I've got a 2008 Prius and since day 1, have had problems with these bluish-whitish stains on the interior surfaces. It shows up on the plastic on the doors and on the arm rests and even on the seats, basically anywhere that touches anyone's skin. It's really hard to clean. I've used all sorts of cleaning products. My questions are, Is this a typical Prius "issue"? I've never noticed this on any other car. Is there some cleaning product that I should use to clean these stains? And is there anything I can use/do to help prevent this in the future?
I'm not too familiar with the GenII Prii. Is the surface fairly rough? If so, it may be abraded skin cells. Very much like a fine powder down in the texture of the plastic. If it's a hard plastic/vinyl surface, simple detergent and water with a soft brush (like a "soft" toothbrush) should work, and then a quick treatment with your favorite vinyl protectant. Otherwise, I'm puzzled, too......
edjusted, You don't say where you're from. Any chance Bill Clinton and/or Monica has borrowed your car? Maybe there's a teenage driver in the family? Could be time for the old birds and the bees discussion... Springtime and all that.
Rokeby that's gross Edjusted: Does this happen with anyone's skin? Passengers too? I think if its just you and possibly your immediate family then there could be a problem due to your skin, or products you may have put on your skin, or potentially sweat that the interior does not like. To me it just looks like dead skin scraped off on the interior since there is some evidence of scuff pattern, but then it shouldn't be too difficult to clean off with something wet. Since you say that you've used all sorts of cleaning products... could it possibly be that the interior has actually had a chemical reaction and discolored? It's possible... in this scenario though, you wouldn't see any improvement or reversal to the original color no matter how hard you try to clean.