[joe13531]

I am about to rip the dash out of the car. It's been hot here in CA lately and the gasses from the inferior plastic product are fogging my windshield. I am going batty because of this!:wallbang: First off wtf was/is Lotus thinking? I know it doesn't get sunny in Britain, but cmon. I have never seen this much gassing off on ANY product sold. Any fixes for this? I am seriously gonna sell the car if this does not go away. I can't see out the @#[email protected]@ window...ever! Lame. :thwack: Help!

Signed,
Annoyed Lotus Owner Who Wishes Brits Wouldn't Make a Dash out of Bangers and Mash

 

[fishguy]

is this something that all of these cars do?

I know that armor all protectant will do this to cars here in the desert when used on a dashboard.
maybe someone doused your with that stuff?

 

[A7594217]

I have an 05 and mine is really bad too. I live in the same area and it has been hot lately and every time i get in the car i cant see well. Makes me crazy but its not my daily driver so i live with it.

 

[Kaliuzhkin]

1. Defrost
2. Wash the windows about once a week using microfiber.

 

[milehitom]

Adding 3M Crystalline film to the windshield solved the problem for me. I've had zero problems with the off-gassing since I had the windshield (and the other three pieces of glass) tinted with Crystalline two years ago. And I live in a very sunny part of the country.

Tom

 

[apk919]

I am about to rip the dash out of the car. It's been hot here in CA lately and the gasses from the inferior plastic product are fogging my windshield. I am going batty because of this!:wallbang: First off wtf was/is Lotus thinking? I know it doesn't get sunny in Britain, but cmon. I have never seen this much gassing off on ANY product sold. Any fixes for this? I am seriously gonna sell the car if this does not go away. I can't see out the @#[email protected]@ window...ever! Lame. :thwack: Help!

Signed,
Annoyed Lotus Owner Who Wishes Brits Wouldn't Make a Dash out of Bangers and Mash

Are you using the A/C? I never noticed a problem until a few weeks ago when I used the A/C for an extended period for the first time... really fogged up the lower part of the windshield.

 

[Nobuyasu]

Ditto that Joe. I also live in the SF area, use the Elise as a DD, and been experiencing a bad case of the fogging issue. I also noticed the rear window fogs over a bit. However, the visibility in the rear is not as important as the front windshield. I did a post a while back to see if CF dash would be a solution, but received no imput/replies.

Has anyone here changed out their dashboard to a CF one...similar or identical to the one offered here: http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f172/new-cf-parts-horizon-58937/ If so, can you please report whether or not you experience the gassing. Thanks

 

[fitfan]

all you have to do is wipe it down with one of those water absorbent micro fiber dry your car off after wahing it thingies - never had any problem, if it gets a little foggy... ummm... clean it :shrug:

 

[DaveR]

Its a problem that Lotus is aware of.......we have the same problem with all of our stock cars.....(we put white paper on the dash to deflect the sun to help prevent this)I dont know of any solutions to this problem.(alocohol and a microfiber cloth cleans it) I just want to know why it does it? I cant seem to get an answers? Believe me.... its not just you!!!!

 

[cdn_alien]

Adding 3M Crystalline film to the windshield solved the problem for me. I've had zero problems with the off-gassing since I had the windshield (and the other three pieces of glass) tinted with Crystalline two years ago. And I live in a very sunny part of the country.

Tom

+1 I've had a similar experience.

 

[JoshS]

Ah, one of my very first posts. Its brings back fond memories :TADTS:

 

[DaveR]

+1 I've had a similar experience.

I guess thats the answer! If it prevents the 'gassing' then I think thats the solution! Good job 3M!!....But why hasnt Lotus told us this?....Hmmmm....

 

[glb]

OP, did you try "search"?

 

[knucklehead]

Ditto that Joe. I also live in the SF area, use the Elise as a DD, and been experiencing a bad case of the fogging issue. I also noticed the rear window fogs over a bit. However, the visibility in the rear is not as important as the front windshield. I did a post a while back to see if CF dash would be a solution, but received no imput/replies.

Sorry I didn't see the question. We have a couple of CF dashes installed in SoCal cars. This will without a doubt solve the gassing problem, plus it looks incredible. Let me know if you're in the area (MDR on Sundays or cars and coffee in Irvine) and I'll have one of the cars come by.

 

[fast+forward]

use a reflective sunshield...

 

[fpitas]

 

[buzzy]

The Exige S260 has a carbon fibre dash... Install one of those?

 

[fpitas]

The Exige S260 has a carbon fibre dash... Install one of those?

Might help, but I suspect it's not just the dash, but also the plastic air vents etc. that outgas.

 

[glb]

THE ANSWER

Courtesy of Larry Reynolds of Car Care Specialties, Inc. - Your Source For Quality Car Care Products, How-To Articles and Product Evaluations.

(he knows all....)


STOP using ArmorAll or any cheap vinyl protectants. AA contains both silicone and formaldehyde; bad for vinyl.

SOLUTION: 1 cup of P21s citrus car cleaner (ph balanced) in a gallon of water. Rinse, then dry, your dash.

Then, use VINYLEX to treat your interior plastic & vinyl.

(It doesn't last long enough on exterior parts; I use 1Grand for that (too shiny for interior)

Note that I had little problem with outgassing, and only for a short while.


ALL of these products, along with great advise, are available from Larry.


Customer of larry's sold a 1973 Porsche that was in excellent condition. Seller told buyer to use only Vinylex on dash. Buyer ignored this, began using Armor All. Dash cracked in < 1 month.

 

[joe13531]

Courtesy of Larry Reynolds of Car Care Specialties, Inc. - Your Source For Quality Car Care Products, How-To Articles and Product Evaluations.

(he knows all....)


STOP using ArmorAll or any cheap vinyl protectants. AA contains both silicone and formaldehyde; bad for vinyl.


Customer of larry's sold a 1973 Porsche that was in excellent condition. Seller told buyer to use only Vinylex on dash. Buyer ignored this, began using Armor All. Dash cracked in < 1 month.

I've NEVER used Armor All or ANY product on the dash. I've owed the 2005 Elise for 3 years now and it has always done this, but it's getting worse when outside temps are high (85-100 deg). Only cleaned the dash with a damp rag. That's it. Gassing must be from the inferior plastic product that Lotus uses. Again, ruling out any sort of product used on the dash, wtf is Lotus thinking? Still...help!:wallbang: