Not sure if this is a common issue, or just one that I am having. First off my truck has ivory interior and only 18,000 miles. The issue seems to be with the leather armrest that is on the driver's door. It appears as if the ivory dye is coming off. Overall, the armrest looks dirty/dark. I keep our vehicles impecably clean, so I know it is not dirty. I apply leather cleaner once per month and leather conditioner twice each month to the interior leather. After wiping either on the armrest, the armrest turns black in certain areas as if there is no dye whatsoever. The first time I cleaned the armrest, I thought I had wiped all the dye out! Has anyone had this issue before? I would assume it is most noticable on vehicles with light interior.
I have the ivory interior on my 03 and noticed the same thing... in my case though it is dirt - I work in the mining industry so end up bringing all sorts dust in my rover from my clothes and it wipes off easily with cleaner. I don't want to insult you as you sound quite anal about vehicle upkeep (like me!) but have you tried scrubbing a little harder?
Post a close up picture so we can tell. It may be dirt as leather cleaners rarely get the dirt out of the crevices. On my light color interiors I always use a magic eraser, rubbing very very lightly. You wouldn't believe the difference.
I find dilluted carpet cleaner in a spray bottle works well at removing built up grime in armrests and basically any surface. I would reapply leather conditioner though,
I definately agree that the Magic Eraser product works very well, and also agree that you should not scrub too hard on Leather surfaces - I have taken the top color coating off a small area of the passenger seat. You can be more aggressive on various other interior surfaces however, especially the actual door panels and center-console lid. I use Leatherique to restore, clean and preserve any leather product, including the Seats. Some of the leather cleaners and conditioners contain petroleum-based chemicals, and will, over time, damage the Leather.
I have Ivory in my Sport. I also keep the interiors of my cars impeccably clean. However, I was starting to see the seat and seatbacks darken over time. It's from the dye in dark clothing (jeans, sweaters, etc...)
I used the magic eraser and then followed it up with leather cleaner, and then "hide food" conditioner. I have a left over jar from my old P38A Rover. The hide food was originally made for the older 95-98 Range Rover which used Connolly hides (like Bentley and Rolls), but the conditioner does work nicely on the leather used in the current Rovers.
The dealer ended up having their leather guy re-dye the armrest. I was nervous giving them the go ahead to do so for fear that it would be slightly off in color, but I must say it looks perfect. I notice the slightest imperfections, and this guy did a wonderful job as it is the exact same color as the door panel. Anyways, I am now one happy guy.
I have the same problem with my 2010 RR Supercharged on the drivers side door pull. I'm not pleased with the poor quality of the leather. I also take care of the leather with griot's leather care products or Zaino. I have a 9 year old BMW with 85K on the odo that shows no wear. I had the dealer look at it and they claim this is normal wear and tear and not replaceable under the manufacturers warranty. I was told it is from the oils on my skin. I told them that did not make sense because I briefly touch this surface in order to open and close the door. The steering wheel (black), however, is constantly being touched by my same "oily" skin and shows no fading at all. It is my opinion this is a defective part (improper leather finishing technique ?) or at the very least a poorly constructed part and should be replaced under the "bumper to bumper" warranty. This is my third Land Rover (second Range Rover) and surprisingly for me the quality of each consecutive product seems to decline. I have had numerous other issues with the vehicle (brakes, hollowing wind noise from the front windshield, rear seat leather continuing to come off the seat, back up camera image reversed, etc...) that this is the icing on the cake for me. It's a shame Land Rover doesn't stand behind their product. I too will be looking to have someone re-paint or re-finish the door pull hoping that it will look similar to the other leather in the vehicle.
Keep in mind the armrest materials and materials problems on the earlier trucks are different than the later ones. I believe the later ones are ACTUAL leather, whereas the earlier trucks have that same weird surface on the door arm-rests as the dashboard, and it gets all kinds of gunk inside the little recesses easily if even a little dirt gets on it. Not to mention the issue with the crumpling on the earlier ones.
There is a way to recover the older ones with leather covers though which solves that problem, as I have seen it at a dealer that specializes in used Rovers.
If your truck is still under warranty, ask them to have it dyed by one of their interior guys. I dont see them replacing the whole piece (they would not do this for me), but they should be able to fix your current piece. If your dealer still says no, then contact Land Rover directly and explain how it needs to either be replaced or re-dyed.
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