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PETG or ABS for a part that lives in a car?

A customer asked for ABS because that's what car parts are made of. We printed both and left them on a dashboard for a week in September.

14 October 2026, 1 minute read

Every few weeks someone asks for ABS for a part going in a car, and it's a reasonable instinct. Moulded car interiors really are mostly ABS blends. But a printed part isn't a moulded part, and the question that matters is a different one: how hot does the inside of a car get, and does the material survive it?

The test

The same mounting bracket was printed in PETG and ABS, both at 0.2 mm and 30% infill, and left on a dashboard in a Liverpool car park for a week in late September. Not a lab, but then neither is your car.

Print settings used

Layer height0.2 mm
Infill30% gyroid
Walls3
PETG250 °C nozzle, 70 °C bed
ABS260 °C nozzle, 100 °C bed, enclosed

What happened

Dashboard temperature peaked at 61 °C on the Thursday. The PETG bracket looked fine but had taken a slight set where it rested on the vent, about half a millimetre of bow. The ABS bracket was unchanged. In July the gap would be wider.

Near glass, pick ASA or ABS. Under a seat, PETG is fine and easier to print well.

The PETG bracket after a week. The bow is slight, but it's there.

What to use

For anything on or near the dashboard, rear shelf or windows: ASA first, ABS second. ASA has the same heat resistance and doesn't go chalky in sunlight. For brackets under seats, in the boot or behind trim: PETG, because it's tougher on impact, easier to print accurately, and cheaper.

If you're not sure where it lives, say so when you upload the file and you'll be told which one.