Body panel alignment issues

[tsunami]

After months of comments/complaints...why did any of you accept the flaws in your 2015s? I made the decision not to pay for my vert when/if it arrives with noticeable misalignments. I told my GSM that I won't...he agreed, that for what I am paying, misalignments are not acceptable. (He implied he could find a buyer for it, who could care less about panel problems).

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[Papaya]

Hello tsunami.
Not everyone lives down South to take delivery on day time. In my situation I sold my Mustang in August. No problem because I had my 2000 Mercedes as a "spare" I thought. Until juniors car broke down and he needed my 2000 Mercedes to get around. Public transport isn't a choice where we live. Canceling DOC and WCB appointments aren't an option too. When finally my new Mustang arrived I had the choice to take it or get a Mercedes CLA 250. With $2,684 CAD under invoice for the Mustang, the deal was too good. Why I took it anyways? Because today's 1st year cars always have some issues. Don't ask me why car manufacturers can't build cars they come out of the factory like they should. And I hope nobody takes it as an offence when I point out the stickers on FORD newly cars that they are made with "American PRIDE". Honestly?! Looking at some of the pictures some members are posting here doesn't show the pride of good craftsmanship. And I do understand that the people who build this cars are under big pressure to "push" the cars out to keep their jobs these days. But as some of us experience now, FORD has to step up to fix a lot issues now.

I am still confident that my dealer and the CSR will get my new Mustang fixed like it should be. I do also have the feeling that FORD pushed them out and told some dealers to fix the issues later on. Why? When we had issues with our 2014 Jeep GC, Jeep always had to make pictures, filled out some forms and we had to wait for an appointment. With my Mustang that was a different story. No pictures and the shop got my car in right away.:ford:

Other than that I hope nothing big is coming up on recalls for my Mustang. :hail: We bought our Jeep July 2014 and have already recall 7 & 8 at home. Mostly wiring and now alternator plus water pump (I think). :amen:

 

[Jeffola]

OK, folks, lets keep this on topic. First of all, this is a problem, this is not a few nit picky people looking to get something for the minor issue. That being said, lets get back to the issue.

I went to my dealer this morning, my car is still there. They resolved the bumper issue by heating and straightening out the bent tab, they are looking for my rattle and have yet to determine the rest of my issues. HOWEVER.

They have engineering involved with my top, the fix didn't hold. There is a problem with that, and they are scratching their heads on this. I am traveling on business this week and have decided to leave it with them for the week, my wife wouldn't pick it up anyway.

Needless to say, I am not pleased, but ford is responsive and I hope in a week I can feel better about all this.

 

[tsunami]

I should clarify...what I meant was...why are people now complaining about quality control problems only after they paid for their car? If the car was so bad when it arrived, that you are expecting days/weeks of warranty repairs, shouldn't you have insisted that the dealership fix them before you paid for it? On the other hand...finding rattles developing, windows now leaking, transmissions getting weird, etc., that I could understand.

I decided to dedicate a full Saturday to my inspection, if the new convertible needs it. My GSM has already agreed on my taking it on an extended test drive. I have already scouted out a route which includes urban driving, rural roads, and an Interstate. I expect to be gone for at least an hour or two. After getting back, he is allowing me to pull into an empty heated service bay for a full personal inspection. I am bringing a camera to document anything I find wrong, and I am going to wax pencil mark any misalignments, and writing down any other problems. I am then letting the dealer re-prep the car, if it needs it. The car is costing me close to $50,000. (When I cash a large check, I watch the teller count out the bills, I don't just grab the money and walk out).

 

[Jeffola]

I can only speak for myself. I was excited to get the car, and the dealer asked me to get it Friday evening instead of Saturday morning. I agreed, and now possibly begrudgingly.

My open issues are
Convertible top mis-alignment. Ticket open with Ford engineering
Body panels mis-aligned, I think we have this handled at this point
Drivers vent loose, part ordered
Rattle in car over P/S rear wheel inside, Delaer will look into it monday
Scratch on glove box door, I noticed it when I got home from delivery and now its a fight

The top is the most concerning thing, they admitted the fix didn't hold and there are some parts of the top structure that need to be replaced.

I probably would not have noticed the body alignment issues at delivery without some notification about the issues. The top was down at delivery and on the way home. That would also have been a come back anyway.

