DashCare by Seatz Manufacturing FAQ

DashCare dash covers are designed to lay on top of the dash. They are not permanently attached to the dash, they can be fixed in place with provided hook & loop velcro. They cover the dash to protect it from effects of Ultra Violet (UV) rays from the Sun. Dash covers can reduce heat build up and cover up cracks if your dash already has them. Our dash covers come in many fabrics and colors - all choices provide the same protection from UV rays. We do not make PLASTIC dash caps. We do not offer replacement dashboards nor original dashboard repair. Our materials are not designed to replace original bonded or glued materials.

At DashCare, we make our own patterns and we do it by working directly on the dashboard or rear deck of a vehicle. Our design philosophy is to fit the dash geometry for protection coverage, lay properly and to give a rich look. Design is part science and part art.

We take into account for all the vents, sensors, gauges, displays, options like larger screens for NAV's, etc. We do not design our patterns to cut corners on material or labor. We strive to make the best looking, best fitting Dash Cover for each vehicle. We never completely cover up active air vents and strive for a balance between protection and air flow.

Our listings have pull down boxes with questions that must be answered before you can buy. You will always see Material/Color choice. Other questions will be about optional features which require cutouts. Look at the pictures to know where to look on your dash for those features.

Most of the time you will not see questions or info about sub models or various trim levels of a model. That's because most of the time they do not create any difference in the dashboard. If they do effect the dashboard, we either have more than one listing for a model with descriptions and images to help you determine which one you have, or we have a pull down box question in the listing. If we don't ask, we don't need to know to make the correct dash cover.

When a listing on our site shows a dash cover, it will always be the dash cover for that vehicle! So look closely to see our design and to see what it will cover, not cover and to help confirm it is correct for you vehicle. When looking at the pictures, remember that they are on a flat surface and not on the complicated geometry of a dash.

Every dash cover is cut and sewn. Material choices include upholstery grade fabrics in a 3 part lamination with foam cores as well as non-woven plush carpet. Click on the link "Available Materials" near the top of any page on our site to learn more about each material and available colors.

All our materials, both face fabrics and non-woven carpet, are made with premium solution dyed polyester which has the proper chemistry for protection from harmful UV rays of the sun. This means the best available protection from color fading and material breakdown. Dash cover materials need to do one thing well - protect from sun exposure!

Even though some material families have slightly different prices, it's not a Good/Better/Best choice. They all do the job of protecting from harmful solar rays. The carpet tends to be stiffer, so it may take some time to lay smoothly, especially on complicated dashboards. All other materials have a foam center and are more limp. Your choice is about what you like looking at, what you like seeing on your dash. So it's a personal choice.

DashCare dash covers have sewn edge binding, except when a cutout is too small to sew the binding material (Ex: Auto Headlight sensor Cutouts). See the Materials & Colors page for a description of the Binding materials for each material family.

We don't offer "heat molded" products or plastic molded dash caps.

 

Our DashSuede is a 3 layer construction of a "Suede" face fabric, foam center and scrim fabric back side. The Suede face fabric is not real leather. The Suede face fabric is 100% polyester with proper chemistry in the yarns for best possible protection from harmful UV rays from the Sun. Rear leather would not be a good choice for dash covers as it can not handle UV rays well.

Yes, we are the manufacturer. We make every Dash Cover to the order in our plant in Anaheim, CA USA. We make our own patterns too by going to our local car dealers and working directly on the dash of the vehicle when it is introduced. Most seller website are merely re-sellers. When you buy from us, you buy direct.

We must have a way to contact you about your order and email is the best way for us to do that. You must enter an email address to buy on our site. We don't sell or give your information to anyone and we won't contact you in the future unless you want us to. Your order info stays confidential! It's more efficient to order on the web site versus by phone - we take the info you entered exactly as you typed it. Plus your credit card information is more secure when buying through our web site because Authorize.net protects your info.

We make all Dash Covers to the order in our plant in Southern California so nothing is in stock at the time you order. With thousands of patterns, each with options, and more than 30 choices for materials and colors, making to the order is the only practical way to work. It typically takes 3-8 business days to make and ship an order. Then you have the transit time for delivery on top of our manufacturing time. In checkout, you are offered several shipping methods, each shows the estimated transit time. The estimated transit time info comes from that shipper and is not a guaranty. We do not consolidate orders over a week or two for manufacturing planning nor do we have them made in another country like some other Dash Cover companies!

Features such as Auto Headlights require a sensor to know when it's day or night. When your headlight on/off switch is set to Auto, your vehicle relies on the sensor for the Auto function. Other features that use sensors can be climate control, alarm systems (not really a sensor but a visual that shows it's working), etc.

Sometimes the sensors are located in the defrost vents track and therefore get exposed without a special cutout. In that case we don't sk you if you need it cut out as the "cut" is automatic.

