Help with Alcantara

[Skip]

Morning All,

I have a DTM edition A4 which is great, however the alcantara trim on the steering wheel, gearstick and handbrake have given up the ghost. The car's done 40,000 miles. I took this up with Audi just before the warranty ran out, only to be told thats its fair wear and tear. Great.
To that end i'm looking to either repair or replace said items. Any thoughts on either?
If I replace the items I wouldn't go for alcantara again, so what style of steering wheel would you suggest?

Cheers

 

[PetrolDave]

40,000 miles! - some RS4 owners who spec'd the suede wheel, gearstick and handbrake were seeing significant wear after a few hundred miles.

Go for the leather versions of what you have.

 

[razza1]

My wheel and handbrake are ok, although I try not to use the parts on the wheel if I can help it as conscious (sp?) it would knacker it. The gear knob though is very worn and I'm on 30,000miles, not very impressed

 

[Addie]

I'm not sure what you mean by 'given up the ghost' but when I bought my A4 S-Line SE which has the Alcantara steering wheel / gear nob had gone almost smooth and felt like the pile had been shaved / worn off.

I knew this wasn't the case though - its just a build up of dirt and grease from peoples hands.

Get hold of a cleaning product called Autosmart (AS) Brisk - about £6 on ebay. Spray some onto the wheel / knob and then use a microfiber cloth (this bit is importaint) and pull it back and forward around the wheel.

Mine all came up like brand new, and turned two new clothes BLACK with dirt!

 

[razza1]

Addie's right , I've just used some leather cleaner from my sofas and gave it a good scrub, and the grease has almost gone, the piles are back, but not in full effect, will give it another go later, but a hell of an improvement already. Cheers for that tip!!!

 

[Skip]

Great piece of advice. I tried it last night and the steering wheel and gearknob have come up a treat.

Nice one

 

[acprc]

Just done my steering wheel and gearstick with Brisk and has come up great.

Thanks for the tip.

Adam