[stormtrooper]

Has anyone noticed their dash board leather lifting? The area is just above the passenger air bag on the concave contour. Between the stitching and the airbag panel. I'm still trying to get a picture that shows it. Noticed it after a day in the parking lot in the sun.

2015 Spider.

Will post a pic if I ever get one that shows it. The attached picture is generic but shows the area.

Is it worth reporting? If they cover it under warranty would you replace it?

 

[DerwoodEE]

I can't really see anything in your photo.

But if it's lifting up, I'd definitely take it in.

 

[hornetball]

Mine has lifted in a spot. Let me know how it goes. I'm worried that the cure may be worse than the symptoms. Plus, Italian character.

 

[Veloce2]

if you have the leather dash it is highly recommended that you apply Lexol leather conditioner (or similar product) to all you leather in you 4C on a regular basis. i hit the dash , seats and door panels every three months and they look like new and will continue looking like new for many years to come. This isn't a promo for Lexol but i have been using it on all my cars for more than 20 years and the leather seats and dashes always look like day one from the factory. My 2011 Mini Cooper S has 111,000 miles on it and the seats show no wear and my 2005 Maserati Coupe had leather everything including headliner and our car always looked factory fresh in the interior. Just like putting a film on the exterior of our cars, leather conditioner is also a must on the interior.

 

[heelntoe]

Perhaps @Schueyp1 can connect you with his friend Brian, who's not on the forum. Met him last weekend and he's having his dash replaced by the dealer for the same issue.

 

[stormtrooper]

Half of me agrees with Hornetball and the symptom worse than the cure. But the other half is like damn already. Then there is that guy named Murphy or in this case Mario!

 

[milo]

I better check mines!

 

[Veloce2]

leather will tend to shrink and crack when dry which causes problems like delamination, bubbling or pulling apart at the seams. It's not an Alfa or Italian thing. It's a leather thing. The heat on the dash board is intense for any material as all you have to do is look at the millions of cars on the road with cracked vinyl or plastic dash boards. Again, as i stated above. If you have a leather dash start using leather conditioner on it immediately.

 

[4Canada]

Also, too much oil (Lexol or other conditioner) could affect the adhesive. So be cautious about going either way with this - too much or too little of a good thing!

 

[sptcoupe]

Why wouldn't you take it to the dealer and have it repaired? All our cars are under warranty, and while there are indeed millions of cars with cracked dashboards, there are also millions that aren't cracked, especially when less than four years old!. Our cars are hand built, and the glue is applied by hand, so the odds are pretty good that once in a while the glue guy gets it wrong. This is not a leather thing, its a manufacturing mistake and/or faulty material. Leather does age and crack, but not in such a short time. And if it does, get Alfa to fix it.

The more we hold Alfa to a higher standard, the better their future cars will be. You paid for the warranty, why not use it?

 

[JoeCab]

Absolutely this should be a warranty issue - I would not expect a dash to lift or crack after only a couple of years.

For those that have not had this happen, by all means us a good leather conditioner with UV blockers. I like the Griot's Garage, Chemical Guys, and Adam's Polishes (plug for our local buddies @ Adam's) products. I also like to put a towel over the dash, and whenever possible park with the front of the car pointed away from direct sunlight.

 

[Outrun]

I've had this issue since I bought the car with ~2500 miles. It's spreading all around the airbag and is even coming off at the top center (I attached an old pic). OC Alfa sent pictures to Italy and they said they wanted a quote with an interior/upholstery guy for how much it would cost to repair but the service advisor said they may also replace it. I told them it can wait until my next service.

I'm thinking of asking if they could replace it with a non-leather one (see pic #2) so it won't be an issue in the future. I'm just worried any work done may cause more damage or wear in the process.

 

[Count Me In]

Had dash leather delaminamination in our Jag XF
warrantee claim, dash changed no charge

It was, apparently due to poor assembly or not enough adhesive during manufacturing. Who knows?

 

[phaphaphooey]

Our cars have cheap coated or laminated leather instead of Aniline or Semi-Aniline leather. The coating applied to the leather is not porous and as a result the thought from most in the industry is that conditioning it is futile since the conditioner cannot get to the actual leather and instead just speeds up the leather getting dirty by sitting on the surface and attracting dirt.

 

[Veloce2]

i believe there are a few high end auto detailers on this forum. What is their suggestion? With summer coming up we need to protect our 4Cs

 

[AlfaMD]

I originally drove 800 miles to Kentucky to buy a 2015 leftover couple. While inspecting the car, my wife noticed that the leather was lifting away from the dash right in the center at the windshield seam. They said I could get it fixed under warranty but that would have been back home in Maryland and I didn't think I would want them tearing apart my new car. Luckily they had another identical red coupe on the lot so I bought that one instead.


AlfaMD

 

[hornetball]

If anyone did get it fixed . . . how was the process? Simple with good results? An ordeal?

 

[milo]

Just bought this today Better start protecting the dash board!

 

[JoeCab]

Our cars have cheap coated or laminated leather instead of Aniline or Semi-Aniline leather. The coating applied to the leather is not porous and as a result the thought from most in the industry is that conditioning it is futile since the conditioner cannot get to the actual leather and instead just speeds up the leather getting dirty by sitting on the surface and attracting dirt.

It is probably true that this type of leather cannot be "conditioned" like more expensive leathers. But the UV blockers (like sunscreen) in the better leather treatments do work. So perhaps they are worth it for that reason alone.

Another issue to keep in mind is that the first batch of 4Cs sat outside for a long period of time before delivering to dealers. So even if you have taken good care of your leather, some damage may have been done pre-delivery. When we got our car I honestly thought the leather was supposed to be gray it was that dry. A good conditioning brought it back to a deep black color, and I have hit it every 6 months since.

 

[RKBerta]

No problems on my Launch Edition Coupe but it isn't left out in the hot sun for hours at a time. I have always used a brand called 303 which is a surface protectant that is mostly sold in Marine shops. It can go over leather, rubber, plastic, just about anything. It us a UV inhibitor so will cut down on damage caused by sun. I have used on cars and kayaks for several years and it works well. I like that it doesn't add a greasy, high gloss which causes reflections on the inside of the window. You can combine it with a regular leather material like Lexol if you like.

By the way there is a slit in the middle of the material on the passenger side air bag that allows it to split open if the air bag is deployed. Someone had a post that thought it was a defect but it isn't.

By the way....supposedly the sub contractor company that does the leather on the 4C is the same one that does the Ferrari's.