Late Center Vents?

[NEWDL]

The vents in #1323 got VERY sticky lately. I was reading that this is a similar situation that other manufacturers expereince in rubberized finishes that age. I went to attempt to clean the sticky off and it ruined one of the vents...

Anyone know of a source? SC says on back order.

 

[Rotarypower]

Wow, mine are doing the same. My VIN is #1345, so we probably have the same lot of vents. Just noticed this last month after cleaning the interior. Weird.

 

[Rotarypower]

So, shamelessly copying this from an older thread, so pricing and availability are in question:

Double DIN vents - 2 total, left and right (available from Tesla for about $30/each)

ASSY DDIN VENT LH 6005494
ASSY DDIN VENT RH 6005495

I remember another thread that mentioned these are the same parts used by another car manufacturer, but not Lotus. Maybe Alpha Romeo? The Spider possibly?

 

[Rolf68]

Having the exact same problem. Did notice this last week when removing some dust inside with a microfiber.

Does anyone know how to remove the vent out of the binacle? Instead of buying some news it would be good to wash them with alcohol, and if not enough then simply sand them and put a black covering on.

 

[candersoh]

i too share the same problem. i thought one of my kids put their sticky fingers on them!

 

[X.l.r.8]

Looking at this
The Unofficial Guide To a Roadster Double-DIN Conversion
It looks like they pull out, but wait for conformation first please

 

[ViperDoc]

I just saw this, and just like the first responder to the original poster, just this morning, I was adjusting mine, and they are sticky too. I couldn't believe how stick they suddenly were. I am #1305. These must all go like clockwork!

 

[X.l.r.8]

The rush will be in to locate new vents from Tesla, at least you have the part numbers

 

[Sparrow]

For those of us that are not having this issue yet. Does anyone know of a way to prevent it from happening in the first place? Is there something we should spray on regularly?

 

[DeedWest]

I too have experienced this in four 2.5's (it only seems to be an issue with those upper 2.5 Double-DIN vents; not 1.5/2.0 cars).

VINs were scattered...1151, 1213, 1266...they all had the same issue. Only one that didn't was my previous 2.5 Sport (1438). Weird.

 

[Rolf68]

Looking at this
The Unofficial Guide To a Roadster Double-DIN Conversion
It looks like they pull out, but wait for conformation first please

Very interesting pictures. Look like it should be possible to remove only the vents and the chromed part around... I'll try to have a look inside the vent with an endoscope to see how it's hooked inside. If I can remove it I'll also "chrome delete" that piece as I find the sun reflecting there annoying sometimes.

 

[Rolf68]

Hi guys,

little update

So after seeking a bit on internet, I found how to get rid of this sticky stuff.

You have to clean it with 90° alcohol. Simply put the alcohol on a piece of soft cloth and rub the vent. The cloth will turn black as the sticky part goes away. After that I rinced with water and dryed with a microfiber. With this single pass, I can estimate I removed about 95% of the sticky part (some remains in the corners). I'll redo the operation tomorrow in order to clean it all.

After that, it's advised to apply a product called "polytrol" with a brush on the vent. Let dry 15 minutes (warning, not in the sun), and clean again with a soft cloth. 24 hours later reapply a layer of polytrol, wait 15 minutes, clean, and it should be over with the sticky situation

I don't have Polytrol right now, I'll have to search some thus I cannot testify the results, but so far the cleaning with 90° alcohol worked great.

Best regards

 

[Rotarypower]

@Rolf68 thank you for the information! Please share some images as you go through the steps to restore the vents.

 

[Rolf68]

@Rolf68 thank you for the information! Please share some images as you go through the steps to restore the vents.

Ok, I'll do that too

I have just those 2 pictures of the vents from last week when they were sticky. Sorry the quality is not that good because of the poor lighting. Anyway in full size you might see well the "rugged and bumpy" look where the sticky matter was showing. In fact in real it was worst than how it looks on the pictures, but you get the idea. I'll take some with the current vent state later today.

 

[Rolf68]

Oh, here am I back

So I took some pictures of the 2 vents as they were after the first alcohol clean. You can see them here :



There are some sticky matter remaining, especially in the corners and in the middle of the right vent.

This time I cleaned using a paper instead of a cloth. Works too but leave some paper parts some better use a cloth



After that , the vent look a step cleaner, and the touch is soft. I might do another pass and then rince with degreaser tomorrow



Best regards

 

[ICON]

what de-greaser did you use, rubbing alcohol?

 

[Rolf68]

Hello

I didn't use degreaser right now (was a bit lazy this weekend to make the third cleaning )

Anyway the alcohol I used to remove the sticky part is 90° alcohol. Here in France we call it "alcool à brûler" . The bottle looks like this (clic to enlarge) and it's used to light fire, degrease and clean. I forgot to add it smells pretty much so better clean the car outside

I planned to use a "normal" degreaser after the last cleaning just to remove the "patterns" that remains when the alcohol dryes. It goes away with water too, but if I add a layer of plastic renover later, better use something stronger I think.



For the little story, I was told by a high end car seller that this kind of things also affects his Ferraris. It's not directly the plastic that melts, but the thin layer of "whatever it is" they put on it to enhance the look. The alcohol get rid of this product and then you can put a new one or just let it be that way, won't stick anymore just look a bit different.

 

[ibcs]

My vin #1196 cents have become very sticky as well. Thanks for everyone’s discussion on the possible remedy.

 

[Timothy]

My Roadster vin #1180 now has the left vent that won't open. It is not sticky at all. I'm not sure what happened. It opens about a sixteenth of an inch--won't move any further. I am afraid to push too hard as I might break it. Any idea how to remove it and fix it?

The right one works perfectly