Favour To Ask - Re. Easily Scratched Door Panels

[Brassik]

Hi,

As you may have seen from my other thread, I've noticed within 10 days of ownership of my IQ that the door panel plastic is completely inferior and scratches incredibly (and I do mean incredibly) easily.

I was in Toyota today, and looked at the interior of the floor model....it's door panels were literally caked in scuffs and scratches....it looked terrible.

I've complained today about it, asking them to get it sorted as I'm not happy owning a car that I will struggle to resell due to such an oversight on Toyotas part.

I'm basically asking that all fellow IQ owners do the same, if (like me) you're not happy (which trust me, you won't be the second you notice your first big scratch) then complain too.

the more of us that do, the more likely someone somewhere might take notice.

I've basically left it with them that I want it sorted!

[Parts-King]

IF there is a problem with the trim panels, what needs to happen, is to get your dealer to fill in a product report. Toyota act on product reports, and if a part needs modifying, then this is the start of the process

There would be little point in replacing the door panels if the same thing happens every couple of weeks, I will check out any I see here, of course it could be a one off problem with yours, but time will tell

Kingo

[Brassik]

IF there is a problem with the trim panels, what needs to happen, is to get your dealer to fill in a product report. Toyota act on product reports, and if a part needs modifying, then this is the start of the process

There would be little point in replacing the door panels if the same thing happens every couple of weeks, I will check out any I see here, of course it could be a one off problem with yours, but time will tell

Kingo

Hi Kingo.

It's definitely not a one off, mine is affected and so were the 2 models I saw in the garage.

I'd be interested to hear from other owners too.

[Parts-King]

I will take a look at a few over the next few weeks

Kingo

[no_data]

pick mine up next sunday so will certainly keep an eye on them & do a product report with my dealer if they are sub standard.

[5drive]

Me too.

When I go to collect next Sunday, first I’ll check out the show room car and ask about it.

If you’re right it’s such a shame that they’ve done this.

[Sally19]

Well I have been getting in and out my IQ all day today while on my travels and the seatbelts have NEVER hit the door panels....So no scuffs for me. I dont tend to let them just fling about, i just take it off and let it slowly go back to its place. But if anything changes, ill let you know

[johnan]

Well I have been getting in and out my IQ all day today while on my travels and the seatbelts have NEVER hit the door panels....So no scuffs for me. I dont tend to let them just fling about, i just take it off and let it slowly go back to its place. But if anything changes, ill let you know

I have been lucky too, had the car a couple of weeks and no panel marks so far.

True, you can make finger marks much more easily than I would like, but they also rub off just as easily.

I will just keep taking care not to let the belt, or anything else, whang about inside.

[Brassik]

Well I have been getting in and out my IQ all day today while on my travels and the seatbelts have NEVER hit the door panels....So no scuffs for me. I dont tend to let them just fling about, i just take it off and let it slowly go back to its place. But if anything changes, ill let you know

I have been lucky too, had the car a couple of weeks and no panel marks so far.

True, you can make finger marks much more easily than I would like, but they also rub off just as easily.

I will just keep taking care not to let the belt, or anything else, whang about inside.

Trust me guys (and gals) you WILL get scratches.

Like I said, every IQ I've seen has them....the display and demo IQ's at my local Toyota are littered with them.

I'm going to keep on at my garage about this until a fix is offered.

[aygo]

got mine today and you are right it does mark easily, it was not helped by pdi people putting glove bag in passenger door pocket with press studs inwards marking door trim, also there was a mark on top of drivers door trim, i found best to disguise them was autoglym bumper care (green stuff) applied with micro fibre cloth. it also does not help that seatbelts get trapped between door and seat i find its best to put seatbelt on and off with door open.

took me hours to correct all marks and give it a good hoovering why o why cant cars be delivery in a wooden crate factory sealed is beyond me, i mean currys don't get tvs full of dust then clean them and sell them do they

[Brassik]

Sorry to hear that Aygo, it's soul destroying isn't it!

