[CountJunkula]

The inside of my Q5 is in remarkably good condition, even for a 2012 car.

I looked at 4 others before I bought mine and in each one the interior looked shabby, leather was stretched and wrinkled, brushed trim dented all over the place.

The only noticeable blemish on my interior is the brushed aluminium centre console trim. It has a few light marks but generally good condition, the problem seems to be some sort of corrosion to the metal surface:

Although small it is one of those things that I can;t help but look at every time I get in the car so I decided to replace the part. All the used ones on eBay look in worse condition that my existing one so I decided to buy new:

I was hoping it was a simple job but I saw a video on youtube showing the process and it looks like a fair amount of work... The entire centre console has to come out. Hopefully i'll get it done over the weekend!

Wish me luck!

 

[missile]

The Aluminium trim is easily marked, did you consider changing to another option? Good luck

 

[CountJunkula]

Yeah I did quote like the look of that other silver trim with the small hexagon shapes on, I had similar in my old E46 years ago but I couldn't find any for sale online. Plus it would be a lot more expensive to change all the matching door trim parts over at the same time, especially if I had to buy new.

The one I bought above was new, but it came off eBay

 

[RussJ]

Pleased that the original owner of my car specified carbon fibre...

Russ

 

[CountJunkula]

Well, the new trim is fitted and looks loads better!

It was a bit awkward, it took me a little over an hour on my own start to finish. I wouldn't consider doing this without a set of trim removal tools though. The guide I used to remove the centre console suggested using screwdrivers, credit cards, wall scrapers....It was a scary job even doing it with the proper tools!

 

[Helisupp]

I think a lot get damaged due to" keyless start" cars.

You have to put the keys somewhere after starting and getting in the car, and the drinks holder is the best place, but can scratch the trim.

 

[missile]

Good job

 

[CountJunkula]

Good job

Thanks Missile, I also treated myself to the armrest storage tray while I was at it

In other news, these LED interior bulbs arrived today so will hopefully get these fitted some time this week. I did the same on my old car and it made a huge difference!

I have some LED fogs on the way too!

 

[missile]

I like that tray, may look out for one myself. Did you buy from China?

 

[CountJunkula]

Nah it was an Amazon jobbie, next day delivery! I ordered Saturday afternoon and had it delivered by 11AM on Sunday! I love Amazon Prime!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01FM3SEQG

 

[badbaz]

That's a good point, I just double checked the car I was taking about on Autotrader (as it's still for sale) but this one didn't have the start button. The pics aren't great but when you zoom in you can just about make out that the trim has about 20 dents in it! In the case of this particular car it was the very first Q5 I looked at and as soon as I opened the door it was the very first thing that I saw. Immediately I got the impression that the car had had a hard life and hadn't been looked after and I decided there and then that I wasn't going to buy it. It actually looked much worse in real life than it did in the pic below.

Thanks Missile, I also treated myself to the armrest storage tray while I was at it

In other news, these LED interior bulbs arrived today so will hopefully get these fitted some time this week. I did the same on my old car and it made a huge difference!

I have some LED fogs on the way too!

Where did you get the LEDs from? Their page is in Russian for me!

 

[missile]

I note the currency in the photo has picture of Chairman Mao

 

[CountJunkula]

I got the LED interior lights from Ebay:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F281901766937

I fitted them earlier today, dead easy job, took 20 mins to do the whole car. It looks much better now, I would have taken a pic but my phone died while I was using it as a torch!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ayjay Cee]

I've not got keyless but have still managed to put some small dents in the trim on my Q5 over the years. I though that it was because that particular bit of trim was made of cheese as opposed to a more practical and durable material. Good job on the replacement.

 

[rapport25]

I got the LED interior lights from Ebay:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F281901766937

I fitted them earlier today, dead easy job, took 20 mins to do the whole car. It looks much better now, I would have taken a pic but my phone died while I was using it as a torch!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks Rappy

 

[Stuartharmes]

I dont have a usb for my phone cable its in the glove box, is there a way around this or should I have ordered the car with it ?

 

[CountJunkula]

I dont have a usb for my phone cable its in the glove box, is there a way around this or should I have ordered the car with it ?

The cable in my pic above is just for charging, it's not connected to the MMI or anything. I'm just using a 12v cig adapter phone charger in there.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Stuartharmes]

so is there a 12v cig adapter in our center console beneath the new tray ?

 

[Ayjay Cee]

Stuart, There is a 12V socket with a cap on it in my 2014 S Line Plus but I didn't actually see it until I went looking as it is slightly recessed and out of the way. The cap also adds to the disguise,

 

[Stuartharmes]

I will have to check I have a 2016 SQ5 and never noticed if there is one