3LT Dash Bubbling
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 25,583
Likes: 16,942
I have a couple of questions for anyone who has had the 3LT dash leather debond (or anyone else who might have info):
1) Were you pleased with the repair and did it appear good as the OEM installation?
2) Are there any reports of it happening after the repair?
1) Were you pleased with the repair and did it appear good as the OEM installation?
2) Are there any reports of it happening after the repair?
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2021
Posts: 2,562
Likes: 1,579
Wonder if anyone has posted any pictures of the backing of the leather used in the 3LT trim?
Is the bonded leather backed with a cloth material? Is the backer coming delaminated from the "leather" or is it failing at the adhesive between the plastic panel and the backing of the bonded leather?
There's a crap ton of postings about dash peeling / delamination for 3LT and lots of pictures, but I don't see any detailed pictures showing the backside of the leather or the adhesive itself.
Is the bonded leather backed with a cloth material? Is the backer coming delaminated from the "leather" or is it failing at the adhesive between the plastic panel and the backing of the bonded leather?
There's a crap ton of postings about dash peeling / delamination for 3LT and lots of pictures, but I don't see any detailed pictures showing the backside of the leather or the adhesive itself.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 12,812
Likes: 10,229
From: Garden Valley CA
The repair is replacement of the affected parts. The piece around the HUD just pops off. The area on the passenger side is a more difficult to replace but doesn't require removal of the whole dash like the C7 did.
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 25,583
Likes: 16,942
Thanks, I think I'd prefer a first-class upholstery shop doing the job, rather than replacement parts produced with the same bonding process. Of course, if it's just a quality control issue, I would think a fix would have been developed. Apparently not . . .
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 25,583
Likes: 16,942
I forgot to mention that it's likely not heat, per se, that accelerates the debonding process. It's more likely UV and IR radiation. If you've ever lived in a house with direct sunlight coming through the windows you've probably had the experience of faded furniture fabric and sun-bleached wood floors The last time we moved, our old floors were several shades lighter where area rugs were located. We had the windows tinted in our new house with UV and IR blocking ceramic film, and 10 years later there is no fading.
The factory bonding process may not be the best, but using an optically clear ceramic tint like XPEL XR Plus on the windshield claims to block 97-99% of UV and IR radiation may keep it from happening or at least delay it for many years. I had that done on all of our windows including windshield. Our Natural Dipped dash sits in the sun at my wife's place of work more than 8 hours a day, and it still looks good.
An added benefit is that the ceramic keeps the interior significantly cooler.
The factory bonding process may not be the best, but using an optically clear ceramic tint like XPEL XR Plus on the windshield claims to block 97-99% of UV and IR radiation may keep it from happening or at least delay it for many years. I had that done on all of our windows including windshield. Our Natural Dipped dash sits in the sun at my wife's place of work more than 8 hours a day, and it still looks good.
An added benefit is that the ceramic keeps the interior significantly cooler.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 12,812
Likes: 10,229
From: Garden Valley CA
The GM windshields already cut UV transmittance down to 4% and the side windows down to 35%, so any window tinting only reduces the UV transmittance to a percentage of the OEM glass.
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...00149-9999.pdf
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...00149-9999.pdf
Advanced
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 81
Likes: 26
Mine is horrible and I knew it buying the car used. Took it to the dealer and under warranty they ordered all the parts. Good lead time though to get them. Its cosmetic and going to be fixed so not stressing about it. Would not trade the 3LT for the 2LT over the issue.
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Race Director
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 12,759
Likes: 10,657
From: Prosper TX/Austin TX
2020 C6 of the Year Winner - Modified
Under warranty GM is just going to replace the parts with parts they have sitting in a warehouse. You're much better off either doing it yourself with the proper adhesive or having an upholstery shop do it. The C8 dash looks significantly easier to remove than my C6 dash - which took just about 2 hours to remove the entire thing & 1.5 hours to resinstall.
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 12,759
Likes: 10,657
From: Prosper TX/Austin TX
2020 C6 of the Year Winner - Modified
Wonder if anyone has posted any pictures of the backing of the leather used in the 3LT trim?
