I have a question concerning the real wood option in my 300C. I noticed that all four door pulls have different color wood that the steering wheel and shifter knob. Is this normal? Has anyone else noticed this issue? I'm thinking about purchasing a dash wood kit but I want everything to match. Please let me know if anyone has run into this problem.
Real Wood Trim Question
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I have the California walnut option in my C-AWD and it all pretty much matches. Being wood, contrary to what Mikey said, one can't expect it to be EXACTLY homogenous. But, well within reason, mine matches.
....sT
....sT
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MJ, I think California Walnut is walnut, not plastic o/w we have a serious FTC issue. In Vermont you can spend 20 years in jail if you water down Maple syrup and claim it's 100%.Mikeyjohn said:
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I think MJ means it's diferent than the shifter knob and steering wheel because the knob and wheel are plastic, so the wood won't match those pieces.
At least, that's what I hope is meant.
At least, that's what I hope is meant.
the whole point of real wood is it's natural, and you have to accept that there can be color variations.
If you don't like the variations, then go with something that is synthetic to get around it. Either way, it's still nice.
The door pulls on mine are not plastic,
My dash kit arrived and will be picking it up today, it's from Edash kit, and is real wood, so once I have a look at it, I'll post my comments.
If you don't like the variations, then go with something that is synthetic to get around it. Either way, it's still nice.
The door pulls on mine are not plastic,
My dash kit arrived and will be picking it up today, it's from Edash kit, and is real wood, so once I have a look at it, I'll post my comments.
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Sorry Mikey, but we're back to the FTC issue again. I may be wrong, but the wheel, shifter, and door handles on my AWD are indeed wood. If they're not....then it is one of the best imitations I have ever seen in my life. Not to mention that Chrysler IS advertising all of that to be real walnut.Mikeyjohn said:
Perhaps the CN cars are different?
....sT
The steering wheel and shifter were the only wood options in the car, at least when I got mine, Chrysler’s site used to state such but I can't find the distinction anywhere on that site, just says wood. Kbb lists the wood package as only the wheel and knob. Maybe the build date and awd drives are different, but my door handles are definitely plastic, they have a wood grain but the color is different from the wheel and shifter knob.
Uh, may be a stupid question, but, how can you tell it is real wood? I have the option and everything is so smooth and shiny, I would swear it's plastic.
As far as what allegedly is wood is concerned: The catalog states "genuine Calif. walnut wood trim on shift knob, door grab handles, and upper steering wheel rim". However, the sticker that came with the car says " Gen. Calif. walnut wood trim, Wood shift knob, Wood/leather wrapped steering wheel".
Well, what do we really have?
As far as what allegedly is wood is concerned: The catalog states "genuine Calif. walnut wood trim on shift knob, door grab handles, and upper steering wheel rim". However, the sticker that came with the car says " Gen. Calif. walnut wood trim, Wood shift knob, Wood/leather wrapped steering wheel".
Well, what do we really have?
jeepgrady,
When I looked at the '300 Limited' and '300C' models which came equipped with the 'genuine' California Walnut wood trim upgrade option, the only 'genuine' wood parts were the trans shifter knob, the door grab handles, and the upper portion of the steering wheel...that's all. Both the 05/04 and the 08/04 Chrysler 300 series catalogs note this as well. This fact was also corroborated by two different salesmen at two different Chrysler dealerships which I had visited. Their reasoning for this was the fact that the trans shifter knob, the door grab handles, and the steering wheel would actually age more over time through normal use and that the plastic overlay would eventually wear-off over time. This sure made sense to me, as I noticed this same problem with the Cadillacs which I've owned over the years, as everything which looked like wood was in fact a wood grain plastic overlay and would actually wear-off over time.
The balance of the wood grain trim in the 'genuine' California Walnut wood trim optioned vehicles I examined, was actually a synthetic (a plastic overlay-type) material. For me, it's actually pretty easy to tell the difference between the two trims, as the plastic woodgrain overlay simply looks like shiny plastic and the 'genuine' wood portions look like real wood and not quite as shiny...at least to me they appear that way. The synthetic woodgrain trim was a pretty close match, but wasn't an exact match to the 'genuine' wood portions.
