Reflection

[MARTHA]

I felt I deserved a break today so I took a spirited drive down lonely stretches of newly paved country roads. I only had to share the road with a few motorcycles (why weren’t they at work), so many grand vistas with striking scenery, It was such a joyful day.

So on to the reason for my post, I have discovered a huge problem with my new to me Boxster. You are not going to believe my one HUGE complaint, You see the reflection of the dash in the windshield. It is really really bad, its actually horrible. The image is there in both the sun and shade. I know this may sound like a tiny issue to some of you reading this but let me tell you if you can’t see well it makes for a stressful day. Not only was it hard to see where I was going but it made it hard to judge speed and distance. I don’t know if its the beige dash (Ive always had black), or some cleaning solution the previous owner put on the inside (or even outside maybe) of the windshield, or some weird chemical makeup of the windshield from the manufacture, I don’t know the cause. After the long drive today it made me nauseated. It made me dizzy. Didn't ruin my drive, but it sure put a damper on it. Has anyone else experienced this? Do you have any ideas what I can do to alleviate the problem?

Also today I discovered little upside down hooks on the outside edge of the seat backs, the hook is spring loaded and can be moved up and down, I don’t think it has anything to do with the seatbelt because I can’t incorporate it with the use of the seatbelt. Does anyone know the answer to this delima?

Thanks

[MARTHA]

So I was looking at the seat and there are hooks on each side of the back.

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[911monty]

If you're referring to Shrek's ears on each side, well those are the setback release. Pull up unlocks and you can move the setback forward, That will enable you to access the massive storage area behind the seats.

[jakeru]

Your seat pictured doesn't look like standard 986 dare to me. 986's have plastic "hooks" as you call them. (But really what they are are seat-back release levers... You lift up either one, and you can fold the seat back forward to access the area behind the seat )

I haven't noticed problems with dashboard reflections in my 986, but it's a black dashboard and also it's a 986 and not a 987 (which does have a different interior.). I have noticed problems with the secondary reflection in the rear view mirror, however, being distracting with the top down. (On a usual hard top car, I find the headliner is not much to reflect, but with the top down, bright trees or other things can cause much brighter and distracting secondary reflections. Solution to that might be using one of those electrically tinting rear view mirrors, but I'll probably just live with it. Oh, there are additional reflections from the windstop piece also, although the worse rear view problem I have at the moment with the top up is the foggy and distortion-inducing plastic rear window. A fix for that is going to the glass rear window. Best of luck!

[MARTHA]

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Thanks 911monty and jakeru, Now that you tell me what the levers (hooks) are for I was able to find them in my owners manual. Egg in my face!

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[MARTHA]

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I can really be dense sometimes. Like my asking about the levers on the seat backs.

I’ve been trying my best to come up a solution to the glare issue, thinking I might have to use a dash cover; I really, really didn’t want to do that.

So someone told me to put my sunglasses on to get rid of the glare….. well duh!

I will let you know if its case solved.

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[KevinH1990]

It may be a combination of your height and distance from the windshield that are causing the reflections. You may be at just the wrong angle and the result is the annoying reflection.

If the sunglasses don't work, try varying the distance between you and the windshield and the height of the seat bottom and see if that helps. The steering wheel adjusts a little, but I realize that you may have trouble reaching the pedals if you are too far back or too high up.

By the way, do you have a 986 (1996-2004 model) or a 987 (2005 through the introduction of the 981?)

[jakeru]

Originally Posted by MARTHA

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I can really be dense sometimes. Like my asking about the levers on the seat backs.

I’ve been trying my best to come up a solution to the glare issue, thinking I might have to use a dash cover; I really, really didn’t want to do that.

So someone told me to put my sunglasses on to get rid of the glare….. well duh!

I will let you know if its case solved.

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That's actually a really good idea. Make sure they are polarized (most, but not all sunglasses are), and I'll bet it will "magically" make that glare disappear.

[MARTHA]

Originally Posted by KevinH1990

By the way, do you have a 986 (1996-2004 model) or a 987 (2005 through the introduction of the 981?)

I have a 987, a 2007 Boxster S

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[MARTHA]

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The image of the seat is not from my car, it was dark when I posted the image so I stole one from the internet. It is the same lever as those on my seats.

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[911monty]

Originally Posted by MARTHA

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The image of the seat is not from my car, it was dark when I posted the image so I stole one from the internet. It is the same lever as those on my seats.

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Yeah figured it was that or your windshield is REALLY screwed up!

[njbray]

Make sure you do not have that awful ArmorAll or similar crap on your dash - It should be nice and matt. Due to the angle of the windscreen anything on the dash will reflect.
The thingies on the seat enable people to access the back seats

[NewArt]

Polarized sunglasses work wonders!

[husker boxster]

I had an 07 Cayman S with a beige int and would also have the glare of the dash into the windshield. It didn't make me dizzy but beige seems to reflect more than gray or black.

[grc0456]

Porsche has actually put a little warning on their site about cars with sand beige dashboards. Something to the effect of "some drivers report excessive glare - test drive before buying." If sunglasses don't help, or removing high sheen treatments, you might consider some type of aftermarket black dash cover.

FYI - it's not a problem for me with savanna beige on my 986.


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[78F350]

I think this is what MARTHA has for an interior:


If it has a gloss to it from Armor All or a similar product, I'd recommend using a saddle soap to clean it to more of a matte finish. The previous owner of my white '01 had painted the dash speakers glossy white (black dash). Glare was terrible. one of the first things I did after driving it was pull out the speakers and paint them black. I can understand not wanting to get a dash cover, but it may be the best solution.
Not too expensive and may be good just to keep the sun off when parked.
Amazon and Pelican Parts

[MARTHA]

Thanks everyone!

[MARTHA]

Originally Posted by 78F350

I think this is what MARTHA has for an interior:
If it has a gloss to it from Armor All or a similar product, I'd recommend using a saddle soap to clean it to more of a matte finish.
Amazon and Pelican Parts

Yes this is pretty much the interior I have in my car. I think it has ArmorAll on it but it doesn't seem excessively shiney, but I'm betting it contributes to the problem. I will get some saddle soap; I know nothing about saddle soap, do I need to get spray, liquid or wax? Does anyone want to suggest a brand?

On a brighter note I picked up my license plate today, it was exciting, it now feels like "my car"
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[Gilles]

Martha,

I have the same Savannah Beige interior on my white car and really like the look of it and in the middle of the summer, you will appreciate that this interior does not get as hhot as a dark color interior.

The reflections..? I guess that by now I am use to them, and does not bother me any more, but you may want to change a bit the angle or height of the seat to see if helps.

What is the color of your car?

[MARTHA]

Originally Posted by grc0456

Porsche has actually put a little warning on their site about cars with sand beige dashboards.

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WoW….. grc0456 is correct, I did a search and there is a class action lawsuit against Porsche over beige colored dashboards being dangerous, beige reflections causing temporary blindness, etc. I certainly can support their claim because the reflection is horrible in my car, very disappointing.

And Porsche’s response, they can’t control the sun. Doubly disappointing.

Just one problem with Porsche’s defense, I see the images when I’m running down a canopied country road, and I see images on cloudy days.

Porsche’s response is unsatisfactory.

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