Upholstered Door Panels

[MLucas]

The base model NA I-MiEVs don't come with upholstered door panels like the upgraded models do. I've had my I-MiEV for a year now and been wanting to add those upholstered door panels. I did some research, ordered the materials and installed them this past week. May not be everyone's thing, but I liked the way it turned out - added a bit of color to the interior. I'm working on a series of videos to show how I did it in case you are interested in repeating the process in your car.

The corners look like they are floating away from the door, but actually it's quite flat.

 

[MLucas]

Part 1 'How To Video' can be found here: http://youtu.be/mwYiHZMpDaA

Part 2 : http://youtu.be/H6EkNUTH_ss

 

[JoeS]

Certainly adds color and I bet it introduces a tiny bit of sound-deadening as well. Nice bit of edge-trim and I bet it weighs next-to-nothing.

I'm long overdue for creating an account on YouTube, as I guess I have to have one now to view the video.

 

[MLucas]

The weight is negligible, I'm sure if I'm counting every watt it might matter.

I have to say after a year of EV ownership, things like that don't matter as much as long I can get to where I need to go. I've gotten over the range anxiety and I'm ready to just enjoy this car for what it is. I see it as a highly personalizable vehicle that I can tune to my individual taste like these door panels.

JoeS - I had the wrong URL posted, my goof. You should be able to view it without an account. Thanks for the input on this project.

 

[jray3]

As feared, the brown on at least some of the SE interior parts is not throughout the plastic, it is just a coating that can get scratched and peel off. I tend to stash my second key ring, ID badge, etc. in the driver's door handle. The brown coating is now starting to peel away from several scratches down inside that grip... I'd bet that the dash is just a paint job too.
I've had good luck with 'vinyl interior paint' before. The toxic aerosol was not nearly as good as a water-based brush-on product, but that was many years ago.

 

[Vike]

As feared, the brown on at least some of the SE interior parts is not throughout the plastic, it is just a coating that can get scratched and peel off.

We already knew this was the case with the SE's "silver-look" interior door handles, but WOW - the whole freaking dashboard?? I was never a big fan of the SE interior "upgrade", but these unexpected negative developments make me even happier I got the ES, though it certainly wasn't because I foresaw these disappointments. At this rate, even if one thought the SE looked better in the showroom, the ES seems likely to look better a few years down the road without all the flaking/scratched coatings (i.e., all the black plastic will still be uniformly black plastic ). I think it's pretty outrageous that folks who invested in an upgraded interior are having more problems. I hope that at least the seat fabric (which appears to be a different texture from that used on the ES) holds up better.

This does raise a concern about the 2014, though. If the ES trim level has been eliminated (as the sketchy information on the current web site would suggest), this means that all i-MiEVs will be subject to these problems, as I doubt Mitsu is changing much of anything in terms of processes or materials. Yikes!

 

[PV1]

I think it's pretty outrageous that folks who invested in an upgraded interior are having more problems.

This is a primary reason why I didn't buy the LEAF.

 

[MLucas]

I think it's pretty outrageous that folks who invested in an upgraded interior are having more problems.

This is a primary reason why I didn't buy the LEAF.

The 11-12 LEAF owners complain about how dirty their interiors are. Thus, the grey that is now offered on the 13s. I'm quite happy with the i-MiEV base interior, its useable, functional, easy to clean, tolerates a seven year old boy and a dog very well. Besides, its easy to upgrade the interior on your own if you would like a bit more pizazz. I've done quite a bit of modifications as can be seen in these photos and in my other posting MLucas's i-MiEV. 3m 1080 Automotive Vinyl is an easy way to cover up those scratched off coatings and without the toxic smell of paint.