I found with some serious protectant rubbing it with a light cloth you can sort of hide the scratches, but they are there for good unfortunately!

You'd best do what I did, complain!

with enough stink kicked up "maybe" Toyota will do something about it! it's become the bane of my life to be honest!!!

[Sally19]

Still no marks here....

[Brassik]

Still no marks here....

You've obviously avoided all contact with your door panels!

find an inconspicuous patch and give it a light rub with a finger nail and see what happens

[Goldfish11]

I have a really sad hobby of car detailing, I have an old Mercedes and a Honda and I am just in the process of getting an IQ. I also noticed that the panels look easy to scuff.

When I get a new car I never bother with the rip off £300 plus protection package the dealers try to sell me as I can do it my self for about £20. The dealers also have no idea about finishing a car nicely. The paint on a new car is never really well finished so it is worth giving it a polish yourself and getting it to "Show Car Standard".

One trick I have learnt for plastics is use something called "303 Aerospace Protectant", this is used by show car enthusiasts and protects car interiors from UV but I have also found it protects plastics from scuffing to a good degree. Also when you clean the interior is comes up like like new.

For fabrics and carpets I use "303 fabric protectant" This is a top quality product and dirty children and anything else just wipes off!

http://www.303products.com/index.htm

You can easily get 303 products over the internet.

When I get the IQ I will immediatly treat the whole thing with 303 (probably even do the engine), I will also treat all the carpets and mats with the fabric protectant. The exterior will be clayed, polished and finally treated with acrylic sealant which is like putting a plastic film all over the paintwork. (It also makes it look super shiny!)

The Honda I am trading in for the IQ was sorted with this 4 years ago and the dealer was amazed saying the car looked unused. All I did was give it a hover and a wipe. This car goes on family holidays and to the tip etc.

If your interested in how to protect the paintwork that is an other story. But once I pick up the IQ I will spend a good 8 hours polishing, waxing and sealing the paintwork which will make it look fantastic.

Autoglym Bumper care is a great product but I only use this on exterior plastics (generally mud flaps and bumpers), it is oil based so does rub off. Where as 303 is waterbased and actually penetrates the surface of the plastic to create the protective layer.

Hope this helps.

[Brassik]

I have a really sad hobby of car detailing, I have an old Mercedes and a Honda and I am just in the process of getting an IQ. I also noticed that the panels look easy to scuff.

When I get a new car I never bother with the rip off £300 plus protection package the dealers try to sell me as I can do it my self for about £20. The dealers also have no idea about finishing a car nicely. The paint on a new car is never really well finished so it is worth giving it a polish yourself and getting it to "Show Car Standard".

One trick I have learnt for plastics is use something called "303 Aerospace Protectant", this is used by show car enthusiasts and protects car interiors from UV but I have also found it protects plastics from scuffing to a good degree. Also when you clean the interior is comes up like like new.

For fabrics and carpets I use "303 fabric protectant" This is a top quality product and dirty children and anything else just wipes off!

http://www.303products.com/index.htm

You can easily get 303 products over the internet.

When I get the IQ I will immediatly treat the whole thing with 303 (probably even do the engine), I will also treat all the carpets and mats with the fabric protectant. The exterior will be clayed, polished and finally treated with acrylic sealant which is like putting a plastic film all over the paintwork. (It also makes it look super shiny!)

The Honda I am trading in for the IQ was sorted with this 4 years ago and the dealer was amazed saying the car looked unused. All I did was give it a hover and a wipe. This car goes on family holidays and to the tip etc.

If your interested in how to protect the paintwork that is an other story. But once I pick up the IQ I will spend a good 8 hours polishing, waxing and sealing the paintwork which will make it look fantastic.

Autoglym Bumper care is a great product but I only use this on exterior plastics (generally mud flaps and bumpers), it is oil based so does rub off. Where as 303 is waterbased and actually penetrates the surface of the plastic to create the protective layer.

