Clouded Climate Controls

Yesterday I cleaned the interior of my new PriusV for the first time, and made the apparently horrific mistake of allowing a cleaning pad to come into contact with the clear plastic on the front of the climate controls.

I'm not sure exactly what I did. Either I passed the glass cleaning pad I used to clean my rear view mirror over it, or could have absently mindedly done the same thing with the "all surfaces" Armor All cleaner I used on the steering wheel.

The end result was a few hours later while driving I looked down at the temperature to find the entire display horribly clouded and spotted by what appeared to be tiny divots in the plastic. Bad enough to be unreadable in direct sunlight.

LESSON 1: NO CLEANING SOLVENTS ANYWHERE NEAR THE CLEAR PLASTIC ON THE CLIMATE CONTROLS!

I already knew this rule for the navigation display, and carefully follow it, but somehow overlooked that it could apply to the clear plastic on the climate control displays.

Much fretting and self recriminations ensues. My stomach churns whenever I look at the displays. This is NOT the feeling I purchased a new car for. A little internet research suggested that Meguiars PlastX might provide a solution. Feeling that I had nothing much to lose, I purchased a bottle for $5 and gave it a shot....

A little cautious dollop on a microfiber pad seemed to help rather than hurt, so I began repeated small applications and applied some elbow grease. Much improved! Not factory fresh anymore, but you now have to be looking for evidence that something is wrong.

LESSON 2: Meguiar's PlastX is safe to use on the clear plastic of the climate controls if you violate lesson 1, and does help.

I wouldn't get it anywhere near the LCD display though...

So thank you internet, and now this is here for the next person to mistakenly violate lesson 1.

- Jock Tamson, Who will never clean anything ever again.