Typically, sensors are small, about 1" diameter round or rectangular. When they are not positioned in a vent, a separate cut must be made. For some vehicles, every trim level or price point has the sensor, but most of the time is an option. If it's an option, we ask in the listing if you need it cut out and you can't put the item in a cart until you answer that question.

Look at the picture of the dash cover in the listing. We identify each optional sensor that may need to be cut out for. Notice the position, then go look at your own dashboard. If you see something there, then you probably will want a cut out for it. You don't need to know what it's for, just look to see if you have something in that place.

By the way, we always mark it's position on the back side of the dash cover. We do not cut unless we know it is for 100% of the vehicles of that model or if you tell us you have a sensor that needs to be cut.

FYI, sensor cut outs are too small to edge bind. So you can always cut it yourself after you receive it if need be and it will look the same as if we did it.

HUD, Heads Up Display, is an option on some vehicles. HUD projects instrument info like speed, RPM, etc. up to the windshield glass so the driver does not need to look down as much. It is generally found on performance cars but even a 2014 Prius can have it. To work, there is a sizable hole in the dash in front of the driver near the glass that allows a path for the projection of information.

The newest vehicles are coming with more technology than ever before. Collision warning features are becoming very popular and each manufacturer has their own way of doing it. Many forward collision warning systems or alerts have a hole in the dash in front of the driver which gives a path for lights to project up to get the driver's attention. Not all makes do it this way however as some have messages in the instrument cluster and others only have sound warnings. IF the collision warning system has a pathway in the dash, we make a special cutout for it. If we need to know, the specific listing will have a question about this you must answer to put it into a cart and buy. If you don't see the question, then your vehicle doesn't come with this feature as an option or if it does, there is no hole in the dash to make it work. The picture of the dash cover in the listing will have an example of the cut out, an arrow pointing to it with some text to identify it.

Starting in the early 1990's and depending on your Make/Model and option package, your vehicle may have an Airbag built into the dash on the Passenger side. Many vehicles have a visible Airbag panel. When airbags first arrived on the scene it was thought that dash covers needed to have a cut out around this panel for the airbag to deploy. Many of our older patterns have such a cutout. But many patterns do not because the panel is either close to the edge or there is no visible panel. In more recent vehicles, there is no visible panel to cut out for. The airbag literally blows through the dash and pushes everything out of the way when it deploys. We now know dash covers do not inhibit air bag deployment with or without cutouts. We see requests to eliminate the airbag cutout with older patterns because people prefer the clean look without a flap. You can request this with your order - use the comment box near the end of checkout to state: No Air Bag Cutout Please!. The Airbag will deploy whether or not there is a cutout.

We do not make cutouts for speakers. Period! It's our philosophy. We feel this would defeat the purpose of the dash cover, which is to protect the dash. Sound will travel through the dash cover material quite well so no cutout is needed. Trust us on this - leave your dash speakers and rear deck speakers covered.

Glare, or the reflection of the dash into the windshield glass, can be a problem with some vehicles. The angle of the dash, angle of the glass, sitting position of the driver and dash material and color all contribute to creating Glare. A tall driver may have a completely different experience with glare versus a short driver because their eyes are at a different height in the vehicle. A dash Cover will reduce Glare but may not eliminate it. For best Glare reduction with vehicles susceptible to Glare, choose darker colors and stay away from patterns that may dominate the visual in the windshield when looking into the sun. In general, our Black choices in Carpet, Velour and DashSuede might be the better choices but many buyers love the DashTech as well.

Velcro hook strips come with each dash cover. They have a special adhesive backing. With all Carpet colors, we sew in small squares of Velcro loop because the hook does not stick well the back side of the carpet. With all other Dash Covers that have foam in the middle layer, the back side "scrim" fabric acts like Velcro Loop so no small loop squares are sew in. Just stick the hook anywhere.

The forward edge of the dash cover at the windshield will probably need to be tucked into the space between the dash and windshield glass. This anchors the Dash Cover and holds it in place even with the defrost fan on max. It reduces the need for hook & loop. You will need to flex the dash to push it in.

Using the supplied velcro (hook & loop) is optional. Some dashes have complicated geometry and a dash cover will not lay well without using the supplied velcro. We provide it - you decide if you want to use it.

Cut the supplied adhesive backed Velcro Hook into small squares. Do not take the paper off the back that protects the adhesive until you are sure where you want it.

Cleaning your dash is critical to getting the adhesive backed velcro to stick. The adhesive backed velcro we supply is the same used by Toll Road authorities in California to stick transponders to the windshield - the best available high temp rated adhesive. Use cleaning alcohol to clean areas of your dash where you want Velcro. In some cases you may need to use a stronger cleaner like wax & tar & grease & silicone remover.

