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Door Armrest Discoloration

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by PYTPrius, Mar 1, 2017.

  1. PYTPrius

    PYTPrius Junior Member

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    Hello, all. First post here.

    I recently purchased a silver 2010 Prius II with light gray cloth interior. The door armrests are a darker gray.

    When I first drove the car home, the door armrests seemed to be in great condition and uniform in color. Since then I've had some rain drops land on the passenger-side armrest a couple times and the cloth is now discolored (lighter spots than the overall dark gray).

    Can anyone tell me if this is normal? Seems kinda weird because the armrests can't really avoid rain drops when the door's opened when it's raining.

    Thanks in advance for any replies.
     
    #1 PYTPrius, Mar 1, 2017
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    congrats and welcome!

    have they dried completely?
     
    #2 bisco, Mar 1, 2017
  3. PYTPrius

    PYTPrius Junior Member

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    bisco. The first time it got rained on was about a month ago. I noticed the discoloration after it dried. It stayed the same for a month.

    Today was rainy and it got some droplets again and was further discolored. I think it maybe hasn't dried yet from today, but it looked exponentially worse than the first time. I'll wait till it dries, but I can't imagine an improvement based on the first experience.

    Thanks for your reply.
     
    #3 PYTPrius, Mar 1, 2017
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    odd, that a 7 year old car wouldn't have gotten wet before. maybe try some upholstery cleaner etc., even a hair dryer.
     
    #4 bisco, Mar 1, 2017
  5. NavyLCDR

    NavyLCDR Active Member

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    Upholstery cleaner and electric toothbrush :) You might discover the armrests are an entirely different color!
     
    #5 NavyLCDR, Mar 1, 2017
  6. PYTPrius

    PYTPrius Junior Member

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    Thanks, guys. Since it's so new to me, I'm gonna wait and see how bad it gets before taking action.

    It's not causing me any distress, but it does look a little crappy for a car that basically looked new inside when I bought it.

    I wonder if the dealer dyed it somehow to make it look good. Probably not worth their trouble. Just a thought.

    Thanks again.
     
    #6 PYTPrius, Mar 1, 2017
    Mendel Leisk and bisco like this.
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    they probably detailed it, and have quite a few tricks up their sleeves.
     
    #7 bisco, Mar 1, 2017
  8. PYTPrius

    PYTPrius Junior Member

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    Ha, that's exactly what I was thinking. It's too bad. The whole culture of car sales. Oh well. Us vs them. An unnecessary war. Such is life
     
    #8 PYTPrius, Mar 1, 2017
  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    Yeah, maybe nothing, maybe something.
     
    #9 Mendel Leisk, Mar 1, 2017
  10. PYTPrius

    PYTPrius Junior Member

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    For what it's worth, the center console is the same color as the door armrests.
     
    #10 PYTPrius, Mar 1, 2017
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  11. BZzap!

    BZzap! Senior Member

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    Don't be afraid to clean them. Body oils and dirt do build up in these areas. Just use a dampened grout sponge with some Dawn dish soap. If it'll clean an oily duck, it'll clean your armrests.
     
    #11 BZzap!, Mar 2, 2017
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  12. PYTPrius

    PYTPrius Junior Member

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    I do have some Dawn on hand. Thanks for the tip.
     
    #12 PYTPrius, Mar 2, 2017
  13. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    We've got a classic silver metallic, the interior upholstery is described as "dark grey". Just took a look: it all appears to be the same tint.

    The armrests and centre console can both take wear, I think you voiced suspicion that the dealership mighta tinted those. You may be on to something: a few rain drops on the armrests shouldn't discolour it??
     
    #13 Mendel Leisk, Mar 2, 2017
  14. PYTPrius

    PYTPrius Junior Member

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    IMG_3906.JPG
    I think the color scheme is actually correct. I found a picture online and this is what mine looks like...darker console and armrests/door panel.

    I thought it might be possible that they were discolored when the dealer got it and maybe they cheaply dyed it back to the original color. I'll probably need to give it a cleaning and see what happens.
     
    #14 PYTPrius, Mar 2, 2017
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  15. ALS

    ALS Active Member

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    I have to clean my drivers side arm rest two or three times a year with upholstery cleaner. The console cover I ended up laying a dish towel over it to keep it clean. I have the grey interior also and a quality foaming upholstery cleaner with clean up your arm rests lickity split.

    Don't get worried when you clean it and it looks worse after scrubbing it with the upholstery cleaner, it'll look close to new when it completely dries.
     
    #15 ALS, Mar 2, 2017
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  16. PYTPrius

    PYTPrius Junior Member

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    Thanks for the advice. It's good to know it'll most likely come clean.
     
    #16 PYTPrius, Mar 2, 2017
  17. sktn77a

    sktn77a Member

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    Our G3 Prius has leather upholstery and vinyl on the door panels (no cloth) and looks great after 7 years. Our G2 Prius had a microfiber type material on the seats, door armrests and center console lid - looked absolutely trashed after a couple of years so we had leather seat covers vinyl door armrests and center console lid put on. Much better!
     
    #17 sktn77a, Mar 12, 2017
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