Suede interior wearing down

[dleepnw]

i noticed recently that the suede near the front seatbelt receptacles is not only dirty but starting wearing down. its the seatbelt rubbing against the suede every time i grab it to put it on.

drivers side is ripped now, passengers side only dirty as it isnt used as often but suspect it will rip eventually.

20k miles
1.5 years old

anyone else seeing this? anyone know how to repair and/or protect this area?

Sponsored

 

[Polar]

It won’t solve the issue, but can you pull at an angle instead of parallel with the door/window?

 

[Epzey]

Theoretically you should be able to warranty that and just get a new panel. That probably depends on how good your service center is though. I have a 20yr old M5 and multiple other vehicles with Alcantara headliners; NONE have separated like this. The adhesive or the assembly process itself is to blame. If you took it to an auto upholster they would likely tell you the panel needs to be reupholstered you can’t really ‘patch’ it.

 

[dleepnw]

It won’t solve the issue, but can you pull at an angle instead of parallel with the door/window?

haha, yeah, i started doing that.

 

[DaveA]

"I will not look at mine, I will not look at mine."

 

[thebwk]

Suede . I wish it would have been a true alcantara instead of the vegan material they opted to use. Things like this are my primary concerns regarding keeping the vehicle long-term (5+ years).

 

[TTedP]

Suede . I wish it would have been a true alcantara instead of the vegan material they opted to use. Things like this are my primary concerns regarding keeping the vehicle long-term (5+ years).

The guy at delivery told me it was the old shop / detailing rags that they repurposed for headliner material.

(and the wood trim is from the pallets - not sure if true)

 

[Nacho Rivian]

i noticed recently that the suede near the front seatbelt receptacles is not only dirty but starting wearing down. its the seatbelt rubbing against the suede every time i grab it to put it on.

drivers side is ripped now, passengers only dirty as it isnt used as often but suspect it will rip eventually.

anyone else seeing this? anyone know how to repair and/or protect this area?

You are not gonna like my response but looks normal wear and tear to me.

 

[dleepnw]

You are not gonna like my response but looks normal wear and tear to me.

Yeah I wasn’t really thinking it’s a warranty thing, though its wearing out pretty quickly imo. I just wanna know if folks had ideas on how to clean/protect that area.

 

[runbuh]

Suede . I wish it would have been a true alcantara instead of the vegan material they opted to use. Things like this are my primary concerns regarding keeping the vehicle long-term (5+ years).

Since Alcantara is synthetic, too, is there a difference in durability? I've noted that some mfg's have moved away from Altcantara and gone with some other suede-adjacent plastic.
Mercedes just calls is "microfiber" I think
Porsche calls it "Race-Tex"
Audi calls it "Dynamica"
Volvo uses "MicroTech"
BMW still uses the Alcantara branded plasti-suede

 

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Easy solution: just don't wear your seatbelt. ?

 

[dleepnw]

Easy solution: just don't wear your seatbelt. ?

haha, brillant!

 

[Nacho Rivian]

The guy at delivery told me it was the old shop / detailing rags that they repurposed for headliner material.

(and the wood trim is from the pallets - not sure if true)

then Rivian is serious about the planet by recycling things.

 

[Nacho Rivian]

Yeah I wasn’t really thinking it’s a warranty thing, though its wearing out pretty quickly imo. I just wanna know if folks had ideas on how to clean/protect that area.

Not touching the same area over and over will reduce the wear and tear? If the tear and wear are too much even with normal use, that may be warrantable.... other owners must have similar issues in this case.

 

[EVTrukHog]

I've used this product to clean the interior liner and it works well... YMMV.

https://www.amazon.com/Folex-Profes...d1ac495dfe5331ccb2970c073d8eef26&gad_source=1

Sponsored