Leather Upper Dash splitting!

[azim 6]

Hi all,

Slowly but surely the upper dash has split and been pulling away (by the windscreen - pictured). Has anyone else come across this problem before? And is anyone aware of a cheap fix?

If I replaced the whole thing I'd probably be looking at £1k+ which is what I don't want to do!

Thanks in advance!

Az

[JayEmm 1,270]

Interesting. I can't offer any help on solutions but is the car often parked somewhere in direct sunlight?

i've known plenty of cars where the dashes crack but that's normally after 15/20+ years, not sure I've seen a split like this before

[silverfrost 1,387]

Sorry to see this, if it was my car and i did not want to pull the dashboard out, i would look at a simple asthetic repair,  A bit of alloy sheet the that measure from where the sticthes start to where it goes out of site down the heater vent. and the width slighty wider than the actual split.

Get a small piece of material exactly the same colour, i.e a sample sheet maybe and stitch the edges to the same design as the actual dash sticthing, bond this to the alloy sheet and bend the sheet to match the curve/contour of the dash.  Then fix in place to cover the damage..

But this is a repair i would do on an old car and not an Evora !  but would pleasing to eye if done correctly and not cost much  

 

[azim 6]

Thanks for the responses guys.

Yeah it's a bit annoying because you wouldn't expect that on leather that is only ~5 years old. I don't park it in direct sunlight so I don't get why it has got worse. I noticed it a few weeks after I bought it (July last year) and it has got larger since. 

Thank you for the DIY tip - I'll take a look into it! 

I was originally thinking whether a specialist could remove it and re-stretch the leather...I'm no expert in the field so not sure if that would be feasible.

[blueg33 92]

According to Lotus Silverstone its pretty common on pre MY12 cars.  Mine has exactly the same issue.  The oly real fix is dash out and recover, as you say about £1k.

I have been thinking about DIY fixes too

[Danelaw 156]

Taking the dash out is not so difficult just takes a bit of time and care. It looks to me like the stitching could be re-done. I'd expect this could be DIY, but if you're not confident it should not cost much at a trim shop if they don't have to do the work to remove the dash as I expect that is where the cost is. 

[ramjet 1,014]

Damn. That is a bit of a bummer to see.

[Bee 75]

To be honest, that's utterly unacceptable. Lotus need be stepping in and contributing at the very least.

[blueg33 92]

I have been quoted £450 to remove the dash. 

I dong think that re stitching will work due to the amount of shrinkage in the original leather.  The leather on the top of the dash looks very thin and is probably not the best quality. 

Edited April 19, 2016 by blueg33
Add some stuff

[Danelaw 156]

I believe some hypercars claim their leather is deliberately very thin to save weight. Removing the dash does take a little time and care, but is not difficult. Just requires two people to lift the dash clear and pop back in, but most of the prep is disconnecting and reconnecting things. With the dash out it would be easy to take wherever you like to get repaired in whatever way you prefer.

[Tris... 103]

I have a friend whose company does leather and interior furnishing work for the marine industry.

They do a range of work including high end leather work, they might be able to advise and suggest a way of fixing it without having remove the interior.

From what I can see it looks like the stitching has gone, it could be that by doing the work by hand, they might be able to fix it in-situ.

They are based in Hamble, Hampshire, which is a bit of hike from you, but if you are interested PM me and I will give you their contact details.

Tris...

[azim 6]

I was a bit peeved off since MMC (where I bought it from) couldn't help, even though the issue developed within the first 3 months of buying it and I have a timestamped photo to prove it. They fobbed me off a bit saying that the condition of the car was satisfied upon collection even though it wasn't there on collection! Anyone know if I have any recourse there?

I may contact Lotus and see what I get there. 

@Tris...just PM'd you.

Thanks again all,

Az

[C8RKH 5,116 2 Vehicles]

I'm disappointed to here that MMC fobbed you off as they are my local dealer and where I bought my Evora from 53 weeks ago!