 

[Mustang8]

I should clarify...what I meant was...why are people now complaining about quality control problems only after they paid for their car? If the car was so bad when it arrived, that you are expecting days/weeks of warranty repairs, shouldn't you have insisted that the dealership fix them before you paid for it? On the other hand...finding rattles developing, windows now leaking, transmissions getting weird, etc., that I could understand.

I decided to dedicate a full Saturday to my inspection, if the new convertible needs it. My GSM has already agreed on my taking it on an extended test drive. I have already scouted out a route which includes urban driving, rural roads, and an Interstate. I expect to be gone for at least an hour or two. After getting back, he is allowing me to pull into an empty heated service bay for a full personal inspection. I am bringing a camera to document anything I find wrong, and I am going to wax pencil mark any misalignments, and writing down any other problems. I am then letting the dealer re-prep the car, if it needs it. The car is costing me close to $50,000. (When I cash a large check, I watch the teller count out the bills, I don't just grab the money and walk out).

I'm sure quite a few people got their cars in the dark, like I did. I couldn't tell if the panels were aligned or not when I got the car because the parking lot lighting was not good enough. Thankfully the only issue I have alignment wise is the rear window, but it is hard to spot.

 

[Bay1Stang]

Has anyone got their trunk lid successfully realigned? I need to get that taken care of... I'm hearing that it needs to get hammered into place but others saying it's a simple job??

 

[valentinoamoro]

After months of comments/complaints...why did any of you accept the flaws in your 2015s? I made the decision not to pay for my vert when/if it arrives with noticeable misalignments. I told my GSM that I won't...he agreed, that for what I am paying, misalignments are not acceptable. (He implied he could find a buyer for it, who could care less about panel problems).

1) Had sold my prior car as the Stanf was supposed to have arrived a month ago (got delayed) and needed a ride
2) It was a raining dark evening in Seattle. I did inspect the car to the best extent I could but some of these issues (ex: front fender) were not evident.
3) I do accept some responsibility as you pointed it out. However, I deemed the ones I did see (hood) to be acceptable provided it could be aligned - which the dealer assured me they would do.

Has anyone got their trunk lid successfully realigned? I need to get that taken care of... I'm hearing that it needs to get hammered into place but others saying it's a simple job??

I did. It's much better and largely aligned, however, the gap is a bit large for my liking (but even). Will upload a photo.

 

[PonyGrrrl]

After months of comments/complaints...why did any of you accept the flaws in your 2015s? I made the decision not to pay for my vert when/if it arrives with noticeable misalignments. I told my GSM that I won't...he agreed, that for what I am paying, misalignments are not acceptable. (He implied he could find a buyer for it, who could care less about panel problems).

Unfortunately it was too dark to notice everything when I took delivery but I did point out the trunk, doors, and hood. The manager and salesman were aware of the issues I pointed out and told me to come in on Monday and their collision center would take care of it. I did take it to their collision center and they didn't want to touch it because of "tolerance" and EVERY Mustang on their lot had issues and therefore it's normal, wtf?

I immediately contacted Ford and I was given a case number and assigned a CSR. I went to a second dealership for a second opinion and they determined it wasn't fixable due to the panels that were wielded onto the unibody frame being crooked. I contacted my CSR and a field engineer came to look at it. The dealership was told to fix the rear bumper and fender gaps because they were not within tolerance. It looks much better and when my CSR called he informed me that the field engineer felt everything else is within tolerance and he was agreeing with him without ever seeing my car. He said I am getting a 3 yr/ 45k mile Maintenance Contact for free for my troubles. He said I would receive a packet with all of the information in 5 days. It's been two weeks and I haven't received shit! I'm beyond pissed with my CSR, the field engineer (who is covering his ass), and Ford's quality control. I truly love my car and because Magnetic is so dark the gaps aren't very visible but they are definitely there.

The more I see people continuing to report issues the more pissed I am getting. I decided that since it doesn't appear that Ford is going to do anything for us or me that I will just try to ignore the issues and enjoy my car. I'm calling Ford Monday morning to demand they do something more than give me a maintenance contract I don't even want. If they don't want to fix it then they should refund part of the money I paid for a misaligned mess or replace it, this is too widespread and inexcusable.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[davekro]

When told body body panels are within spec, Ask For the specs, please!

JWS here posted a gap and flushness spec for one gap.