The thing which really strikes me interesting about this whole ordeal is the fact that DM chose the name California Walnut...odd, as we're more well-known for our Sequoias and Redwoods.
When I looked at the '300 Limited' and '300C' models which came equipped with the 'genuine' California Walnut wood trim upgrade option, the only 'genuine' wood parts were the trans shifter knob, the door grab handles, and the upper portion of the steering wheel...that's all. Both the 05/04 and the 08/04 Chrysler 300 series catalogs note this as well. This fact was also corroborated by two different salesmen at two different Chrysler dealerships which I had visited. Their reasoning for this was the fact that the trans shifter knob, the door grab handles, and the steering wheel would actually age more over time through normal use and that the plastic overlay would eventually wear-off over time. This sure made sense to me, as I noticed this same problem with the Cadillacs which I've owned over the years, as everything which looked like wood was in fact a wood grain plastic overlay and would actually wear-off over time.
The balance of the wood grain trim in the 'genuine' California Walnut wood trim optioned vehicles I examined, was actually a synthetic (a plastic overlay-type) material. For me, it's actually pretty easy to tell the difference between the two trims, as the plastic woodgrain overlay simply looks like shiny plastic and the 'genuine' wood portions look like real wood and not quite as shiny...at least to me they appear that way. The synthetic woodgrain trim was a pretty close match, but wasn't an exact match to the 'genuine' wood portions.
The thing which really strikes me interesting about this whole ordeal is the fact that DM chose the name California Walnut...odd, as we're more well-known for our Sequoias and Redwoods.
MRDJ,
Maybe you misunderstood me. I have the option. It allegedly includes the shifter,steering wheel, and grab handles. They all look plastic to me. You mention these pieces in your first paragraph. The way you describe these pieces would indicate to me that they look like wood. Again, mine look more like plastic.
In your second paragraph you mention the balance of the wood grain trim pieces looks like plastic. What additional pieces are you talking about? There are none in the option.
Please clarify.
Maybe you misunderstood me. I have the option. It allegedly includes the shifter,steering wheel, and grab handles. They all look plastic to me. You mention these pieces in your first paragraph. The way you describe these pieces would indicate to me that they look like wood. Again, mine look more like plastic.
In your second paragraph you mention the balance of the wood grain trim pieces looks like plastic. What additional pieces are you talking about? There are none in the option.
Please clarify.
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Virtually all woods are coated in plastic. BMW, MB, Lexus and shinyness is a function of coating and real wood may be underneath. I have turtle, looks rather delicious, sea scallops floating in Aunt Jemima syrup. Lexus also touts "California Walnut"
Plastic or wood was not the question. The pieces don't match each other. I know that each piece of wood has different lines and coloration. The wheel and shifter match but the door grab handles don't. The door grab handles are absolutely different. If you purchase a aftermarket wood dash kit with door accents how would you match the woods? You would have two different types of wood on the door itself. Maybe, no one else has had an issue with this. I just wished that I knew that the real wood option I ordered was only two pieces. Has anyone with the real wood option installed aftermarket wood accents on their doors? How does it look?
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I get your point and I know members have done this, in the Tech dash area there are great pics and no complaints of a mis match in color. This is important for you walnut guys, with turtle's various shades, I am not even going to try to match, I am going to contrast with a blonde/honey maple.
On the models that I saw, the steering wheel, the door grab handles, and the trans shifter knob were all trimmed in 'genuine' California Walnut. These models also had synthetic wood grain trim on their dash trim panels as well; however, this may not be the 'norm' on all models. If you're actually unsure that yours are in fact 'genuine' California Walnut, then I suggest maybe going to your dealer and taking a look at similar equipped models...maybe yours might not be the 'real deal'. Actually, my vehicle's sticker didn't match my vehicle 100%, as I (fortunately) received additional upgrades which weren't even listed....maybe somebody made an error in your case as well. Good luck.jeepgrady said:
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