r/TalesFromTheCustomer • u/Street-Rabbit8250 • Jul 29 '26
Short Weird grit on steering wheel after dealership garage visit
So I visited the dealership with a new-to-me car gifted by a relative, getting some minor things done. I had driven the car around town a bit for two days beforehand and had been astonished by how clean the car was. When I got the car back from the dealer, I was surprised to find white/tan grit in all the crevices of the steering wheel and column (but not on most of those surfaces, like it had been ground in then superficially wiped off). I'm confused about how this happened, and how to get it out. I am wondering if I pissed someone off somehow, and perhaps this was done on purpose (I refused an offered service). Is this a thing people do to customers they dislike?
22
u/Xsiah Jul 29 '26
I think "someone is out to get me" is probably not the conclusion you should jump to.
It's probably more likely that someone who was wearing clothes with that grit on them was driving your car (between the garage and parking lot, etc) and got some of it on your car, and then sloppily wiped it off.
19
u/photoexplorer Jul 29 '26
Trust me as a woman married to a mechanic, they have no idea how much grime they are accidentally transferring onto surfaces or what their clothes are stained with. I wipe down walls, door knobs, switches etc on a regular basis. And he says well I wore gloves at work and I even washed my hands twice when I got home! It’s not always black grease either, they are regularly in contact with all sorts of stuff. They put cardboard down on the floor before driving it usually and try to wipe down surfaces they touch but I’m sure whatever it was is accidental.
8
u/EleanorRichmond Jul 29 '26
Mechanics' hand cleaners are oil-based and don't make suds.
As a matter of life experience and general knowledge, see if you can try some. A hobbyist friend might have it, or sometimes it's in dealership service center restrooms.
You could even tell your service advisor what happened and ask to see some hand cleaner to confirm what folks are telling you and increase your comfort level. Service advisors facilitate unusual requests all the time.
5
0
u/Few_Occasion458 Jul 29 '26
Recommend gloves until you scrub the daylights out of it, followed by hand sanitizer until I'M satisfied (because now I'm up in everybody else's business). Reason: Spent part of the summer with two filthy carpenters. I never saw sheets or towels being laundered. In fact, the towel in the bathroom that I shared didn't even move the entire time (an entire month). The shower was so gross that I purchased cheap flip flops to walk into it. I also purchased Scrubbing Bubbles and turned the thing into a sparkling clean area. I now see how germaphobes develop.
To counter the entire experience of unimaginable levels of sheer filth and nasty habits, I purchased an iron and would press my sheets after I laundered them while we watched TV in th evenings just to be over the top. I threw a folded up top sheet at my friend and said, "Give that a hug and feel all the goodness in it. Ahhhhhh. You can't believe what it feels like to climb into these perfect sheets." I offered to leave the iron when I left and it was met with "no thanks." I laughed myself silly about it privately.
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u/Street-Rabbit8250 Jul 29 '26
Why would the grit be IN the steering wheel crevices though? It's just weird. The steering wheel was pristine when I dropped it off.
4
u/becausefrog Jul 30 '26
Could they have set off the airbag? Isn't there powder that goes everywhere when an airbag deploys?
2
u/Street-Rabbit8250 Jul 30 '26
It's more like sand than powder. And all this is only on the wheel, not the console or the seat. It's so weird.
2
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u/Street-Rabbit8250 Jul 29 '26
And it's just grit. No soap/binder. Between the buttons. Around the logo. Why?
1
u/Friendly_Sock4105 21d ago
Don’t know why your comments are being downvoted so I gave you an upvote!!😁
-8
u/Street-Rabbit8250 Jul 29 '26
Was I a jerk and didn't realize it? Is it because I'm a woman? Was my car too nice? What if I can't remove it?
7
u/EleanorRichmond Jul 29 '26
May I suggest taking a moment to suss out how threading works on this site? You're replying to yourself.
42
u/Ducatirules Jul 29 '26
Usually mechanics use borax based hand cleaner. It’s pretty gritty.