Appreciation post: How my car's interior changed after 2 years in the Texas sun

I never really believed the hype about parking in the shade mattering that much. But I've had my Hyundai in Austin for 2 years now. The dash has this weird sticky feel now when it gets hot. The fabric on the driver seat is faded compared to the passenger side. And the steering wheel has this gross tacky texture in the summer. My buddy parks his same year Civic in a garage every day. His interior still looks brand new. I'm talking zero wear on the rubber or plastic. So yeah, I get it now. Sun damage is real and it creeps up slow. Anyone else notice this after a couple years of street parking?

2 comments

2 Comments

kaip112d ago

...and that's exactly what happened to my buddy's Mazda. He street parked his 2019 3 in Dallas for like 18 months, and the dash got this weird shiny spot right where the sun hit through the windshield. Looked almost melted. The leather on his steering wheel started peeling too, like little flakes, super gross. Now he uses a sunshade every single day and parks under trees whenever he can.

finleyl552d ago

Yeah but here's something nobody talks about with that @kaip11 - the humidity in Dallas makes it worse. I lived there for a few years and the combo of that Texas sun plus the muggy air basically bakes the interior plastics from the inside out. It's not just UV damage, it's like the heat and moisture soften the materials so they get that weird tacky feel before they start flaking. Your buddy might wanna check his door seals too, if they're letting extra moisture in it speeds up the whole process.