Body panel alignment issues

My car arrived last week. I pointed out to the dealer that the passenger door was slightly touching the front fender. They took to their body shop to fix while I waited. I thought the door was misaligned, but it was the fender that was off.

Other than a super minor trunk alignment and the infamous slight dip of the left side of the rear window, everything else looks pretty good.

Nitro said:

My car arrived last week. I pointed out to the dealer that the passenger door was slightly touching the front fender. They took to their body shop to fix while I waited. I thought the door was misaligned, but it was the fender that was off.

Other than a super minor trunk alignment and the infamous slight dip of the left side of the rear window, everything else looks pretty good.

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I underlined the point a lot people here would say is minor. But there is something "big" going on with the 2015 Mustangs when the tail window is deeper on one side. Means that the car is welded wrong together in the factory.

One of our members who bought a 2015 Mustang LE took some pictures and measured the back of his car after taken off all the plastic and posted that their is no way to fix this issues without a slash hammer. I will post the LINK when I find it again. He mentioned also that the left rear panel would be different than the right one......

It was post number 103 here. JWS deleted some pictures in his posts. But this is what he had to say and he is 100% correct in his findings.

Decided to not post photos for a while, but just comment. Worked some more on the trunk and tail lights. Will have to shim the lights to make them match the trunk and trunk panel. Will also have to shim the trunk panel. Did some visual mods that, from a couple feet back, makes it look almost perfect. This is only a temporary fix. May eventually end up welding tabs to the trunk lid and repainting or maybe hide everything with trim.

It's more than just loosening and tightening bolts. The trunk lid was sticking up on the left side near the window because the left rear quarter panel is welded improperly or stamped in a bad die. This causes the slope of the left rear sail panel to be different than the trunk lid. It also causes the window rear mounting to droop on the left side, but mostly at the roof line. This may also account for the driver's door gaps to be larger than the passenger side, which may also be causing the left front fender to buckle (slight bulge) above the left headlight housing, and also cause the big gap between the hood and bumper on the left side. The left door has the biggest gap near the rocker.

The left side of the car is definitely where all the problems start. They were in the preproduction cars and were never addressed before volume production began. Bad parts, dies, weld jigs? Hopefully they will spend the money to fix these issues before 2016 production starts, because even the GT350 has them.
Last edited by JWS; 02-15-2015 at 10:17 PM. Reason: Error in parts listing

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People who like to buy a 2015 Mustang should really look first an a dealers lot and check some of this things out before making a decision. After seeing all this issues and also talking to the bodyshop and CSR, I still think that the 2015 Mustang is pushed out with no QC at all. The guy who works on my car said that he should normally cut out the left quarter panel and weld a new one in to fix this issues. Take only a look at my car how sad it looks on the pictures. And no. The car wasn't rear ended. She looks like that because the shop did take a good look into the body to figure out on what to do next with it....... And that's on a brand new car!

I agree Papaya, the cars I saw at my dealer were disturbing. One car had a large enough gap between the headlight and the bumper cover I could easily fit my whole hand in there.

Rear Alignment

Got the plastic trunk panel to align by removing the mounting tabs on the top half of the inner panel. Unfortunately, there is so much glue holding these together that I cracked the outer panel. Decided to use it as an experimental panel after that. Shaved off the upper lip that snugs up against the trunk. Went to the Fantasy of Flight "Mustangs and Mustangs" meet last weekend
and needed a new panel. Ford wanted between $900 and $1060 for the various versions. Bought a blank panel from Ford Racing for $139. May try to design my own LE Badge, due to the Appearance Package being the same badge. Will decide later whether or not to drill the panel for the original one.

Because the new panel is not shaved and modified, it sticks out and down further, so I had to go back and shim the tail lights to match the panel. Not like I want, but from a couple feet back, it's about as good as any. Don't want to cut up the new panel just yet. The trunk lid aligns with the fenders, but because of the assembly and stamping problems, it will always be higher than the fender on the flat on the left, and lower on the right. Will have to bend the left and right edges to match the fenders. Probably will wait to get a new trunk lid to do that on, and weld-in tabs over the lights at the time.

Tried to do something about the doors. Although you can fix some of the problems with the front fender, the door is out of alignment with the rear quarter and upper. Loosened the black nuts holding the door on and tried to shove it outward. Took out about half of the problem. Also moved the striker plate as far as it would go and got the elevation and rear alignment pretty good. However, the door is still rotated on the lower hinge and the window does not line up with the quarter glass. Bottom of door needs to come out more and glass needs to go in. Tried to shim under the two-bolt hinge bracket, but that just ended up rotating the bracket and pushing the door into the fender. Just not enough room to work on the thing, so will have to pull the fender to get access to the hinge where I can remove it and shim properly. Will also give me a chance to align the hood, bumper and fenders.

