Don't Risk Damage: Learn How to Clean Your Car's Touchscreen

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While touchscreen infotainment systems are fantastic add-ons to any car, they’re tricky to clean because you don’t want to screw something up. In this post, I’ll show you how I clean the infotainment system in my car from all the dirt, dust, stains, and fingerprints.

Key Takeaways:

Touchscreen infotainment systems are sensitive and should be cleaned in a gentle manner.
For cleaning, use a soft detailing brush to dust off the screen, and then follow up by cleaning it with an automotive glass cleaner and a microfiber cloth. Lastly, wipe dry with another clean and soft microfiber towel.
Car screen protectors are a simple and effective tool to keep car infotainment screens scratch-free all the time.

Step 1: Gently Brush The Screen With a Soft Detailing Brush

First, I always like to remove as much dirt as possible before wiping the screen off with a glass cleaner.

I do it while I’m doing the initial vacuuming of the whole car. Just take a very soft detailing brush and brush off dust and dirt from the screen, keeping the vacuum hose just below it to pick up that blown dirt.

Also, brushing the infotainment system helps me to remove dust, even from tiny crevices around the touchscreen. So, in my opinion, this is an essential step.

Step 2: Clean With a Glass Cleaner and Microfiber Cloth

After brushing the infotainment system, I always take my car glass cleaner, spray it on the clean microfiber cloth, and gently wipe the screen.

Wiping the touchscreen will remove the tiniest dirt particles and any fingerprints, body oils, and similar.

However, make sure to use a dedicated car glass cleaner for this purpose since they’re much safer for touchscreens, and they’ll leave fewer streaks afterward.

I recommend you use this GYEON Q2M Car Glass Cleaner that I reviewed. That glass cleaner is just fantastic, and I recommend it to everyone.

Step 3: Wipe Off With a Clean Microfiber Towel

The last thing I always do is buff the whole screen with a clean microfiber towel. That way, I’ll ensure that all the streaks are gone and the screens are the cleanest possible.

Mostly, if you’re using high-quality glass cleaners, that won’t be necessary, but I still always do it. It just brings the screen’s clarity to another level.

And that’s it. There’s not much to tell about the cleaning process. Just follow those three steps, and you’ll be fine.

Things To Avoid

Here are some things you shouldn’t do when cleaning infotainment systems in cars, especially if they’re touchscreens.

When cleaning infotainment systems, avoid these mistakes:

Vacuum it directly with a hose: if you touch the screen with a hose, there’s a big chance that you’ll scratch it.
Use quick wipes: quick wipes may do good at cleaning, but they’ll always leave too many streaks behind. I tried this several times, and I always had to do one more pass with a glass cleaner.
Cleaning with car cleaner gels: car cleaner gels are suitable for marketing, and they can even help you when cleaning some nooks and crannies, but not when it comes to cleaning the screens in your car. They mess up everything, leaving the infotainment system oily.
Use cotton towels or paper towels: cotton and paper towels are too harsh, and they’ll 100% scratch the car screens.

Those are the main things to avoid. People mostly make mistakes using paper towels since they’re great for getting a streak-free finish, but they’ll scratch the touchscreens, which is tough to fix (polish).

You can check the video below to see how hard it is to fix scratched infotainment system screens:

Car Touchscreens Aren’t Scratch-Resistant

Car touchscreens are very delicate and sensitive to scratches. They don’t have a “Gorilla Glass 5” kind of protection, such as mobile phones.

My friend has an Audi A4, and his infotainment system is all scratched, and that’s because of improper cleaning methods. His screen isn’t even a touchscreen, so it can’t be from nails or similar.

Actually, his car gave me the idea to write this article. In his car, I saw that many people still make mistakes in detailing infotainment systems.

Consider Buying a Screen Protector

Just like you buy a screen protector for your phone to protect it from cracking and scratching, you should do the same to protect your car’s infotainment system, especially if it’s a touchscreen.

Today, you can find car screen protectors for almost any vehicle, so finding them shouldn’t be a problem. Amazon should have protective films for almost all vehicles. Those car touchscreen protective films cost only around $10, and they’re a great bang for a buck.

Once you stick it to the screen, it’ll be easier to clean it, and you’ll prevent scratching the glass/plastics. The best part is that it’s a cheap investment that’ll keep the car’s screen looking like new for many years.