I said before it is not good enough so can we all please contact dealers & put in a product report so Toyota do recognise the problem??

No good moaning but not complaining :censor:

Jaine

[johnan]

Took mine to dealer other day & again asked if they had any complaints about how easily the panels marked. They said no & were not even aware so I took them to their showroom model & asked him to run his nail gently along as if caught it when getting out & he marked the door card & it would not rub out as the colour actually comes off, seems such a thin layer. No comment from dealer. I have tried Autoglym, 303 & Meguirs but still marks where the seatbelt goes, was advised by someone on here to put on/remove belt with door open. Hardly practical with a 10.5k car!

As I said before it is not good enough so can we all please contact dealers & put in a product report so Toyota do recognise the problem??

No good moaning but not complaining :censor:

Jaine

For some reason a few weeks ago I received a multi-page customer complaint form from Toyota ( in Germany, I think it was, must be one of their head offices) where I was asked to indicate areas (systems and finish) of the car in which I was not satisfied.

I thought everyone would get such a form but perhaps not.

Anyway I went into detail about how easily the interior can get damaged by accident and that it wasn't satisfactory, and also mentioned the gear selection problem, which I luckily don't have but know it is a problem for some.

They have obviously been getting more than a few customers/dealers complaining and they have sent off a mail shot to random owners to see what the general feeling is.

Let's hope others reinforce what has already been said but I doubt they can do much about the interior plastics until a revamped model is released.

[no_data]

I got that form too & was honest about everything. Found it hard slagging off my little car I adore but needed to let them know.

[neelix]

If Toyota wants to know what we like and what we don't like about the car it is easy for them to read this forum or the German forum or if they speak Dutch, the Dutch forum.

If you read all those fora you can see that the problems are the same.

But we all like the car!

[Salsadicto]

Is there any product that can prevet that kind of scratchings ? Like a transparent silicon spray or something ?

[johnan]

Is there any product that can prevet that kind of scratchings ? Like a transparent silicon spray or something ?

As I have said before I used the 303 stuff that someone suggested which does not prevent scratches but does help the surface from being marked by rubbing with greasy fingers for example, and gives a nicer (in my opinion) finish to the plastic.

I have cleared out my attic, taking all sorts of stuff to our local recycling depot, including old rusty Ford Escort Mk2 cross members, McPherson struts etc in the iQ without damaging the inside, but we know the problem and avoid it by taking special care.

I would be scared to let anyone use our iQ or even be a passenger in it without an in-servce course on how to get in and out, and use the belts without damaging anything else!

Not an ideal situation, manageable on an individual basis but should never have been allowed to happen.

[toyboata]

I dont have an IQ - but i am shocked to hear that this sort of problem exists on a toyota that does have a hefty price tag to it - poor standard that we shouldnt have to deal with from this brand.

[Brassik]

My driver side door panel looks really, shockingly tatty after only 4 months of ownership, but Toyota really don't seem to give a damn, telling me (and I quote) "I need to take ownership" (whatever the hell that means)

I got one of those surveys too, and needless to say I went hell for leather moaning about the plastic quality!

the annoying thing is, compare the quality of the IQ plastics to ANY of the other current Toyota range, they are all FAR more hardwearing.

I drove the Verso today (IQ was in getting a squeak looked at) and the plastics on that car are scratch resistant (trust me, I tried!)

More than a bit annoyed with this issue, it's the bane of the car if you ask me.

[eco9rat]

My driver side door panel looks really, shockingly tatty after only 4 months of ownership, but Toyota really don't seem to "I need to take ownership"

I would say taking ownership means: 1. its your car, its your problem. 2. should have/look after it better 3. accept it, i dont want to know.

[eco9rat]

My driver side door panel looks really, shockingly tatty after only 4 months of ownership, but Toyota really don't seem to "I need to take ownership"

I would say taking ownership means: 1. its your car, its your problem. 2. should have/look after it better 3. accept it, i dont want to know.

The way it goes... Before you pay = saleman acts like your best friend

After you pay = saleman, the devil in a cheap suit. Does not want to know :censor:

[macabeus]

Or what it can mean: Never own a Toyota anymore after this one

I think if there will be enough complaints that they must replace them or find another solution eventually.

[eco9rat]

Has anyone tried Supaguard vinyl plastic protection? Have some on order. DIY supaguard for me. Dealer charges about £400 i believe for full car protection. I have bought full car kit (inside and out) for just over £50 off the bay. How can anyone charge £350 for what can only be half day DIY job at most. Ok i dont get warrenty but that only covers doing the job again. I recon i can do 3-4 vechicles with the quantity in kit, plus have loads of shampoo sachets for maintainance. Maybe i should make myself a grand with this kit I know how to valet properly anyway so the potential is there...

[no_data]

Glad you know how to valet properly but the issue here is that we should not have to take extra care of cheap poorly made interiors on a brand new car. As for them saying take ownership, if the paint started flaking off after a couple of months would they say the same? Course they would not. They would realise there was something wrong. You should be able to get in & out of a car 10 times a day without worrying what damage you are doing to a door card made of recycled toilet rolls :ffs: and having to ask passengers not to let the seatbelt retract by itself in case it catches edge of door panel. I would love to be able to pull up, chuck the setabelt off like I do in my other cars & get out & not worry about it maybe clunking anything & taking the paint off the interior.

[Brassik]

here here! my sentiments EXACTLY.

A lot of people on here have advised working around the issue, being careful, adding protection etc, but the crux of it is - why should I?

I've owned countless cars in the past, and this is the 1st of any of those where I'm paranoid about even resting my arm on the door panel and have to be almost OCD like in the way I treat her!

I really wish more people would complain, strength in numbers and all that!!!

Personally, I find it totally unacceptable.

I looked at the new Yaris, it's door panels are toughened plastic and don't scratch.

By comparison, my door panels are like putty.

[no_data]

I was going to say OCD . My mate noticed a cat hair on my door panel other day so rubbed it off with her hand & it leves a big white powder like mark. That is just not right. I am off Monday so going back to my dealer (car not drugs). :P

[macabeus]

That is ABSOLUTELY unacceptable of course and should never hold up in court in my opinion.

The dealer can order new ones and replace them for what do I care every month untill this problem is solved.

How many people have the problem really because i've tested the cars by the dealer and could find no problem (with fingers only)

[Brassik]

It's got to be a problem with every car, it's simply due to the type of plastics used.

a bit stupid really, they've put easy to scratch plastics in a car (what the hell they were thinking)

Like I said, I compared it to the Yaris interior plastics - they are 100 times more resilient to marking/scratches.

[Lofty2k9]

Glad its not just my car leaving white marks on the door lol, Found out aswell that some girls perfume also makes the seats go white and the center consoleis realy loose. Dont think I will be getting another toyota after this one unless the next one I get is improved dramticaly

[Brassik]

my centre console is a rattle drum! if you run your finger across the front side you can hear how hollow it is! any bumps in the road and it creaks and groans like mental!

[reece]

I looked at the new Yaris, it's door panels are toughened plastic and don't scratch.

Looking at the brochures I also believe the top half of the door is fabric covered.