My wifes 05 TL has a black dash that has faded and looks bad. She comes home after every service with hopes that the dash will be replaced. Nothing ever gets resolved. She gives dealer a poor review on the follow up phone call and thats the end of it. The dealer has given her explainations such as: if the dash is replaced it might squeek and will become more of a problem, its like her skin and requires conditioning, its normal wear and tear, or the latest is they would be happy to give her a free bottle of conditioner. They have even tried to sell her a new one. Should she buy a new Acura when their dashes are only good for 12 months or less. No logic there that I can see. The whole Acura quality concept is not even close to their competition. A different Acura dealer she tried to work with even mentioned the condition of the dash might affect the trade in value. Does anyone else have experience processing such a problem through Acura corporate or advice in such matters. There is always the legal / state consumer laws I guess. She bought the TL to be different from the BMW and Lexus crowd. It seems clear now that there are very good reasons BMWs and Lexus have such loyal customers. Thanks

 

You should never compare an acura to a lexus first of all but i do own an X3 bmw also and the luxury of the interior is not what acura is. I purchased my 04 tl less than a month ago and I also noticed the dash was very dry! I had to clean it with some armor all wipes and then i went over it with armorall gloss wipes. I did have to do it 3 times before I was satisfied with the result but I guess you have to keep it wet and not let it dry out!! You also might get a shade cover for it and not point it in the sun if you park it outside!!! My interior is dark grey!

 

Welcome to the forum.
Your wife's approach would be using a blunderbuss to kill an ant. The faded dash problem is from outgassing and migration of material out of the dash. Acura issued a TSB on it (Sept. 2006, I think).
Easy answer: Honda/Acura vinyl cleaner followed by application of 303 Aerospace protectant or Honda/Acura protectant, which the dealer should have done and which returns the dash to showroom-new condition. I used the 303 Aerospace once, about 6 months ago; works great.
See also https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=149169.

 

I fully agree with Will, Let the service guys use the newly released Honda product to get the dash back to original condition then upkeep with 303. The dash should actually have a matte finish to it not high gloss like the armor all will give you.

 

My dealer used this, so I called Granitize and ordered 2 bottles the next day. This stuff is wonderful. Kinda like different finishes of paint matte, flat, satin, semi-gloss, glossy........this will put you in-between satin and semi-gloss matching the natural sheen to the doors and seats.

http://www.granitize.com/cat/ItemDetail.?cat_num=VPC-16

for 2 16oz bottles shipped to SoCal it was $15.27. Gread deal!

 

Lembowski, the link didn't work for me. Do you know the name of the granitize product so I can find it on their site? I'd like to give it a try.

 

Auto Gloss vpc-16

not sure about the link

 

Is this a problem for all 3rd generation?

 

Much appreciated lembowski!

 

I first read about this in a long-term test in one of the car magazines. Shortly after reading it, I noticed the same thing on my 04. I was willing to live with it until I started reading this forum. I picked ups ome 303 Aerospace protectant at West Marine yesterday.

 

We have a 96 miata, and I never did anything to the dash except take it to the car wash. It looked like absolute crap, faded with tiny white dots.
After reading threads similar to this one, I cleaned it with some mild cleaner (maybe diluted simple green? I forgot, it was 6 months ago) and a brush. After that, I used 303.
It looked like new. I wish I took before and after pics.
It still looks new. I would highly recommend 303.
Mike

 

I have an '05 TL and have the same problem with the dash....but I was wondering if anyone else has an issue with the passenger side airbag perimeter showing through the dash. It's a big rectangular eye sore!!??

 

Several others have had the same issue as you have described. Cleaning the dash as described above plus several applications of the 303 protectant will bring the dash back to its original color plus hiding the airbag outline.

 

Please state why you think Acura customer satisifaction should never be compared with Lexus or BMW customer satisifaction. Also thank you for your dash treatment / detailing advice. I have read other similar posts in this forum regarding ways to make faded dashs and airbag outlines look better. Your reccommendation of not pointing the car into the sun is also sound advice I suppose. But again my question is why a buyer of any car make should have to consider a faded dash "normal wear and tear" during the first year of ownership.

 

I had the same problem you've described, as have many others.

I took delivery of my TL in July 05, by the spring of 06 the haze and the "air bag rectangle" were a huge problem. The dealer sold me the Honda vinyl protectant, which I decided against using before I took it to my (awesome) detailers for their opinion. They said they wouldn't use the Honda product as they didn't know what it would do, but they said they'd see what they could do. After I got the car back, the haze was gone, and the rectangle only barely visible.

They told me they'd done a simple clean with just damp microfiber, and then used the 303 -- they suggested I get my hands on some (I found it a local specialized auto upholstery shop, but many marine supply stores stock it as well). I use it about every 6 weeks, I have no haze and the rectangle is barely a memory.

Good luck!

Sean