“Specs for hood to front bumper are 4.00 mm (.15748”) + / - 2.3 mm. (.09055”) Flushness is -0.75 mm + or - 2.3 mm. Mine is closer to the Max gap. Problem is, you almost need to have the hood right up to the bumper for the creases to line up. Same deal on the trunk lid.”

My calculations find that the acceptable range for this gap is from 1.7 mm (.067” or ≈1/16”+ ) to 6.3 mm (.248” or ≈1/4”) [ Range is .181” just, under 3/16” ) ( ref: .156 = 5/32”)



I would like to have the spec for gap and flushness with +/- tolerances for at least the body panel issues that have been documented here in hand when I go to pick up my new car. Then I can bring my dial gauge to check any odd looking areas. This way we both know when I point any issue out, how close to acceptable they may or may not be. Very few here (cough, cough) feel comfortable being told : "Trust me. I am told this is within spec and normal."

 

[valentinoamoro]

Here are the remaining misaligned items in my book.

Hood cannot be aligned by simply turning the stops anymore. It's at min setting on the right.

They did adjust the trunk and its better, but still potrudes a tiny bit on the left and the gap where it meets the rear quarter panel seems big.

Gas gap also has a slight protrusion at the bottom.

 

[Bay1Stang]

Thanks for the pics. Are you happy with that trunk lid? I probably wouldn't be.

 

[valentinoamoro]

Thanks for the pics. Are you happy with that trunk lid? I probably wouldn't be.

The perfectionist in me says not really - they adjusted it as it was potruding towards the glass, now its potruding down!

I can live with it though - even for me from 5 feet away its not noticeable at all. BUT, I am calling the Ford dealer on Mon. My SA is super nice (awesome would describe him better).

 

[Jeffola]

Just heard back from @Ford_Service and sent back an email. I will paste it here so you can all see how I am handling my open issues.

As they say in this business, Your Mileage May Vary!

"Thanks for getting back to me, according to the forums this is a pandemic. I am sure its not. I am however, only interested in my car, the others having issues are, for sure not good news.

I do have an open case, and if you can help out, I would appreciate that very much.

Case CASXXXXXXX-XXXXX
The CSR I had spoken with is Mario, I called him as the situation got deeper when the convertible top is now back to being crooked. I had left him two voicemails, without a call back. The dealer said they had reached out to him, I am unsure if he was in contact with them. My car is still at ford, I spoke to the dealers service manager yesterday. They have engineering looking into my top, apparently, the fix, didn't "HOLD" and "reverted" to its former condition.

My open issues as of this moment are as follows.

1. Rear bumper misalignment, previously fixed, still an issue
2. Convertible top crooked, previously fixed, case open with engineering
3. Rattle in car, left rear (over wheel) 2nd time back, service manager heard it, open issue
4. Drivers side dash vent had felt coming off, I removed it so it didn't look like crap, vent loose, open issue
5. Since delivery, glovebox door scratched, delivered in dark, noticed at home that night, reported three times since. NO ONE is taking responsibility for this, sales tells me its a $600 part and its my responsibility, VERY OPEN ISSUE FOR ME.

If Mario is my assigned CSR, and I am the customer, I do feel he should call ME back. The lack of quality on the car is one thing but if I am dealing with the issues and want them resolved, all I ask is that he call me back to acknowledge the emerging issues.

Communication is everything, I spoke to Enrique yesterday (Ford Service manager) and he was planning on calling me just when I had arrived. My car will be there for some time while all this stuff figured out.

Reading the stories on the forums, the information is scary. I have NO buyers remorse, i have quality issues being exacerbated by the lack of responsiveness by the assigned representative from Ford. Bottom line is thats all I have. I am out over $50,000, I have an empty garage and I am growing less pleased with the entire situation by the day.

My phone number is ###-###-####, my email is [email protected]. Let there be no mistake I am reachable and not argumentative. I just want this resolved."


The car is at the dealer, they have ford involved. I see people getting service contracts and other crap for their troubles. Before I think about negotiating anything, I want the car fixed. Its got 430 miles, it has been to the dealer 4 times with a 36 mile round trip, with the trip home after delivery 162 of my 430 miles have been service related. Thats 37% of the mileage on the car. Today is a gorgeous day in South Florida and there is a car show I was going to participate in at the Tilted Kilt in Boca Raton, now.... I don't even want to go.

:thumbdown::frusty::headbonk:

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