Wear & Tear hvac knobs - door armrest

BGLR4 · Mar 23, 2018

Ah - leather on door issue is same one I have. Just this past summer it showed up exactly where my elbow sits and then the side of my hand. Never seen this in a car ever - I do think it's an issue of the car gets hot and then I wonder if maybe something on my arm like suntan lotion caused the leather to "melt".

On fixing - so it sounds like I need to get an entire interior panel replacement -- the area with wear is not a small seperate piece of the interior door trim?

iconoclast · Mar 23, 2018

The door wear looks like someone presses their body weight against it to adjust seat position.
You can tell by the way the vinyl is pushed forward and bunched up.

I've never experienced knobs wearing like that and have only seen melted interior bits like that in Ferrari F355 I had but others have run into the issue and resolved it by using goo-gone:
https://landroverforums.com/forum/lr4-38/my-fix-sticky-climate-control-knobs-86693/

Are you able to purchase new knobs as a stand alone part or do they have to be ordered with the HVAC system? If they can be ordered independently I would go that route instead of a home-remedy.

Surfrider77 · Mar 23, 2018

That knob wear is crazy. Mine still look brand new 5 years on. I live in the Middle East and it is FAR hotter than FL, so I doubt heat is the issue.

I also rest my elbow on the door sill like you and have a mark, but not worn through. The natural arm rest in the door is stupid low. Who has monkey arms that reach that far down? The door sill is far more naturally comfortable.

iconoclast · Mar 23, 2018

Agreed. Our LR3 HSE had 60k miles on it and the knobs and door panel did not show any signs of wear. Not even on the grab handles.

NASdiesel · Mar 24, 2018

That kind of blemish isn't wear. More likely from a chemical such as sunscreen, bug spray, etc. I've had sunglasses, etc show the same surface bubbling.

Surfrider77 · Mar 24, 2018

NASdiesel said:
That kind of blemish isn't wear. More likely from a chemical such as sunscreen, bug spray, etc. I've had sunglasses, etc show the same surface bubbling.

That would make a lot more sense.

Perhaps his wife is using some hand lotion?

wthammett · Mar 25, 2018

Just for some feedback, I have the same 'elbow wear spot' on the drivers side door panel as you do and my knobs are starting to look worn but not as bad as your pictures - it's almost like yours is melted away. In regards to the arm rest my kids leaned on the passenger side arm rest too many times and broke it, I call and visit wrecking yards here but no one will sell me the arm rest, because then they can't sell the seats. And they all want $300 each for a complete LR3/LR4 seat. Good luck -

cperez · Mar 26, 2018

wthammett said:
no one will sell me the arm rest, because then they can't sell the seats. And they all want $300 each for a complete LR3/LR4 seat.

Sounds like a decent deal, tbh...

anamorphic · Mar 27, 2018

Hi, if you want to save money take a butter knife and put it behind the knob edges and pop it out around the edges, you’ll have to do this around each knob.

I soaked them in soapy water, then used a green scotch-brite style pad to get the gummy stuff off. I then sprayed about 3 coats of Rubberized spray, you can use Plastidip but I found that the Rustoleum spray came out in a finer mist and dries very smooth. I did this because after I removed the gunk and re-installed the knobs they had no grip on them and it was annoying to turn on the AC. Now they have grip and actually look stock.

Here’s a photo I took today after spraying them.

iconoclast · Mar 28, 2018

Why not just buy new replacement knobs?

Wear & Tear hvac knobs - door armrest

BGLR4

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