Fungus (!!!) growing inside dashboard glass

Please let us know what they say!!

 

It's all part of the harmony between Man, Nature and Machine. What? You didn't think it was all swaying bushes and cascading waterfalls....fungus is nature too!

Just kidding...sorry...I suppose any medium that a fungus can attach and find nutrient can foster growth.

Your car is only two months old so I'd 100% definently take this problem to the dealer. Fungus, moisture or whatever....it should be very fixable.

I'd be curious to see this growth....are you sure it's "Alive"?

Good Luck...and no, I've not heard anyone else have this particular problem.

 

One of my hobbies is photography. In a tropical climate, fungus will coat the glass on a lens. I'm not sure why it would chose a lens to grow - there couldn't be any nutrients there? Can it?

I see the OP is in the tropics.

You have to drive a lot to keep the AC on and the fungus hopefully won't come back.

 

Yes, I noticed the OP was in Singapore. Glass is glass, plastic is plastic...I suppose a fungus can grow anywhere. As far as "nutrients" go, we are dealing on a microscopic level. Couple that with warmth and light from the dash itself...maybe not that suprising.

Bummer problem. I would hate it if someone had to disassemble my whole dash just to get to an isolated fungus.

Any experts on fungus and molds know if there is any other way to approach this?

 

I don't know about a car, but for a lens, once fungus grows on the glass, it is finished. The fungus secrets acid or something and the lens is never sharp again. There is no recovery or fix for a camera lens once fungus grows. It has to be thrown out.

 

I wonder if this is part of the future in that many of the parts used in the new Prius and other new cars are "bio-degradable" and/or made of natural materials.

The joys of living in the tropics! Fungus grows anywhere it wants. Even in the west coast marine climate of Vancouver fungus grows on plastic (and other) building siding. It doesn't require nutrients from the growth medium, it gets those from the air.

Defrost will have to be used to lower the moisture content of the air inside the car to discourage fungal growth. That and perhaps have it "fumigated" to apply a coating to all surfaces that would kill the fungal spores.

 

Several years ago I had the same problem when living in Brazil, a tropical country. It was a lack of quality problem. Dash glasses were not properly sealed and the moisture and perfect temperatures in tropical areas made it a good home for mold. It was fixed a long time ago and cars there no longer have this problem. With problems like these, I'm really wondering about how bad the interior quality in gen 3 has got…

 

Have you tried cleaning the projection area below and in front of the dash glass? Some of the information shown is projected up there from below... And dirt or grime or fungus there could make for a blurry projection.

Just a thought.

 

dealer will replace it for you...

 

No, I don't think that's a fair demand...

 

No, that's not fair. Removing the dash assembly is common and customary for many maintenance and repair tasks. The dealer should be able to do it without damage.

Tom

 

Right... but there is a whole world of diffrence between "should" and "will do"... if you're a lucky one, yes, but there are some poor dealer services out there and don't be surprised with you end up with lots of rattling after the repair... especially in the Prius that is already prone to it.

You may want to check out reliability of different dealers for the service.

 

It is very unlikely that they will give you a new car. It's the economics of it. Basically we are all paying for our own cars and warranty work with a profit for the car company. If car companies goes around replacing defective cars with new cars, the cost of a Prius will go up quite a bit. So it is unlikely that this will happen.

We pretty much agree to such when we buy the car. There is a warranty to repair or replace defective parts. I think this would be common for all car companies from Toyota, Rolls Royce, Audi, GM, BMW, or any manufacturer. I doubt any of them will give you a new car for mold on the display.

I make no comment as to what is fair or right. I am just talking about the economics of it.

 

Fungus can be a serious health hazzard. Look around carefully (under seats, dash) to see if it is also there. If it is in other parts of the car, I would insist on a different car.

 

If I was trying to "build" an arguement for replacement of the entire automobile this is the approach I would use. You might not win this arguement but Fungus and Mold can be a health hazzard, and I would argue that fixing the dash is only removing the fungus that is visible, that you know about. I'd argue that you can't know how much of the car might be contain fungus or mold just not in a visible area.

I still think it's a hard fought battle inwhich you would likely be told "Too Bad"...but you could present it to Toyota and The Dealer and see what happens. You have nothing to lose.

Your best chance is that Toyota and The Dealer would think they could take your car back, replace the dash lens, and re-sell it at without losing much on the deal at all. At only 2 months old it really wouldn't cost Toyota all that much comparitevly. ....Yes, I'm being way too optimistic....

 

The only way to get it bought back under lemon law, which really isn't a repalcement, it's a refund-ish.

And yes, you expect way to much.

 

Toyota isn't the Apple store or Costco.