Carpet Gone Strange Colour Under The Mats

[mikesands]

I have the pale grey interior and of course it has the loose Lexus mats to match. All the materials match (plastic, leather and the carpets and rugs) which is pretty good for 6 years old. However when I took the mats out to pound and hoover them, the carpet underneath is a greenish grey colour whereas everything else is a warm to neutral grey. I can only assume that it's some reaction to the back of the loose mats. Has anyone else noticed this on theirs?

Thanks

Mike

[rayaans]

I have the pale grey interior and of course it has the loose Lexus mats to match. All the materials match (plastic, leather and the carpets and rugs) which is pretty good for 6 years old. However when I took the mats out to pound and hoover them, the carpet underneath is a greenish grey colour whereas everything else is a warm to neutral grey. I can only assume that it's some reaction to the back of the loose mats. Has anyone else noticed this on theirs?

Thanks

Mike

Have you shampooed the carpets to see if it comes off?

I have the same problem in my wife's merc which has a full grey interior. apparently it's bleaching of the carpets and won't come off

[mikesands]

I haven't tried cleaning the greenish area, but you can see that it's not something that's likely to come off - every fibre of the carpet is this different colour. Normally you would assume that the colour of the carpets underneath the mats is the original true colour and all the rest has faded through 6 years of UV. But there's now way all the other greay materials (the armrests and the leather and the steering wheel and the mats themselves, would have all faded in exactly the same way and be a 'nice' colour. In other words I don't think anyone would have been happy picking up their new RX with the grey interior this greenish grey.

Interesting to hear about the merc.

I am wondering if these mats are genuine Lexus ones. The logos don't look brilliant and one of them has started unravelling. They were in the car when Lexus Teesside sold me it (second hand), but I wonder whether the backing on fake mats somehow reacts with the carpet. I will point it out to Lexus when I am next in.

Mike

[ColinBarber]

I had a black interior on my 400h so cannot really comment, although my old GS430 had a grey interior and never suffered from this.

[ChrisKaye]

Hi mike,

We have the Persian Quartz RX with the champagney/beige interior, the former owner had matching summer Lexus floor mats (which the stupid dealer binned as he said they looked grubby rather than shampoo them) the former owner also had black Lexus "winter" mats which are in the car currently and our carpet underneath is exactly as yours, a weird greenish tint!

I know all jap cars in UK spec since the mid-nineties had different UV blocking glass installed (another reason imports are usually inferior) - you can certainly "feel" this in effect if you open the sun roof on a hot day and put your hand to the window (in the sun) then put it in the sun from the sunroof.

This explains why the plastics and soft furnishings in the cabin shouldn't fade in time with proper Lexus glass (unsure if this is the case with cheaper "auto glass" style window replacements).

So I think sunlight causing this can be ruled out!

There is definitely something in the mats causing this, which is a real shame as the carpets protected by the mats should be in pristine condition and look disgusting!

I have various shampoo products, and we'll give them a try, if I find one that makes a dent, I'll let you know. We'll also wash the mats in case something on them causes this issue and hope it washes out.

Thanks,

Chris

[mikesands]

Thanks Chris - glad to hear it's not just me, and I will relay your comments to Lexus Teesside - they are quite good at getting feedback toLexus.

Mike

[rayaans]

Is there any chance water could have gone through the mats in those areas during the winter and stayed there causing mold growth?

[PCM]

Did the carpets clean up?

[ChrisKaye]

Scheduled for this weekend, was the lads birthday last weekend so we went to Legoland!

[ChrisKaye]

Pictures of this phenomenon... Affects all car mats and definitely doesn't look like mould or water marks.

You'd think at the price of the proper Lexus floor mats they'd protect the carpet better!

Driver side - the black mark is actually where the back of the mat where the driver's heel has worn through (picture of underside of the mat, too).

The other pic is the rarely used offside rear passenger mat/carpet.

Hopefully the rain will slow so I can attack with my 3 different shampoos and see if I have any luck!

[PCM]

I bought some nice beige coloured rubber mats from amazon.

They look great on top.

[ChrisKaye]

Yeah, I've been thinking of that too, Piers - especially with the 7 year old mud/grime/sand magnet in the back!!!

With ALL the leg room he now has in the back, I was not impressed with all the foot scuffs behind my seat on the beige book pouch! Grrr!

[PCM]

Bought mine from amazon - about £27

Sumex CARAT10 Carat Universal Rubber Car mats - Beige

[ColinBarber]

Looks like the mats/carpet were wet and that caused the mat to stain the carpet underneath?

[mikesands]

Looks like the mats/carpet were wet and that caused the mat to stain the carpet underneath?

Not likely with mine Colin as all 4 have gone the yucky green underneath. Also Mine are much more evenly coloured green than the pics above.

Mike

[DanD]

Mine are similar. I assumed it was something to do with lack of light exposure rather than the mats themselves.

I recommend www.mrcarmats.com