On the AC control panel the temp and fan rocker switches are showing a little bit of wear. Some of the rubber has started to come off. Is it possible to replace these switches or would one need to replace the whole AC control panel?

 

I'm not sure what's involved in fixing this, but this is a very well documented problem. I'm sure others will chime in.

 

I am also in. Have for now very minor wear on these buttons - but too much for 22.000 mls. Furthermore I have wear on the PCM Frame.
I saw a lot 997 while searching for my car with horrible wear.

I am not sure if there are any OEM replacements parts(single buttons). For example the PCM Frame is only available complete...unfortunately...

 

Curious as well... pretty much every surface I touch on a regular basis in the car is already showing wear only 30k miles in.

 

Eric at BumperPlugs will repaint your PCM panel. Don't know solution for peeling AC switches.

 

Yes the soft rubbery surface all around the car seems to wear very quickly. There but be a better solution to this.
I know on my Blackberry a similar thing happened, but you could peel back the rubbery surface and there is a decent plastic undernear. I would if the same could be done here in some applications.

 

My 2003 7Series hat the same problem with the "Menu"-Button and for the armrest. Underneath was a nice flat black button - so that was OK.

I am already in contact with Eric for repainting. But it is a long way to get the PCM disassembled without any knowledge....I think my dealership should do that....

 

Sorry guys. we're all SOL on this. I had noticed this before my original warranty had expired but didn't want to go in just for that. i waited too long and while my car is CPO'd it is considered wear and tear EVEN THOUGH it is a well documented issue. case in point: gf had hers replaced at 16k miles no questions asked. i'm po'd about it.
also, i sourced out a cheap sued worn part to explore mechanism and the switch is part of the whole assembly and impossible to get out.
Porsche ONLy supplies the whole assembly as a replacement with no individual parts to purchase. all the ones you see on stealbay have the switches worn out, there is one yahoo on there who is trying to sell ones with really worn switches for hundreds of $$s on stealbay. what a joke.

So..if your car is still under OEM original warranty and ANY sign of fading/peeling get it in for service to get it replaced under warranty ASAP

 

....This approach of Porsche is not right in my eyes. My BMW people ( BMW used car warranty) didnt ask any questions when I replaced the buttons on my old E65....and this car had 45.000 mls.
For me this is quality issuse of Porsche, if it starts to peel of on nearly "new" cars - doesnt matter if it is a CPO or new car warranty. Even the soft paint peels of on my so called full leather dashboard - yes you heard right, there isnt much full leather.
But since nearly every car is affected it is to expensive for Porsche to fix .
For a Chevy Cobalt this might ok but not for a 92.000 $ vehicle...

The CPO warranty is only good for major issue and failures - nothing more....

 

i agree. even at 30k miles i started to noticed soft touch paint peeling off of: center console edges, key surround, edges of door pockets under flap. small quibbles but when i step into a 80k miles well driven mercedes and the leather seats are mint and every other surface is in great shape it makes me mad. Porsche leather is very susceptible to wear and damage and the paint---ugh, so soft and thin it's impossible to keep swirl free.

 

Yes it is quite suprising that they cheaped out on the interior plastics quality. Either way I doubt that they are going to assist so we had better make a plan.
You think a high quality sticker would work to cover the wear parts? Would be easy enough to get the correct graphics printed on it. Just the trick would be to get one thar blends in nicely and doesnt lift/go bad.

 

The 996 looks cheap, but there the buttons doesnt peel of. The 997 looks better and modern, but low quality and cheap.

Sorry but that is not acceptable.

I think Porsche wants to sell more..
You: I want to get the A/C Button replaced - they start to peel of on my 2006 15k mls 911.
Salesman: We dont have single spare parts - only the whole A/C Unit for 650$. How about a new 911 - there is everything better

 

This is a common problem on early model Touareg's. I had my Nav unit, HVAC, and heated seat switches replaced under warranty. The HVAC was a bit of a battle, so I go creative on the NAV and told them the volume would jump way up while driving (this is a known problem with VW and Audi's) and they made a few phone calls and called me back the next day to say it is covered. At that point I asked that they use the newer part number, as the buttons are wearing. Perhaps this might work with Porsche, maybe it won't.

This rubber finish was used by VAG from 03-05 and then they switched back to hard plastic. I was told by one of the techs that works on my VW, that it is effected by hand lotions being transferred.

 

+1 our company Touareg 04 with 40.000mls looks like crap - splinted interior wood(replaced twice) and lots of peeled off rubber...

 

My wood is fine, but the big problem with the Touareg is that the plastic is white behind a lot of the controls. The velvet rubber coating that car manufactures were adding to their interiors was a huge bust.

One thing that some one on a VW site recommended was to use some matte black model paint to touch it up if it looks really bad.