My R1S both damaged @ inside door panel -- Design flaw?

[Jay565]

Same story for us too. Two panels damaged by slow retracting seat belts. We had one of our door panels “repaired” to see how big of a difference it would make, but you can definitely tell where the damage was. Having 3 kids, I figure this car will accumulate a lot more “patina” through the next couple of years but hurts to see this happen with less than 2000 miles on the odometer. Our model x looked like a bear had lived in it by the time we traded it in ?

Yeah hopefully Rivian sees this and changes the seat belt to a stronger retractor. It’s so slow!

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[leomega]

Hi guys,

Anyone else have this issue? Please check both your rear passenger doors, on the inside panel is there a small indent? I have two R1S’s. I just took the launch edition in to service, see the peeling on picture? At exactly the same spot on the opposite door there is an indent beginning see picture. As always Rivian service El Segundo was super cool and agreed to fix the torn one, though they couldn’t find out why it happened.
Now today I checked our new R1S just less than 1 week old and there is a small indent already developing, interesting thing is the side its developing on the seatbelt is loose as my child is in a booster. The opposite side has no issue but I’ve attached the seatbelt permanently to secure the car seat. So it seems like wherever the seatbelt is resting may be creating this issue in just less than a week, seems like a design flaw?
Anyone else with kids in back seat notice this on their doors?

Both of my doors are completely destroyed , way worse than your, I have big holes on it

 

[leomega]

Yeah it doesn’t retract fully and so it’s close to the door. The latch does slide fully down. I agree I’m not sure putting it higher will work. If anyone finds a solution, please post!

Any solution yet? Every day I get a new hole in my door…

 

[HaveBlue]

Winding those clock springs tighter is a tricky undertaking. Done wrong the seatbelt might not work at all.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Any solution yet? Every day I get a new hole in my door…

Yes, stop closing the door on the seatbelt.

 

[leomega]

Hi guys,

Anyone else have this issue? Please check both your rear passenger doors, on the inside panel is there a small indent? I have two R1S’s. I just took the launch edition in to service, see the peeling on picture? At exactly the same spot on the opposite door there is an indent beginning see picture. As always Rivian service El Segundo was super cool and agreed to fix the torn one, though they couldn’t find out why it happened.
Now today I checked our new R1S just less than 1 week old and there is a small indent already developing, interesting thing is the side its developing on the seatbelt is loose as my child is in a booster. The opposite side has no issue but I’ve attached the seatbelt permanently to secure the car seat. So it seems like wherever the seatbelt is resting may be creating this issue in just less than a week, seems like a design flaw?
Anyone else with kids in back seat notice this on their doors?

Here is how I “fixed” the issue:

 

[leomega]

Yeah hopefully Rivian sees this and changes the seat belt to a stronger retractor. It’s so slow!

5 dollar fix

 

[R1DriverVT]

I just wanted to confirm for the community that I have a similar issue with the 2025 R1S Gen 2. My door jambs look like somebody whacked the inside jambs with a ball peen hammer!

It took me the longest time to figure out what was happening. I asked the service folks and they said they didn't know and never followed-up. Initially I thought it was a spot weld joint or fabrication seam - but the dents kept multiplying. I'm not paying for this repair at lease end -hell no!

Both my kids and adult passengers, have closed the doors with the seat belt buckle laying inside the door jamb. The door will close shut with the buckle stuck in the jamb. THIS IS 100% A DESIGN FLAW AND SUPER JUNIOR JEOPARDY DESIGN MISTAKE! When was the last time you had this happen on any other car?

Moreover, ALL Rivian passengers have to follow the G-Wagon door closing protocol by using that elbow grease to get the extra oomph to slam door shut for that one time you need the vehicle to be a submarine! You would think an engineer would have thought through this procedure or there would be a bulletin repair having read all these posts. Rivian branded chip clips???!!!

1) The seat belt buckle drops and sags naturally out of the car at the height of the bench -all-of-the-time;
2) There is no tension bar connecting with the strap to prevent the buckle from falling;
3) There is no button on the belt to prevent the buckle from falling too far down - these are common on most cars.
4) The spring in the seat belt retraction mechanisim doesn't have enough tension to retract itself.

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