Have you tried Allon White near Milton Keynes. They do a lot of Lotus trim and maybe can help. Indeed, my car (2010 Evora) is in there next week getting quite a bit of alcantara fitted to replace some of the back leather.

Look at the Sale of Goods act you have a lot more rights now re fit for purpose etc.

[Chris J 55 1 Vehicles]

4 minutes ago, C8RKH said:

Indeed, my car (2010 Evora) is in there net week getting quite a bit of alcantara fitted to replace some of the back leather.

Would be good to see photos when it's done!

Incidentally my MY11 has the same split. I figure I will have the seats re-done at some point and get it sorted at that point. Probably be replacing a lot of the leather at the top of the door card as well as that is looking a bit rippled and stretched.

[blueg33 92]

11 minutes ago, C8RKH said:

I'm disappointed to here that MMC fobbed you off as they are my local dealer and where I bought my Evora from 53 weeks ago!

Have you tried Allon White near Milton Keynes. They do a lot of Lotus trim and maybe can help. Indeed, my car (2010 Evora) is in there next week getting quite a bit of alcantara fitted to replace some of the back leather.

Look at the Sale of Goods act you have a lot more rights now re fit for purpose etc.

Similar story for me and Lotus Silverstone

10 hours ago, Tris... said:

I have a friend whose company does leather and interior furnishing work for the marine industry.

They do a range of work including high end leather work, they might be able to advise and suggest a way of fixing it without having remove the interior.

From what I can see it looks like the stitching has gone, it could be that by doing the work by hand, they might be able to fix it in-situ.

They are based in Hamble, Hampshire, which is a bit of hike from you, but if you are interested PM me and I will give you their contact details.

Tris...

That could be interesting, until a month or so ago we had a boat at Hamble and my brother lives there, plus junior is a Uni in Southampton.  Be a good excuse for a run down, its a great drive from here too if I avoid the motorway and A34

[blueg33 92]

Are there detailed instructions anywhere on how to remove the dash?  I need a step by step idiots guide bit like the old Hayes manuals

[azim 6]

35 minutes ago, C8RKH said:

I'm disappointed to here that MMC fobbed you off as they are my local dealer and where I bought my Evora from 53 weeks ago!

Have you tried Allon White near Milton Keynes

Thanks Andy - I'll give them a go. You're right, I have a case under Sale of Goods act - may look at that as a potential route.

5 minutes ago, blueg33 said:

Are there detailed instructions anywhere on how to remove the dash?  I need a step by step idiots guide bit like the old Hayes manuals

Take a look at this, pretty detailed: http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f417/diy-evora-dashboard-removal-269378/

[blueg33 92]

9 minutes ago, azim said:

Thanks Andy - I'll give them a go. You're right, I have a case under Sale of Goods act - may look at that as a potential route.

Take a look at this, pretty detailed: http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f417/diy-evora-dashboard-removal-269378/

Thanks that link is really useful, now I am certain that I will have to pay someone to do it!

[azim 6]

Just now, blueg33 said:

Thanks that link is really useful, now I am certain that I will have to pay someone to do it!

Haha, my thoughts exactly!!

[alunr 0]

How did you resolve this in the end?  My MY11 car is doing the same thing...

[Cdm2018 101 1 Vehicles]

Washed the car yesterday and noticed looking at front dash covering at bottom of windscreen the centre where it’s joined the stitching is coming apart
looks a little unsightly but was pondering on any quick solutions ?

i guess the long term is to get the all the dash recovered which I guess is not a cheap or quick job ? Though as short term answer is to try and mask the joint which is coming apart but how ?
Tape looks a bit naff ! a small material piece in a triangle shape stuck down ? 
Any suggestions whilst the car is mainly sat on drive I could attempt a repair of some kinds 

Maybe just leave it ? But it does look  untidy and makes Lotus can’t finish their cars properly ?