Shrinking Plastic Trim

[fozzer]

Hi

had my Gal over in Spain for 16 months and the interior plastic trim on the doors next to the mirrors has caught the sun and shrunk back 10-15 mm showing the foam behind. Is there a way to stretch this back again to cover the foam, I thought of maybe using a hairdryer to soften the trim again and pull it back into place??.

Has anyone come across this problem, I know one guy in Devon/Cornwall did, any joy in rectifying?

Regards

Graham

P.S. I too have the swimming pool central locking syndrome, Anyone found a cheap source for replacement/repair. Local Ford dealer quoted 280 Euros for new. Is it true Ford recognise this as a fault and replace them F.O.C. I seem to remember reading it on a watchdog type site.

[Guest yurir]

Hi fozzer,

 

This is a well known problem with cars in sunny climes that hasn't been solved in the last 40 years.

The platisisers (which make it soft) sublimate from the plastic, causing it to lose volume and become hard and brittle. You could probably observe this in effect in operation by keeping the car closed up in the sun for day and then examining the inside of the windscreen in the evening; an oily film should have formed, which is the plasticiser.

 

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any solution to this, and most manufacturers for sunny climes try to aviod the problem with fabric/leather/wood interiors.

 

I would seriously doubt that this can be corrected without replacing the trim. The heat and stretch method will make the trim thiner and more brittle.

 

Does Seat do things differently ?

 

Best wishes,

Yuri.

[Buncers]

Strangely enough - mine has done the same.

 

I hadn't put it down to the sun, but maybe it was last summers extremely hot and sunny whether. My gal hasn't been out of the UK and I live in Cambridge (which is pretty sunny - at least some of the year).

 

If it is the hot and sunny whether - it is yet another sign of skimping on material I have found with this car. I have had many cars, a lot older and cheaper than this and yet never had this problem.

[rwtomkins]

i'm sorry, fozzer, i can't offer a cure, but if others are interested, i understand prevention is possible. here's a link to an article on the car care online site which i recently recommended - strangely echoed by another forum member almost immediately in another thread.

 

http://www.carcareonline.com/viewarticle.aspx?art=13

[suzuki91]

when i was looking to buy a galaxy this seemed to be a common fault.

when i got one i had the windows tinted, all round. hopefully this will prevent it happening to my car.

[italiastar]

I think this is another example of poor quality.

 

In 26 years I've owned a number of cars and taken them to different climates - I have NEVER experienced this - I'd give Customer Services hell - the car even comes from a hot country!!!!!

 

My wife's 11 year old golf has lived through a number of heatwaves - it lives on a south facing drive and nothing has shrunk.

 

Gerald