a914guy

Have any of you seen this on your cars?




I thought this issue with my '03 was probably a lone instance of interior trim quality until I went to Cars and Coffee last weekend.



I saw the exact same thing on a 2004 but not on two other 996 Turbos (2003 and a 2004).

My car is a 35K car with no dash service history and the '04 with the same issue has no known service history where the dash cap may have been removed.

Anyone else out there seen this?

Dock

It's not on my '02 996 Turbo.

I don't recall ever having seen this on any 996 Turbo.

Gern

I have it, but it's a piece of rubberized foam that I put there to stop a squeak. Is it possibly felt tape put down by a dealer or PO to quiet a rattle?

a914guy

I think it's a good possibility it was done intentionally but I'm more inclined to think it was done at the time of the build or developed over time. I'd think a wedge attempt by a dealer to address a squeak would have been unique in execution and material unless it was a major problem in many cars.

Seeing these two cars that originated from dealerships on opposite sides of the country (Minnesota and Texas) have the exact same piece of ?? in the same spot seems to make me think it was there from day one. After seeing a twin, I'm wondering if there are more cars out there like these two.

Dock

Have you tried pushing it back under the instrument cluster cover?

a914guy

I did try to push it back under the dash top but it won't go and at this point, I'm reluctant to force it too hard. It doesn't pull out either. I can get under it and on top of it but it doesn't budge with medium pressure.

If this discussion doesn't surface anything to make me think I need to leave it alone, I may just trim it off.

My approach would be to tape the dash edge and base under the flap to protect the leather. Place a small piece of thin aluminum under the flap and use an exacto knife and cut it off.

Dock

That sounds like a good plan.