Is the bonded leather backed with a cloth material? Is the backer coming delaminated from the "leather" or is it failing at the adhesive between the plastic panel and the backing of the bonded leather?
There's a crap ton of postings about dash peeling / delamination for 3LT and lots of pictures, but I don't see any detailed pictures showing the backside of the leather or the adhesive itself.
Is the bonded leather backed with a cloth material? Is the backer coming delaminated from the "leather" or is it failing at the adhesive between the plastic panel and the backing of the bonded leather?
There's a crap ton of postings about dash peeling / delamination for 3LT and lots of pictures, but I don't see any detailed pictures showing the backside of the leather or the adhesive itself.
contrast that to the a-pillars that are both wrapped and stapled.
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 25,583
Likes: 16,942
The GM windshields already cut UV transmittance down to 4% and the side windows down to 35%, so any window tinting only reduces the UV transmittance to a percentage of the OEM glass.
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...00149-9999.pdf
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...00149-9999.pdf
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 12,812
Likes: 10,229
From: Garden Valley CA
Thanks. I didn't realize it was that much. I'm still glad we did it. We drove the car a lot through most of a hot summer before having the XPEL ceramic installed, and after doing it in August, while it was even hotter, we both felt the interior was noticeably cooler. Of course, our perceptions are in no way supported by data.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 376
Likes: 322
I have to think heat has something to do with the problem. I noticed the problem when the dash piece over the instrument cluster was quite hot. The bubble was very noticeable. Once cooled, it was barely noticeable.
Pro
Joined: Mar 2022
Posts: 656
Likes: 474
I have never had this issue on my 3LT.
Despite the fact that this happens in rare instances, it is still better to buy a 3LT than deal with a 2LT which uses the lowest grade of leather in the automotive industry and looks like **** all the time.
Despite the fact that this happens in rare instances, it is still better to buy a 3LT than deal with a 2LT which uses the lowest grade of leather in the automotive industry and looks like **** all the time.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 12,812
Likes: 10,229
From: Garden Valley CA
Heat may aggravate the problem but it definitely isn't the root cause. If it was then 1LT/2LT dashes would also have the problem and cars that sit in the sun would have a lot more problems than cars that are parked in garages.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 5,687
Likes: 212
From: Mo.
Thanks. I didn't realize it was that much. I'm still glad we did it. We drove the car a lot through most of a hot summer before having the XPEL ceramic installed, and after doing it in August, while it was even hotter, we both felt the interior was noticeably cooler. Of course, our perceptions are in no way supported by data.
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 159
Likes: 92
I did not have a single issue on my 2020 with 15k miles until today. One random small bubble appeared on the large trim piece with the passenger airbag and I had top of the line xpel ceramic tint installed on the entire windshield, and side windows when the car had less than 50 miles. Car goes to work for 8 hours and is then garaged. I do not think it is worth it to go to the dealer and deal with the hassle of getting the piece replaced unless there is total failure. I will probably try the syringe with glue method and hope the edges don't peel.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 12,812
Likes: 10,229
From: Garden Valley CA
I did not have a single issue on my 2020 with 15k miles until today. One random small bubble appeared on the large trim piece with the passenger airbag and I had top of the line xpel ceramic tint installed on the entire windshield, and side windows when the car had less than 50 miles. Car goes to work for 8 hours and is then garaged. I do not think it is worth it to go to the dealer and deal with the hassle of getting the piece replaced unless there is total failure. I will probably try the syringe with glue method and hope the edges don't peel.
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 159
Likes: 92
I will wait until the last month of warranty and then I will weigh the options. I guess once they replace the piece it will come with its own warranty but I am paranoid that the dealer will scratch something or a noise will develop. Basically I would rather do the work myself. The car otherwise has been perfect, panel alignments, trim alignment, perfect stitching etc.
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 12,759
Likes: 10,657
From: Prosper TX/Austin TX
2020 C6 of the Year Winner - Modified
I will wait until the last month of warranty and then I will weigh the options. I guess once they replace the piece it will come with its own warranty but I am paranoid that the dealer will scratch something or a noise will develop. Basically I would rather do the work myself. The car otherwise has been perfect, panel alignments, trim alignment, perfect stitching etc.