Front splitter folded under the car!?!?

[lenFeb]

Where can I buy one?

Contact your nearest Ford dealer regarding this. They need to do the repairs for you free of charge.

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[Cobra Jet]

Took this car yesterday to visit my inlaws. Not sure how it happen but heard a loud bang. Was able to pull into an Ace hardware and look under the car. The whole front splitter was folded under the car!!!! Went into Ace and bought a ratchet set to remove it. Put the car in reverse to flip the splitter back into normal spot.

SO now my question is.. Anyone else this happen too? Did I do something wrong? Do I replace with stock or aftermarket? Does anyone know of a place that has them in stock?

Can I drive the car without one? Front end lift at high speeds right? but normal driving ok?

Do you think the Sliplo kit would have prevented this?

Are you sure you didn’t nail a squirrel, rabbit or small cat (ie: already dead roadkill)?

Hitting an animal will definitely create similar damage; with as low as the S550’s sit with the standard splitter or a Shelby style splitter it’s easy to get damages from roadkill...

 

[11GT50]

Are you sure you didn’t nail a squirrel, rabbit or small cat (ie: already dead roadkill)?

Hitting an animal will definitely create similar damage; with as low as the S550’s sit with the standard splitter or a Shelby style splitter it’s easy to get damages from roadkill...

If the poor tech installs weren't already known to be a widespread issue I'd agree that an animal is a possibility, but it's well established that the techs do not install the part correctly.

 

[Droopy1592]

Is this what happens when it was installed incorrectly at the dealership?
I keep hearing about it but have not seen any pictures yet...until now.

check my post history. Literally just happened about two months ago and Ford tried to say I impacted something to cause it. They didn’t reinstall it properly after replacing the motor. So then they repaired it and it was still installed incorrectly the second time! I showed the service manager same day!

 

[zzrat]

As jvandy50 mentioned make sure you check the facia as with this kind of impact I'd sure be surprised if most of the mounting female receiving tabs have been cracked. When installing our Ford Performance front tow hook facia was off & noticed that 3/5 were cracked from impact of the "R" splitter on road /curb or ??? . Car only had 96 miles on the clock when purchased. It also had hardware missing when we dismantled for the hook. HTH. Good luck!

 

[Vettel-ish]

Going in today to see whats up. Lets hope for no more damage while it was under the car.

 

[DrumReaper]

Going in today to see whats up. Lets hope for no more damage while it was under the car.

Good luck!!!

 

[Vettel-ish]

Ok here is what we got.. NO other damage to the car. Here are the pics of the damage splitter. I can see where all of you are talking about the 4 extra bolts that hold the front clip. Those were clearly not installed.

Order a new one from these guys. https://parts.autonationfordwhitebearlake.com/oem-parts/ford-spoiler-fr3z17626e

Also order sliplo to protect the new one...

Also I washed the car. Then decided it will never leave the garage again so it can never be further damaged...

 

[oldbmwfan]

Awesome that you had no other damage. Clearly it was installed without the correct hardware and it just took time to come loose enough for the wind to catch it and pull the tabs out of the mounting slots at high speed. Really good that the belly pan didn't get stripped out or broken where the rear of the splitter mounts to it!

 

[11GT50]

I got away with doing three track days with speeds approaching 140 mph before I learned the splitter was incorrectly installed on my car. This is precisely why I do my own work, even if I could save money by making a warranty claim. It would have to be a pretty significant failure for me to take my car to a dealer- like an engine failure.

A few years ago I tried getting a warranty repair on a paint defect that resulted in the entire passenger, rear quarter of the car being trashed by a garbage paint job and ended up in a buyback. That one was a big mistake on my part and I learned the hard way.

 

[JAJ]

Glad you got this figured out!

It's been interesting, and not in a good way, to watch the dealer network deal with a real performance car for the last five years. I'm sure the GT500 crowd will have similar but different issues with dealer service and PDI install parts. Dealers, over decades, got used to snapping on bits of decorative trim and cleaning cars up for delivery. The trim was never really functional. The splitter on the GT350/R is functional, and it produces enough downforce that it needs all that hardware to stay attached. But decades of practice on purely decorative parts has trained the dealer staff to think that if it looks good, then it is good. When I got my 2016 back in 2016, I talked to the service manager before delivery and told him about the horror stories coming out from mis-installed splitters. When I got mine home, I ran it up on the lift, and sure enough, no screws. Back it went and they got it right the second time.

 

[DrumReaper]

Glad you got this figured out!

It's been interesting, and not in a good way, to watch the dealer network deal with a real performance car for the last five years. I'm sure the GT500 crowd will have similar but different issues with dealer service and PDI install parts. Dealers, over decades, got used to snapping on bits of decorative trim and cleaning cars up for delivery. The trim was never really functional. The splitter on the GT350/R is functional, and it produces enough downforce that it needs all that hardware to stay attached. But decades of practice on purely decorative parts has trained the dealer staff to think that if it looks good, then it is good. When I got my 2016 back in 2016, I talked to the service manager before delivery and told him about the horror stories coming out from mis-installed splitters. When I got mine home, I ran it up on the lift, and sure enough, no screws. Back it went and they got it right the second time.

Problem is, even a poorly installed front spoiler doesn’t look “good”.

Is the dealer not going to warranty this for you?

 

[jpindustrie]

These front splitters add legitimate downforce and are a major part of the aero package and how the car does what it does on track..

It can easily provide Lbs and lbs of downforce; hitting a small animal at 'street' speeds like what a previous poster suggested is nothing compared to the aero working as this car does an under 8 min lap at the Ring...

Check out install videos on youtube, I also edited a copy of the video to show 'reverse' instructions to help with removal and re-installation. Theres a reason why Ford designed at least 4-6 45 degree bolts going across the front of the 'Shelby' portion of that splitter.



My dealer just replaced my oil pan (I didn't ask ) and now since I'm doing another track day so now I have to waste time again putting the car on Jack stands and checking the bolts...as they say ... when you want something done right ...

IMO these things wouldn't scrape around everywhere on stock springs if they DIDN'T work aero wise...

 

[Vettel-ish]

Thats awesome! I will watch tonight on WIFI, my work internet sucks

 

[FDHog]

Also I washed the car. Then decided it will never leave the garage again so it can never be further damaged...

Wait.........The rock chips are coming. LOL

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