ive been test driving a few prius 04/05 models. and i noticed the black dash board has a slight purple hue to them. Could be the hot weather? just wondering if this was common? and how can i make the dash board as black as possible with weird purple color hue.
I had an 06' which was black, but I'm damned near certain that the 04/05's had that slight purple tint in there intentionally. I remember saying how unique of a car my friends was when he first got his 04 in Oct 03... Wow, that seems like just yesterday!
You guys both spotted the burgundy that was mentioned in the brochures but that not many '04/'05 owners seemed able to find & were wondering why it was mentioned if it wasn't on their cars. There were posts here a long time ago asking about it (if it was a mis-print or not). It's not only on the dash but also on the upper door panels nearest the window openings. There were also many complaints that the burgundy paint on the door panels was peeling off from skin oils or suntan lotion when arms were rested on the painted area while the windows were opened. That's probably why Toyota went to the more durable black crackle finish on the dash & upper door panels since 2006. A lot of minor changes happened in 2006 but nothing else has happened until the 2010 model came out. Ken (in Bolton,Ct)
I have had a black dashmat since day one (23 Dec 04) No problems with sun or bleaching and I can lay things on top of the dash without them falling off. Would never own a car without a dashmat.
I have an 04 with beige clothe interior and mine is grayish/black (no purple hue) My mother has an 04 with gray leather interior and a friend who has an 04 with gray clothe interior and both of those have the purple hue. So I have concluded that it has something to do with the interior colors. The tan doesn't have them, and perhaps only the gray interior has the purple..idk. someone tell me if im wrong!
Hey, desertrider2215, You're totally correct. I completely forgot that the mentioned burgundy was ONLY with the gray intereior because I never really paid attaention to the beige interior after I saw how badly my 3-day Enterprise rental in 2004 of a Salsa Red Prius with the tan/beige intereior showed the dirt. If I had been forced to accept a Prius with the lighter interior, I would have also gone with a woodgrain kit inside because the wood look makes the light interior look so rich. However, I don't think it does anything for the gray interior, so I saved myself about $600 by NOT getting the wood kit when my white car with the gray interior came in. I spent that money on the 3M Clearbra to protect the paint instead. Ken (in Bolton,Ct)