Papaya said:

I underlined the point a lot people here would say is minor. But there is something "big" going on with the 2015 Mustangs when the tail window is deeper on one side. Means that the car is welded wrong together in the factory.

One of our members who bought a 2015 Mustang LE took some pictures and measured the back of his car after taken off all the plastic and posted that their is no way to fix this issues without a slash hammer. I will post the LINK when I find it again. He mentioned also that the left rear panel would be different than the right one......

It was post number 103 here. JWS deleted some pictures in his posts. But this is what he had to say and he is 100% correct in his findings.


People who like to buy a 2015 Mustang should really look first an a dealers lot and check some of this things out before making a decision. After seeing all this issues and also talking to the bodyshop and CSR, I still think that the 2015 Mustang is pushed out with no QC at all. The guy who works on my car said that he should normally cut out the left quarter panel and weld a new one in to fix this issues. Take only a look at my car how sad it looks on the pictures. And no. The car wasn't rear ended. She looks like that because the shop did take a good look into the body to figure out on what to do next with it....... And that's on a brand new car!

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Thanks @JWS for the update!
I talked with CSM on Monday and she wasn't happy too. She mentioned now to look into a different car for me as an option. Until now I can only say that everyone involved is very supportive. :ford:

Just dropped the car back off at the dealer. They're taking it to the body shop today to see what can get done. They marked everything out that I showed them so it seems promising.


IG - S550_Sema

I fixed the rear drivers side fender-bumper alignment issue. I failed to remove both tail lights, so I scratched my bumper cover. Bummer!. I removed the bumper cover after pulling out the trim plugs and screws. Under the bumper cover, there is a black plastic, multiple piece contraption, that holds the top of the bumper cover on. I removed the rear drivers side piece, offset drilled the mounting holes, and was then able to slide the piece farther to the left. I then reinstalled the bumper cover, and I now have a bumper and fender that meet properly.

Fixing "things"

I honestly have a problem, to fix bumpers, fenders, trunk lids, on a new car. I am more use to do that on older cars. If I have to go there several times until everything is fixed - I don't care. Luckily I get always a free loaner and can "test drive" different FORD models. So far: 2014 Focus - OK (6.4 liter /100km). 2014 Ford Escape - one of the most ugliest cars I have ever seen - in - and mostly outside (7.4 liter /100km). 2014 Ford Fusion - nice car and good on gas too (7.8 liter /100km).

update on my Mustang EB:
Body shop is putting everything together after the rear end was repainted and now it goes to the service department to fix the "other" things what have to be fixed.....

Again. ON A NEW CAR! :rant:

A buddy of mine who works at my dealers body shop told me all the body panels have been fixed. There were a few more imperfections in the paint that are getting fixed now. I don't think ford ever approved it under warranty but I'm not sure. Seems like the dealer is just taking care of it.


IG - S550_Sema

I got a call from the customer relations person from the dealer i bought at.

Called him back and let him know the misalignment on the bumper, i'll see what he says and then decide. Part of me would rather do it myself like "50 year GT"

My sales person called me back and wants to schedule a time for me to come in and get it fixed. So far it seems good and I think I will go through the dealership. I just hope they don't use hammers to fix it.

So far I'm impressed with the after sales customer service. If they fix this alignment the right way, then I'll be ready to start writing some good reviews.

S550 Sema said:

A buddy of mine who works at my dealers body shop told me all the body panels have been fixed. There were a few more imperfections in the paint that are getting fixed now. I don't think ford ever approved it under warranty but I'm not sure. Seems like the dealer is just taking care of it.


IG - S550_Sema

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If that is the guy doing the detailing he must be a rookie. The cord should be over his shoulder and not dragging down the side of the car causing more marring of the finish.

Apparently he's the pdr guy lol


IG - S550_Sema

S550 Sema said:

Apparently he's the pdr guy lol


IG - S550_Sema

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Nice:doh:

Are you referring to the seam were the lower bumper fascia meets the rear quarter panel near the tail light (where the fascia looks pushed-in further compared to the quarter panel)? Pics?

50 year GT said:

I fixed the rear drivers side fender-bumper alignment issue. I failed to remove both tail lights, so I scratched my bumper cover. Bummer!. I removed the bumper cover after pulling out the trim plugs and screws. Under the bumper cover, there is a black plastic, multiple piece contraption, that holds the top of the bumper cover on. I removed the rear drivers side piece, offset drilled the mounting holes, and was then able to slide the piece farther to the left. I then reinstalled the bumper cover, and I now have a bumper and fender that meet properly.

Click to expand...