Hope this helps.

that's sound great advice! I'd love to work on the outside too....will purchase some of that 303 stuff (I'd heard about it before but was a bit wary tbh!)

thanks chap

[Goldfish11]

When I get time, I will do a post on exterior protection and the products and techniques you can use for this. I have just heard my IQ has been delay a few weeks. Perhaps when this arrives I will do my exterior protection and beautification process ;-) and take a few photos to help describe what you need to do. I have done such a post on www.mbclub.co.uk so if people cant what go to this site and look at the bodywork section and look at the Power Polishing thread, or the How to section and look for creating the Perfect Paintwork Shine thread. Basically the process can include using products like "Polycharger" which just makes your normal car polish work as if it is on steriods and really protecting the paint. Even a new car needs this treatment and once done it looks great after everywash and will really get people gazing at the car!

[nedpears]

Thanks for the product info Goldfish11!

Fortunately my panels are still unscathed after almost a week, however I have just ordered some of the 303 Aerospace Protectant from eBay to try and help keep them that way B)

[tallman]

This reply is for Goldfish11,

I too am due to collect an iq in the next week or so and can also confirm that the plum coloured trim does indeed scratch easily.. This I know as I work for a dealer... This can be done with a finger nail and the mark it leaves cannot be removed!

I would be interested in the Aerospace products you mention even as a comparison to the Supagaurd we as a group recommend.. Is the 303 simply applied via a cloth and left to dry ??

Look forward to hearing from you

Steve

[Goldfish11]

This reply is for Goldfish11,

I too am due to collect an iq in the next week or so and can also confirm that the plum coloured trim does indeed scratch easily.. This I know as I work for a dealer... This can be done with a finger nail and the mark it leaves cannot be removed!

I would be interested in the Aerospace products you mention even as a comparison to the Supagaurd we as a group recommend.. Is the 303 simply applied via a cloth and left to dry ??

Look forward to hearing from you

Steve

I use a cheap micro fibre cloth for application. (type of thing you can get from Wilko for a few £) Depending on the area I either spray on and then wipe with the cloth or spray on the cloth and then wipe the plastic. Eg if I am near the windscreen I dont like getting the excess spray on the glass as it will mean I have to clean the glass.

The other great thing about 303 Aerospace Protectant is you can apply it to leather and other interiour trim so if you do get it on anything else it wont damage or cause a problem.

Once applied with the cloth you just leave it and it happily dries within an hour.

I have no idea about the Supagard products but I just object to paying a dealer £300 to do something that can easily be done yourself in a few hours. Normally the dealer plan to do it in 1 hour. The Autoglym Life Shine Kits that a dealer will charge £300 to apply can be purchased on eBay for about £10! A basic Supagard kit can be purchased on eBay for under £10 and if you really want to splash out and get everything it costs about £25. Just do an eBay search on Supagard or Autoglym LifeShine. I bought an Autoglym life shine kit a couple of years ago and have protected 2 vehicles with it and still have product spare.

If you do it yourself you are sure to spend far more time and do a much more thorough job as it is your vehicle. Also you can apply multiple coats if you have the product spare.

In terms of protecting interior vinyl and trim 303 Aerospace is excellent and idiot proof, no special application and as it is water based and not solvent based it is very forgiving it also produces a nice finish which matches the original trim and does not make it look to shiny.

The site I originally found 303 products being used in anger in the cars is Autopia which is a US enthusiasts car detailing shop. 303 is often used for on Show Cars by enthusiasts. They have excellent how to guides and I used to import the products for my own use from Autopia. Now many organisations in the UK import from Autopia and other US organisations. This link will take you there http://store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/clink?autop...u4u+index.html+ you can easily price things up and they ship to the UK if you want to buy from there.

Regards,

Goldfish.

