Shoddy body panel alignment resolution

[TikiGT]

Hey all,

I am one of the many with several body/bumper/hood/trunk alignment issues and am mid claims process with Ford about it headed to a second dealership to get a second opinion as adviced by the regional manager. The purchasing dealer body shop manager refuses to work with it as 'it's within spec' though blatantly off in several places. He was also quite insulting and ruined any business I'd ever give to the dealership.

That being said, who of you has gotten resolution with the issues? Are you just living with them or have you had them corrected? Before and after pics at all?

Apologies if there is a thread already. Found plenty with complaints but none with resolution. If I missed it please send a link.

Cheers!:cheers:

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[Budwise]

I took mine in, they claimed to have adjusted it but in the end they did nothing and I had to do it myself. Welcome to the new Ford...

 

[TikiGT]

What did you have out of whack if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Budwise]

Hood height, front fender gap around the headlights, trunk not even close to lined up, and like all other S550's the bumper doesnt line up well with the rear quarters either. I got them to line up the trunk a little better but its still off, and I ended up having to adjust the front panels and hood myself.

I've also had to have the torsen and the transmission replaced. The heater motor whistles and I'm now hearing a whine from the radiator fan as it spins down when I turn the car off. Not to mention all the rattles in the interior. Overall I'm pretty disappointed with the quality of the car. They're pushing them out the line WAY too fast and their product shows it. I think this will be my last Ford.

 

[brandonsmash]

Sub'd to this thread. I wish my actual Mustang panel gaps were closer to the panel gaps on the 1:24 Maisto Mustang I bought. At least those are pretty even.

 

[Cobra Jet]

Where's the pics?

I have seen and read various threads on here about body panels etc... There's few and far between instances of people posting any pics of these problems.

What about actual measurements? Has anyone consulted or found the actual body panel alignment specs that they can verify 100% against their own vehicle and by how far off (mm, inches, cm, or %) the misalignment is from the Factory documented specs??

Not discounting any claims of body panel issues at all....

There's a HUGE difference in visual perception as opposed to actual measurements. These are mass produced vehicles with most of the body being assembled by robotics....that of which there is a certain degree of error allowed by the preprogrammed specs for the assembly.

Not being a smart ass or sarcastic - asking genuine questions and looking for visuals from all affected vehicles.

Thx

 

[TikiGT]

^ Valid point. Pics attached. The body shop manager at the purchased dealership said 3-5mm is an acceptable gap and variance. Here's the issues in mine....

Starting drivers rear, bumper contacting fender is overlapped then underlapped then over lapped again...


Then the actual alignment to the trunk.


Passenger side has an air gap with a paint imperfection to it.


Trunk lid alignment is high.


Drivers front bumper, the bumper is underlapped on all axis, Passenger side is the exact opposite and extruding.


Hood/fender alignment drivers side is off as well. When popping the hood its one ass hair away from rubbing and making contact



But according to the body shop manager and ford this is entirely acceptable for a $41k plus vehicle.... Still in the claims process.

 

[jasonstang]

That is not too bad really. My rule is if I can see it from 20 ft away, I want it fixed. My rear deck is very misaligned. One side is about quarter inch higher than the other. Other than that, I don't really care.

 

[TikiGT]

You may be ok with it but for the money paid it's completely unacceptable to have worse fitment than a Kia... Especially when one of the terms of purchase was them fixing it.

But to each their own.

 

[jasonstang]

Well Kia bumpers don't have this complicated curves and lines so they are much easier to stay in tolerance.
Plastic and metal are always hard to make fit together because metal does not shrink where plastic does.
As for your bumper fitment there is nothing they can do really. It's not just your car. It's all Mustangs.
You have to remember you are paying a very low price high performance car.
Here is what mine looks like.

 

[Road Dog]

Geeze Guys, I don't know what happened but on my car they got it right.
But I'm not so good with posting pics.

 

[redline727]

Wish that was case for me. My entire driver side is off. From fender to taillight to rear bumper. Passenger side is perfect.

 

[OEMRadio]

I am going to post this and it will be live for a little while.. any of you that have issues.. this is the Ford Guide for techs and gaps.. I just want you to be a bit informed so you can know what they feel is reasonable.. like I said.. I will keep it live for a bit.. so get in while you can

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3j7ElB-PVhqWnJjd1otS3dMcHM/view?usp=sharing

 

[highvoltage]

I have some as well. Minor but i do really want then to fix my trunk. Its high on the passenger side and you can easily see it like in some of the pics posted. Im gonna bring up the other things as well. My purchase dealer is 50 miles away but have high ratings and i know the sales manager is a mustang fan.

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[TikiGT]

Just got back from the second opinion body shop as requested by Ford. They say its absolutely solvable and submitted a claim. Hopefully this all works out. I'm ready for some damn resolution.

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