Many buyer prefer not to use the supplied adhesive backed Velcro hook because they don't want to stick it on their dash. We understand. That's why we design our dash covers with extra material at the front edge towards the windshield. This extra material MUST be tucked in and pushed forward until cutouts and features line up with the dash. You can't just lay the dash cover on the dash and expect it to fit properly.

With our exclusive design, the dash cover tends to stay in place without Velcro. Even with your defrost fan on max.

Our Acrylic Adhesive Velcro Hook has special properties so it can handle the high heat it might find being on the dashboard in direct sunlight in hot climates. It's the best available for high heat that won't hurt your dash.

It must be handled properly to work! 1. It is pressure sensitive - this means it activates with pressure. So when you have it positioned, use your fingers to press it hard. 2. Try not to re-position it. Sticking it down, then pulling it up to move it will permanently reduce the adhesive power. So pull off the paper backing only when you are ready, try not to move it after it's attached! It gains its peak strength in 24-48 hours.

IMPORTANT - the adhesive on the back of the Velcro hook may not stick properly. If your vehicle has been "detailed" or cleaned at a car wash sometime in the past, the products they use may have chemicals that impregnate the plastic and that tend to repel the adhesive. They can even "plasticize" the adhesive which changes it permanently to a gummy quality so it won't stick anymore. You may need to clean the dash and remove whatever chemical that was applied before our Velcro will stick. What cleaning agent you use should be determined by the maker of what was used on the dash.

The acrylic adhesive on the back of the Velcro Hook has special properties so it can handle the high heat it might find being on the dashboard in direct sunlight in hot climates. So it must be handled properly! 1. It is pressure sensitive - this means it activates with pressure. So when you have it positioned, use your fingers to press it hard. 2. Try not to re-positioning it. Sticking it down, then pulling it up to move it will permanently reduce the adhesive power. So pull off the paper backing only when you are ready, try not to move it after its attached!

How do you remove any remaining adhesive from the Velcro that may have attached to the dash? If any glue residue stays on the dash, try using a commercially available adhesive remover. Goo Gone, Goof Off are two readily brands. Home improvement stores will have adhesive removers in liquids, sprays, wipes etc. Always test first in an area of the dash that will not be seen to be sure the remover does not affect the dashboard material! Follow directions of the product you buy! Do not rub the surface are you may create rub marks that won't go away!

If you feel the dash cover is not fitting, below are the steps to follow: 1. Re-read the install instructions. Especially the point about needing to push the front edge into space between the windshield and the dash. We design our dash covers this way so they stay in place better when the defrost fan is on max. The dashboard will flex down when you push in the material. The dash cover won't lineup properly until you do this. 2. Re-read the paperwork and listing info to determine if you ordered the correct dash cover for your vehicle. 3. Look at the image of the dash cover in the listing on our web site. The dash cover you received should look similar. If it does not, let us know! 4. Your cooperation is required to help determine the problem and solution. This includes providing details of the problems. You will be asked to email us pictures: - Confirm the pattern number marked on the back side in one of the corners - is it the pattern number in the prder? - Pic of the whole dash cover - that's how we identify it as correct (or not) for the pattern number - Pics of the dash - that's how we identify your dash as being what we expect based on the Make/Year/Model info in your order - Pics of the dash cover on the dash - now we are zeroing in on where you feel the problem is. Based on the above, we will work with you on a course of action if needed. If you don't to follow the steps above, then our standard refund policy will apply. For details, click on the Returns link at the top of our home page.

Want a dash cover for a RHD Right Hand Drive vehicle?

Most models are sold worldwide, so RHD versions exist in other countries and they are typically a mirror image dashboard to USA/Canada left hand drive vehicles.

We often get requests to make dash covers in RHD. For most models, making a dash cover using our USA LHD pattern in Mirror Image works fine. We can't verify here as we don't have access to RHD dashboards so we won't guaranty it, but normally it will be fine. In the many cases where we have done it an received verifying feedback from a buyer that Mirror image fits, we can confirm fit. To order: In the comment box near the end of checkout state you want Mirror Image for RHD Right Hand Drive. Same price!

Some purchasers want a custom design, art, names or letters embroidered on their Dash Cover. We don't offer that service but you can take it to your local embroidery shop after you receive it. That way you can see the Dash Cover installed on your dash before it's embroidered so you can decide exactly what you want and where you want it. Tape a piece of paper with what you want in the right spot and take it to an embroidery shop where you live. Take careful attention to your desired alignment with the dash cover installed properly.

CA Prop 65 - The state of California maintains a list of chemicals that it deems to have the possibility to cause cancer and/or reproductive harm. Prop 65 requires all products sold in CA to be labeled with a warning to this effect if they contain any such chemicals. DashCare dash covers are made from materials that do not require any CA Prop 65 warnings! For more info go to www.p65warnings.ca.gov