Driver door Brushed Nickle Trim Peeling Off

[392DCGC]

It's the only known case. If it were a "cheaply made" issue, there would be repeated incidents. But I agree it's probably the knee rub doing it.

True. Hopefully it's a fluke and more of the issue won't crop up. I still think the piece is cheap. My knee rests against the piece while driving, and it's one of the grab handles to shut & open the door. It should be a real metal alloy or leather wrapped, not feel like hard plastic. It looks decent, but doesn't feel decent.

 

[nhcowboy28]

True. Hopefully it's a fluke and more of the issue won't crop up. I still think the piece is cheap. My knee rests against the piece while driving, and it's one of the grab handles to shut & open the door. It should be a real metal alloy or leather wrapped, not feel like hard plastic. It looks decent, but doesn't feel decent.

Have you had “Real” metal handles in a car... well I have. You know what happens on a 95degree day? You melt your god damn hand. Touching it.

 

[392DCGC]

Have you had “Real” metal handles in a car... well I have. You know what happens on a 95degree day? You melt your god damn hand. Touching it.

View attachment 31819

Good thing there's another handle where you rest your forearm. And remote start! Still, could've been leather.

 

[Revvdmedia]

Too bad the OP does not have a shift-by-wire (GT2). I noticed this morning that the materials on the shift by wire shifter appear to be the same type of "brushed nickel" as the door. For me, I use hand lotion regularly (I'm part lizard), and that shifter is a significant touch point, yet I've seen no degradation or peeling of this area in my car, nor the doors. If he had a GT2, this could be an argument piece against the dealer. I still think it's a one-off problem.

 

[Ckinder64]

I've been searching all over to no avail of other instances this has happened. Has anyone else had the driver door brushed nickle trim bubble then peal off? I reported the issue to the Kia Dealer I purchased it from, and after about 4 weeks of back and forth they state it was an outside influence(such as body lotion) that caused a chemical reaction. They are now covering the repair but as a "gesture of goodwill", the car is less than 6 months old with just over 4k miles.... Just wanted to get feed back if this has happened before and if that's truly the cause

What finally happened with Kia? I have the exact same thing happening to my 2022 Kia Niro dash trim and edging of air vent, (see attachments) apparently the dealership has no authority, claim their hands are tied. They told me to go through Kia Corporate and they denied replacing it. I also found someone else on Reddit with the same year, make and model as mine doing it in the exact same spot on the dash trim!!

 

[Snicklefritz]

Ima thinking individual parts can have adherence issues. But generally KIA finishes hold up well. My GT1 is seven years old now. I've had exactly two tiny spots where the finish wore away. The uppermost corner of the passenger door grab handle, where the "aluminum" wore through to the white plastic. And the front edge of one of my driver door window buttons simply peeled away, exposing the white plastic. In both cases I applied paint, "aluminum" lacquer and gloss black. Neither spot has worn any further so far - this is a couple of years now.

But man, that is some nasty, extensive peeling there. Major finish failure! I don't know what I would do if KIA does nothing. Probably just strip all the peeling/flaking stuff off and then paint to restore appearances the best you can? So sorry to see these nightmarish things that drivers have to endure.

What finally happened with Kia? I have the exact same thing happening to my 2022 Kia Niro dash trim and edging of air vent, (see attachments) apparently the dealership has no authority, claim their hands are tied. They told me to go through Kia Corporate and they denied replacing it. I also found someone else on Reddit with the same year, make and model as mine doing it in the exact same spot on the dash trim!!