Trunk hitting tail lights

Hi all. So yesterday I was taking my rear decklid off to plastidip the emblem black. When I was cleaning the edges from pollen buildup, I noticed that in 3 spots the trunk was hitting the lights. The paint was chipped on the passenger side right on corner of the trunk and at the edge where the decklid corner meets the trunk.
The decklid edge corner was the same on the drivers side.

I have a touchup pen and fixed the spots. They're inconspicuous once the trunk is shut anyways, but I feel like this issue will keep repeating. I never slam the trunk in case you're wondering.

I adjusted the rubber stoppers to where I think they're safe at, but I was wondering if anyone had a similar issue? I've seen people complaining of the decklid hitting the bumper. Luckily that's not the case with me.

I also noticed what look like paint bubbles on the very edge and near the trunk seal. Looks just like the hood corrosion issue, except it's on my trunk. I think I'm going to take it to the dealer and complain to them. The taillights aren't cheap, so I guess I'm glad I caught this before they cracked.

I'll take some pics during my lunch break.

You have to move the lock mechanism up a bit to have enough clearance.

At that point, the trunk will be higher than the other panels. It's flush right now. I don't find that to be an acceptable approach. I appreciate the idea though.

usgiorgi said:

At that point, the trunk will be higher than the other panels. It's flush right now. I don't find that to be an acceptable approach. I appreciate the idea though.

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It actually shouldn't sit flush.
It should sit about 1/8 of an inch higher at the bottom than the taillights's bottom edge.
If it sits flush with the tailights bottom edge, it's sitting too low and will hit the plastic and damage the paint.

jasonstang said:

It actually shouldn't sit flush.
It should sit about 1/8 of an inch higher at the bottom than the taillights's bottom edge.
If it sits flush with the tailights bottom edge, it's sitting too low and will hit the plastic and damage the paint.

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I'm talking about the top of the trunk and the fender. That line is flush and the trunk doesn't sit flush with the lights either. It is about a 1/4 to 1/8th inch higher. The problem was that I think on closing, it was going too low until bouncing back. Since it's such a soft aluminum, it deflects quite a bit.

usgiorgi said:

I'm talking about the top of the trunk and the fender. That line is flush and the trunk doesn't sit flush with the lights either. It is about a 1/4 to 1/8th inch higher. The problem was that I think on closing, it was going too low until bouncing back. Since it's such a soft aluminum, it deflects quite a bit.

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That truck lid is pretty inconsistent in terms of alignment.
Maybe your's is a little bit out of alignment?
I wonder if you could move the taillights in a bit.

jasonstang said:

That truck lid is pretty inconsistent in terms of alignment.
Maybe your's is a little bit out of alignment?
I wonder if you could move the taillights in a bit.

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Yea maybe. I've checked other mustangs and they all have the same lines. I mostly think the issue was the bump stops being too high up. In either case, I'm mostly worried about the possible corrosion now that I don't see contact.

Have you confirmed that it is actually hitting. I had chips in the sd spots but it was caused by a bad pdr guy. My first though was that things were hitting.

If your unsure you can out some powder down on where you think its hitting then close it and see if it transfers.

Souldriver said:

Have you confirmed that it is actually hitting. I had chips in the sd spots but it was caused by a bad pdr guy. My first though was that things were hitting.

If your unsure you can out some powder down on where you think its hitting then close it and see if it transfers.

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I saw corresponding marks on the tail lights, so I'm positive it was making contact.

Dropped the car off. They took bunch of pics to send to ford. As a heads up, don't touch up the problem areas with paint as they like to see the bare metals under chips. The trunk is very clearly hitting the bumper as well. They are also looking at possible corrosion on the trunk and the clicking sound I've been experiencing that sounds like pebbles hitting a can.

All this st 13800 miles. Wtf ford

For the update, they called me this morning and Ford is covering all paintwork. They're repainting the trunk and rear bumper as well as adjusting the trunk so that it doesn't happen again. Fingers crossed this doesn't happen again!

As far as the clicking sound, they can't reproduce. I'll do it for them when I go to pick it up.

Another update. They have to reshape the trunk because it was still hitting the bumper and lights after repainting and adjustments.

Another week without my car....

Fords actually fixing this?
I didn't think they would at all.
Mines been doing this all its life, currently at 27,000+ miles
Maybe i'll bring'r in

Obsol3te said:

Fords actually fixing this?
I didn't think they would at all.
Mines been doing this all its life, currently at 27,000+ miles
Maybe i'll bring'r in

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Considering it was leaving a 12" scratch on my bumper and chipping paint to bare aluminium they better fix it.

Update: Finally got my car after nearly 3 weeks.

They scratched my spoiler (not really a big deal since I was gonna get the gt350 track pack, but shows me their lack of care)

The trunk still hits the tail lights. It still hits the rear bumper on the passenger side.

There is also a pretty large scuff on the trunk between decklid and spoiler as well as what looks like a popped paint bubble right near it. Overall, the paintmatch was spot on, but this isn't acceptable to me (call me high maintenance).

Look closely at your trunks guys. The aluminum is extremely soft and it deflects like crazy when shutting it.