I bought these air fresheners called "Driven" by Refresh your car. The scents are specifically for guys and they smell quite good. Well I put it around my rear view mirror like the directions say and made sure the paper freshener was not touching anything as it can "discolor plastic" according to the directions. The only thing touching my mirror was the string the freshener was on and the string ATE THE PLASTIC on my mirror!!!!! I went to take it off and the string was actually embedded in my plastic and now I have grooves in the back of rear view where the string ate it!! You can't see it because it is on the back of the mirror but it still bugs me. I might buy a new mirror I am not sure yet. I don't know if I am being OCD or not wanting a new mirror. I want to know what is in these things if they can eat plastic. Doesn't sound safe to be around to me. Anyway....I guess my rant is over. I'm never buying these things again. I am sticking with those little tree ones you buy....never had an issue with those.

 

I don't think I have ever seen that happen.
But then again I use soap,water and a little elbow grease. Verses those kinda things!

 

I have never seen or heard of it either! I keep my Monte clean and take pride in her and the fact this darn thing attacked my mirror makes me mad. I have an addiction to air fresheners tho. My car is always clean and never stinks but I always to seem to put more in there. At one point I had about 20 of those little trees hanging from my emergency brake pedal under the dash. My co-worker saw it and told me I needed help lol I just kept putting new ones on and never taking the old ones off cause they still had some smell left in them I liked my little forest I had but I did finally take them out. I only have one down there now. Never again will I buy these "Driven" ones tho.

 

pics please

 

Will do I will grab some pictures tomorrow.

 

I've NEVER heard of this happening, but if I were to guess, a chemical in the air freshener is embedded in the string (part of being packaged with it) and had a reaction. OR the plastic housing of the mirror became tacky from heat of being in the sun and it appears like the string ate the housing when really the housing caused the problem (food for thought).

If I were you, I would NOT buy a new mirror. If the product truly did what you claimed, you need to do the following:
- Take DETAILED pics, showing the string got embedded in the plastic (actually still being in the plastic helps the authenticity of the claim).
- Next, get yourself a new air freshener of the same type or detailed pics of it so you have a record of EXACTLY what disclaimers were on it.
- Write the manufacturer a complaint letter. The key element in the letter is even though you are angry, be polite (don't insult the company, don't make threats, don't use slang or inappropriate language).
The key to being successful with a complaint letter to any company is to be polite, clearly state what product you bought, what happened/what was wrong, what you feel the company owes you (and be realistic about it, in this case a replacement mirror is what you are looking for), how the company may contact you and it's always good to end with a simple "Thank you for your time. I hope to hear back from you or a representative from your company by (state a date about 30 days from when you well send the letter)". Include copies of pics regarding the damage and even the packaging (that does not notate anything beyond possible discoloration). I typically sent complaint letters to the CEO of a company (because normal customer service ended in NO service).
By giving them a date you expect to hear back, if you DON'T get a response (and I've never had this happen), you send a follow up (and if you have to send a follow up, include a copy of your original letter, as a little reminder). Also, by NOT making threats and politely stating what makes you a happy customer again, allows them an opportunity to not feel your a raving nut and a chance to hopefully end a dispute with ease.

Good luck and do share pics. This would definitely be a "hot topic" for anyone looking to use that air freshener.

 

Wow that's crazy! Never heard of this happening before!

 

Thank you for the info! I will definitely take your advice. I did email the company and told them what had happened and that I expect an answer. I doubt they will respond but I am gonna give them a couple of days. If I don't hear anything I will try to find the CEO and write a letter. I still have the packaging and the leftover fresheners. I have never had this kind of issue before and had never heard of it. This is the first and last time I will buy these fresheners. I am sure that other people that have purchased them have had similar issues. I can't believe that I would be the only one.

 

Well here is a picture I took. This is the result after I spent a half an hour scraping and picking at the string to get it off. There are other smaller marks on the mirror but this one is the biggest.

 

Wow thats crazy!

Heres a trick I learned from working at a used car lot years ago....

I wondered why some vehicles I was moveing around on the lot
smelled like chocolate....

I found milkyway bars under the seats! with the package just torn open enuff for the scent to seepout....
No wonder im a chocoholic!