Hi. I own a 2020 Defender X. I’ve always hand washed it. I decided to take it thru the drive thru car wash. 2 body parts flew off while driving on the freeway . I took it in to the dealership for repair and the service tech said “yep…. Did you take it

Panel fell off

Part fell of while driving on freeway
to a drive thru washer recently”? She said shez seen this happen a lot.

 

A Pillar is common for sure.
Haven't seen a B Pillar fall off like that.

Did they replace under warranty? or did they have you pay out of pocket?

 

First mistake: taking it through a car wash. Unless it is contactless or hand-wash I would never trust a car wash. Perhaps the car before you was full of gunk, grit, mud and sand, now all those particles that are residual in the brushes are now being ground into your paint and topcoat. Need to find a better solution. Besides the fact that there is usually a big sign that says, “ not responsible for damage”. Precisely why I don’t avail myself of valet parking. They also have the sign that says, “ Not responsible for damage or theft”. ‘Nuff said.

 

Yes. It’s at the dealership now. It’s still under warranty. Lesson learned. Hand wash only. It will take at least 2 weeks to repair. So they gave me a rental. But this seems like a bad design. It’s a big safety issue.

 

It's unfortunate, but it's not a safety issue. No one got hurt, or could have for that matter. The A pillar has an updated part that fits better. That B-pillar is a little weird, but that could be first year blues as well.

I don't agree with the never use a touch car wash one size fits all statements. I think that depends on the washes you use and what condition they keep them in. I've had monthly passes for all of my cars for years and they are swirl free and I've never had a part fly off. I was very concerned since most of my vehicles have been black and asked the place we go how they maintain the wash. They walked me through the wash and had me feel the "brushes" and I was surprised how soft they were.
Now if you are going to local spit and spin that doesn't have a wash management program your mileage may vary.

 

I had a B pillar panel fall off of my 90 as well, passenger side. Looked like whatever they used to bond the two pieces, the expoxy adhesive, just failed. They replaced under warranty, though I did reattach with 3m double sided trim tape while the part was on order . Whether you hand wash, use touchless or go through an automatic car wash, that panel shouldn't separate like that. Its' a failure on the part, not user error as far as I am concerned.

I noticed that it failed on the side that is usually parked in direct sunlight during the day, so I have a theory that the heat from the Sun caused the adhesive to just deteriorate over time. Out of curiosity, was the side that failed on yours usually parked in direct sunlight most of the day?

 

Come on guys...I know that we have our cars and should avoid trashing LR, but blaming the owner for taking his car to a carwash and have a trim part ripped apart is a bit too much, no? I have had multiple cars over several years and this type of "accident" has never happened, nor have I heard of that before with other cars. It is first years blues as said above and poor design/quality control on LR's part, period.

 

There was no ‘blame’ placed on the owner. I made the statement that I personally would not use a car wash, but to each his own. If someone wants to take that chance, then by all means visit the local car wash. Except remember, not responsible for damage is all I need to know. I have seen jaw-dropping behavior with valets, so will never use one, but if one feels confident handing the keys of your 70k+ Defender over to a 17 year old kid, then go for it. I just hand them a $5 or $10 bill, depending on the venue, and ask where I can park it, and they usually direct me to the spot closest. They really don’t care what you do with it, they are there for the tip. There are certain things in life I don’t take chances on.

 

I hear you. I take my car to the Mister Carwash next to my neighborhood no problem, but I 110% second your take on valets. Avoid like the plague!

 

For me, I think carwashes are always a random roulette wheel. I have an old Tahoe that I daily commute with that is as aero as an ostrich egg: big and lumpy. Doesn't seem to have problems and if it beats up the paint, I really wouldn't care. There are WAY too many things hanging around the outside of my Defender to try that. I doubt it would detect the Lunchbox, the roof rack, rear tire, headlight guards, heck the bullbars! So I don't chance it. Just lots of things for the brushes to grab onto. Brushless? Yeah, one day I might try, but I think those really suck at cleaning. BTW - I use mine mainly overlanding and not as a beauty queen. Don't get me wrong, I find those highly polished, ceramic black Defenders gorgeous!! I just don't have the aptitude or patience or location to keep it that way, so I don't do that. For me, if I go off-roading (thank you Destination Defender!) where it gets really skuzzy, I will take it to a wash bay and power spray the large chunks off. In a hurry, I will definitely go to a wash bay that has a soap brush/mop thing and go to town. My preferred is to hand wash it. But, often don't have the time or care. To each their own!

But, I believe just about any car can lose bits & pieces when a high speed buffing wheel with the density of **** carpets whips it continuously for 8 minutes.

Good luck with the repairs and I REALLY think you are blessed that you got a rental car out of it!! If they provided it, well done! You don't live by me. The Dealers around here are still acting like it's the pandemic and aren't readily providing them.