My "adventure truck" was destroyed by suncreen...

[thehorsegirl]

I've noticed the last few months that the coating on the driver door handle of my 2023 R1T was starting to look bad...like REALLY bad. Bubbling and peeling like old paint bad.

I submitted a ticket and brought it into the El Segundo service center where they told me that it was going to be $950 to fix and they expected me to pay it out of pocket because it was regular "wear and tear" from touching it with sunscreen. I contested it and they still closed my ticket after telling me they would "run it up the chain" and ghosting me.

On what planet is the interior of a 3-year-old $100k "adventure" truck peeling and bubbling from sunscreen "wear and tear"?! It seems like this is a known problem from other forum posts, except the other owners had nicer service centers who actually replaced it under warranty.

Is there anything else I can do?

The Rivian rep even had the nerve to suggest I just not wear sunscreen in my car even though we live in SoCal and I've had skin cancer

Sponsored

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Well it happens in other cars. Put two things that aren’t chemically compatible with one another, this happens. Never taken chemistry classes? Rivian never said this wouldn’t happen. Responsibility rests on you.

 

[Dave Cundiff]

I suspect both Rivian and @thehorsegirl have good-faith arguments here. I don't recall being told, either in person or in the manual, to avoid sunscreen contact with the car's interior surfaces. I also don't know how Rivian could/should have notified everyone about the risk if they knew about it.

How many brands, types, active ingredients, and inert or application-related ingredients are in the many different sunscreens sold in North America? Who could test them all on every surface and in every temperature/sunlight condition? Did @thehorsegirl see or feel that there was contact between her sunscreen and the vehicle's interior surfaces?

I would expect Rivian and @thehorsegirl to keep talking, escalating to supervisors if needed, and work out something that is at least reasonably fair to everyone. I would have trouble calling this a manufacturing defect, but I also empathize with @thehorsegirl's situation.

To me, this situation calls for at least some "courtesy discount" along with 100% respectful treatment (even if angry words were exchanged early in the conversation, when the customer was surprised). If neither a courtesy discount nor respectful treatment was offered, perhaps Rivian missed a customer-relations opportunity here.

I wouldn't advise anyone not to wear sunscreen, especially with a history of sun-related skin damage -- but, in future, either long-sleeved clothing or a special covering/coating for vulnerable parts of the car might allow everyone to enjoy adventure without damaging their treasured vehicle.

Best to all!

 

[carsly]

seems unusual but the “vegan leather” is a petroleum product so it does require more attention than regular leather in my experience. maybe try to clean it off frequently? in terms of the damage, it shouldn’t happen with regular use but wear is a thing and putting other substances on it is not a manufacturing or materials defect. agree they should offer some goodwill on the repair, but that’s a judgement call and maybe they are leery of setting a precedent.

by comparison we have ocean coast and regularly wear sunscreen and in a year and a half have seen nothing like this. i do wipe down all the touch surfaces and seats a few times a year to keep them clean.

 

[DuoRivian]

This occurs with other vehicles too and it is well known that sunscreen (especially if not cleaned off) will chemically interact with interior plastics.

Other options to wearing sunscreen and apparently getting it all over the doors would be long sleeves or not living in such a sunny place. Not Rivian’s problem or issue.

 

[captainjp]

Yeah, burden is on the owner, not Rivian. The expectation that the “$100 thousand adventure vehicle” should come with a warning to not use particular cosmetics is unrealistic.

 

[mkhuffman]

I agree the responsibility is with the owner, and thank you @thehorsegirl for alerting me to this potential problem.

The only time I have seen any damage like this was from bug spray. My wife wears sunscreen all the time (she has had skin cancer also) and has gotten it on various surfaces in our vehicle. I have never seen this kind of reaction from any of the surfaces she has touched.

You freaked me out and this morning I am cleaning where she has touched and from now on will ask her to be more careful. Nothing much else to do, but knowing it can happen definitely impacts our behavior.

Thank you! And sorry you have to pay so much to have it fixed.

 

[kokode]

I mean I do feel this is partially on Rivian. We've known that soft touch plastics don't hold up well since the mid 2000's (anyone remember the 2009 boom of soft touch cell phones). They will peel over time; hell my steering wheel didn't even make it three years before the coating peeled.

Putting it in an "adventure vehicle" that they wax poetically about how durable their finishes are was a bad call.

 

[DuoRivian]

I mean I do feel this is partially on Rivian. We've known that soft touch plastics don't hold up well since the mid 2000's (anyone remember the 2009 boom of soft touch cell phones). They will peel over time; hell my steering wheel didn't even make it three years before the coating peeled.

Putting it in an "adventure vehicle" that they wax poetically about how durable their finishes are was a bad call.

The finishes are durable but not if you use chemicals (not letting them fully absorb into your skin) and then leave them to bake in hot weather for weeks on end. If you need to put sunscreen on and cannot keep it of some of the surface then at least wipe down at the end of the day - not a lot to ask for even on a $100000 vehicle.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Just strip the rest of the coatings off and call it good enough.

 

[iamnid]

The only time I have seen any damage like this was from bug spray.

Funny you mention that. My initial thought was that it looks like plastic that's come in contact with deet

 

[mclark2112]

Just strip the rest of the coatings off and call it good enough.

 

[windblowlc]

Apply ppf on all the interior surfaces of the Rivian to protect the adventure vehicle. Problem solved.

 

[thehorsegirl]

Wow, a lot of you guys seem to think I'm slathering my hands in a thick layer of sunscreen and wiping it on my door handle I promise you I'm not. I usually wear UV sunshirts and then use spray on sunscreen only as needed outside my car. Rivian suggested it was from sunscreen, but I don't actually have sunscreen on the palms of my hands 95% of the time.

Even if I WAS a sunscreen gremlin, this still seems like a terrible choice of materials for a truck they sell as being good for camping and hiking.

I at least want others to know that if they use their truck as an actual truck (which I do) this is how it holds up.

 

[thehorsegirl]

The finishes are durable but not if you use chemicals (not letting them fully absorb into your skin) and then leave them to bake in hot weather for weeks on end. If you need to put sunscreen on and cannot keep it of some of the surface then at least wipe down at the end of the day - not a lot to ask for even on a $100000 vehicle.

I actually feel like that is an absurd ask considering none of my cheaper commuter cars with plastic or leather interiors have needed that.

I might have wiped it down had I known how fragile this material is, but Rivian did not warn me so I assumed it was at least as durable as every other car I've driven.

Sponsored