[tallman]

Hi Goldfish11,

Thank you very much for the prompt reply,

I work for a Lexus centre which also deals in Toyota.. As a rule we encorage Supagaurd.. This of course isn't a wax which as we know needs to be re-applied on a regular basis. Supagard is a polimer based resin which once applied is there pretty much for the life of the car. Now what I dont want to get into of course is a this product is better than that product thing.. The info I mention is straight from the manufactuer but through my own experience it does tend to make the car look cleaner for longer and appears to be easier to clean !

Ive seen the 303 product on eBay so will defo give it a try.. My one worry which you answered was it making the dash all shiny which is a definate no no.. Your right about valaters not doing a stella job as their by and large paid by the car so the more they do the better they earn!

Kind Regards

Steve

[Goldfish11]

Hi Goldfish11,

Thank you very much for the prompt reply,

I work for a Lexus centre which also deals in Toyota.. As a rule we encorage Supagaurd.. This of course isn't a wax which as we know needs to be re-applied on a regular basis. Supagard is a polimer based resin which once applied is there pretty much for the life of the car. Now what I dont want to get into of course is a this product is better than that product thing.. The info I mention is straight from the manufactuer but through my own experience it does tend to make the car look cleaner for longer and appears to be easier to clean !

Ive seen the 303 product on ebay so will defo give it a try.. My one worry which you answered was it making the dash all shiny which is a definate no no.. Your right about valaters not doing a stella job as their by and large paid by the car so the more they do the better they earn!

Kind Regards

Steve

As you say Supagard is polymer technology. At the end of the day all car care products now use Polymer sealants to treat the surface. Autoglym, Meguiars NXT etc all use this technology. I think the most annoying thing is people assume once treated you can forget any paintwork care for 3 years. At the end of the day even if you use Supagard you will need to give the car a treatment at least every 6 months. BUT that treatment will be far less time consuming than if you had not used a Supagard treatment, and would probably involve a quick 30 minute wipe over to re-treat.

You are right about this keeping cars looking cleaner longer and easier to wash this is the nature of a good polymer paint sealant and all cars should be treated in this way to protect them. My E Class I treated when I got it 6 months old and do a full polish and re-seal once a year, people are amazed it has over 100K miles on the clock and is nearly 7 years old.

I for example use Polycharged acrylic wax. All Polycharger is is a catalyst to increase the cross linking of the polymer chains which then makes the finish much more hard waring. To top up the finish I just use some acrylic spray wax such as Sonus Glanz or Sonus Acrylic Spritz with a bit of polycharger in. This takes about 10 minutes after washing and drying the car and I do this every few months. I then do a full retreatment once a year.

I may get a supagard kit and give it ago.

So in summary

Do treat your car with a good polymer sealant - Supergard, Klasse, Carlack, Autoglym Lifeshine.

Dont expect it to be completely maintainence free - it will need some retreatment every 6 months or so but this may only require a quick 30 minute wipe over.

It does save you lots of time in washing

[no_data]

Well I applied my 303 other wekend but Sunday I just caught the door panel with my nail (and they aint long) when getting out & it went straight down to the white plastic underneath! Will try to polish it out with 303 or autoglym. If it dont come out I will be filing a report with my garage. I own two other cars that are both over 15yrs old & I dont have to be over careful with their panels like I do the iQ. Not good enough to be honest however much I love the car.

[Brassik]

Well I applied my 303 other wekend but Sunday I just caught the door panel with my nail (and they aint long) when getting out & it went straight down to the white plastic underneath! Will try to polish it out with 303 or autoglym. If it dont come out I will be filing a report with my garage. I own two other cars that are both over 15yrs old & I dont have to be over careful with their panels like I do the iQ. Not good enough to be honest however much I love the car.

totally agree, and I can't believe we seem to be in the "moaning minority" when it comes to this issue!!!

I've got another hairline scratch...and like you, I'm careful, but HOW careful do we have to be? I've NEVER had this issue before in all my years of motoring.

Bottom line - the interior plastics are not built for any contact whatsoever.....they scratch FAR too easily.

I've already filed a complaint.....I was pretty much told "tough, you have to take ownership"

I'll be complaining again pretty soon.