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Got schooled today on Prius plastics

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by oldasdust, Sep 3, 2011.

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  1. oldasdust

    oldasdust Member

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    I had a passenger today in my 2011 Gen III who has over a decade in the plastic industry for a top global petrochemical corporation. I told them many people complain about the cheap plastic in the prius Gen III that marks easily. They started laughing and advised thin plastics used in conserving weight have to be more impact resistant and softer to avoid breaking and therefore cost more than thicker and harder plastics used most other vehicle applications. That followed with their so don't call this interior cheap. Boy did i get schooled. The process of using recycled plastics for a savings came up to was advised an ecological savings but very marginal cost savings of those plastics. Gee i was o for 2 LOL by the way they had never rode in a Gen III before and liked the car, so i scored 1 point for having a nice car.
     
    #1 oldasdust, Sep 3, 2011
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  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    and they are vegetable based, are they not?
     
    #2 bisco, Sep 3, 2011
  3. oldasdust

    oldasdust Member

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    All the plastics used in the interior are vegtable based? Has that technology been released for mass production products and if so when ?
     
    #3 oldasdust, Sep 3, 2011
  4. bedrock8x

    bedrock8x Senior Member

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    They are referring to the plastic used in the Lexus, not in the Prius.

     
    #4 bedrock8x, Sep 3, 2011
  5. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    Vegetable based? Wow, that's like having your car and eating it too. :p
     
    #5 El Dobro, Sep 3, 2011
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  6. RRxing

    RRxing Senior Member

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    #6 RRxing, Sep 3, 2011
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  7. oldasdust

    oldasdust Member

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    From what i have been told vegtable based plastics are quite new and at this time are more costly than petroleum based plastics. When they become mass produced and accepted the price will come down and may replace many petroleum based plastics. Lots of testing is being conducted. Anyone know how much of the lexus interior is vegtable based plastics? intersting to say the least.
     
    #7 oldasdust, Sep 3, 2011
  8. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    So an expert sat in the OP's car and can't recognize the plastic he was talking about?

    Yeah, so little of it is used, but I find them really difficult to clean, particularly the light gray cowl side trim.
     
    #8 32kcolors, Sep 3, 2011
  9. oldasdust

    oldasdust Member

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    I did not type every word or conversation with what you called an expert in my vehicle but they knew it was a poly olefin. How can you tell which one easy they said looking over my shoulder while i'm typing destroy it. Burn the plastic the smoke color and smell will tell you which poly olefin is present. How did this turn into this just posted thin plastic expensive and soft thus marks easily news to me schooled is all.
     
    #9 oldasdust, Sep 3, 2011
  10. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    I just want to say one word to you. Just one word.
    Yes, sir.
    Are you listening?
    Yes, I am.
    Plastics.
    Exactly how do you mean?
     
    #10 The Electric Me, Sep 3, 2011
  11. xs650

    xs650 Senior Member

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    I've had most of the plastic out of the front of my GenIII doing different mods and it's easy to tell what type of plastic each piece is. Just about all of it is marked on the back, that's a much cheaper way to tell what it is than setting it on fire:D

    Most of it is either marked PP/PE with is PolyEthylene/PolyPropylene. They are both polyolefins. Several pieces in the center counsel and some other pieces are ABS/PC which is Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene/Polycarbonate. The door panels are also PP/PE.
     
    #11 xs650, Sep 3, 2011
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  12. oldasdust

    oldasdust Member

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    Thanks for the info about stampings on back so is it like they said somewhat more $$ because thin and soft thus incorrect to call the interior cheap a word many have used to describe the Gen III interior partly because it is easily marred.
     
    #12 oldasdust, Sep 3, 2011
  13. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    As RRxing posted, the some parts are plant-based (and why only the driver's seat and not both front seat foam is beyond me). Toyota developed their own Toyota Super Olefin plastic that's highly recyclable.

    As for Lexus, well the HS's seat padding is made out of kenaf fibres and castor seeds per the brochure.
     
    #13 Tideland Prius, Sep 4, 2011
  14. Insight-I Owner

    Insight-I Owner 2006 Insight-I MT + 2011 Prius

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    So now you can have your seat and eat it too. Or plant it if you prefer.
     
    #14 Insight-I Owner, Sep 4, 2011
  15. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    It may have something to do with the passenger presence sensor.
     
    #15 El Dobro, Sep 4, 2011
  16. RRxing

    RRxing Senior Member

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    I was also curious as to why only the driver's seat cushion was plant-based and not any of the other seats. Now I'm wondering if this seat cushion played any part in the front bottom edge of my leather driver's seat becoming detached and had to be replaced. They replaced both the seat cushion (pad) and the seat bottom leather. Curiouser and curiouser...
     
    #16 RRxing, Sep 4, 2011
  17. oldasdust

    oldasdust Member

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    A piece here and there of plant based plastics. They are being tested and evaluated with new ones invented replacing petrroleum based here and there. One day all will probably be plant based,mass marketed and mass produced. Those plastics will be used extensively for food storage and containers. We have bio diesel can they make bio gasoline ?
     
    #17 oldasdust, Sep 4, 2011
  18. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    And good places to test them too. They're out of the way but they're also areas that will most likely get scuffed.

    Maybe it's because it's the most used seat? Or maybe the padding is different between the driver's and passenger's seat.

    good point. Maybe the density of the foam couldn't be achieved to get the sensor to work properly.

    Where's my corn-based plastic pen? :D
     
    #18 Tideland Prius, Sep 5, 2011
  19. Feri

    Feri Active Member

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    Not so. Gen III Prius plastics are vegetable based too!
     
    #19 Feri, Sep 5, 2011
  20. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    I recommend salad dressing over ArmorAll for interior cleaning.
     
    #20 El Dobro, Sep 5, 2011
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