2016 Mustangs - Build Quality

[Freedom]

minor issue on the hood. one side has a bigger gap near the headlight than the other. The rear bumper pops out slightly on one side. The rear seat leathers dont match up together perfectly so one is slightly higher than the other.

It's not bad, but the Japanese line of cars we had before are much better. Not too big of a deal but I am rather disappointed.

Sponsored

 

[MaskedRacerX]

Almost every 16 I saw on the lot had a gap over the headlights between the quarter panel and hood, mine included. It was a easy fix though, pop the hood and locate a 10mm hex nut holding your quarter panel to the engine bay/frame. It will be body colored as it is painted and 6-8 inches from the front, you can't miss it. Loosen this bolt and press with your other hand until the point of that panel is where you want it, tighten while holding and you are all set.

My car was put together nicely, all except for a passenger side gap between the fender "point" over the light and the hood. I had wondered about hood alignment, figured if I ever did hood struts I'd investigate during the install. It bugged me, but on my black car, it's not all that noticeable.

So I read your post last night, decided I'd check it out this morning, grabbed a 10mm socket/extension/ratchet, popped the hood, easily found the one fastener you ID'ed (that's clearly the connecting point for the end of the fender).

Loosened it up, pushed - without even much force - and the fender slipped over about 1/4" and stopped, so I snugged it up and gently lowered the hood to confirm it wasn't over too far. I liked what I saw, so I went ahead and closed it.

OMFG.

It's PERFECT. The left and right sides are within a mm or so of the same gap spacing, it just totally fixes the entire front end. I noticed that the alignment holes in the fender tab and frame were actually perfectly aligned pre-adjustment, it's a square cutout, I'm assuming they use an alignment jig with square posts in these holes. So that means the cutouts themselves are not properly measured. After the alignment, you can see the two squares are offset by that 1/4" the fender moved in (and that's pretty much transparent under the hood).

Thanks for the heads up, I mean, you basically fixed the one outstanding issue on my ride. Highly recommend anyone with this same issue to take a look, it's a <5 minute fix, and in my case, it's completely resolved.

:cheers:

 

[DarkestHour]

The center of my hood sits noticeably lower than the front bumper and the hood is extremely difficult to close.

 

[Bartly]

What does miracle fruit burning fat overnight have to do with this?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Chameleon]

 

[docprego]

My car is nearly flawless. No rattles, no transmission issues, no sync/sirius issues. The only thing is that my trunk lid is slightly misaligned but i dont worry myself with minor cosmetic issues.

This describes my '16 exactly even down to the trunk misalignment that I don't care about.

In another thread I was talking about how I came from a '16 C7 and my S550 is much better put together.

 

[Ultrakla$$ic]

Ingot Silver and Oxford White are the best colors for these cars until Ford cleans up the waves and stamping creases.

You did good with Ingot!!!!!!

 

[RitzGT]

There are not "a lot" of quality issues. What you have is the age of the internet where 1 or 2 examples are being blown out of proportion by a few misguided owners who think a $35k Mustang should have the same tolerances as a $200k Bentley.

^^This^^

Like the dudes buying the 1911 clone from the Philippines thinking it should look and shoot like a Colt Gold Cup.

Count me as one of the "silent majority" (no longer silent) that hasn't experienced any issues. Very happy with my S550.

Best,

 

[brandonsmash]

^^This^^

Like the dudes buying the 1911 clone from the Philippines thinking it should look and shoot like a Colt Gold Cup.

Count me as one of the "silent majority" (no longer silent) that hasn't experienced any issues. Very happy with my S550.

Best,

To further that analogy:

I've owned several RIA pistols (and still own one, albeit in .22 TCM). They've shot very nearly as well as my Kimbers.

Thing is, though, my Kimbers have all had better fit and finish.

My Mustang is not a clone of another car. It has far WORSE fit and finish than my '15 Mazda (which cost $10k less). After nearly 30k miles, my Mazda doesn't squeak or rattle. After 600 miles I was pulled over on the side of the road in my Mustang trying to figure out what the hell was rattling; it's been in the shop 5 times since then to try to get the damn dealer to fix it. I have panel gap misalignment, Sync is a joke, etc.

When my wife's '06 Mazda died it was from a T-bone collision. It had 140k on the clock. It still didn't squeak or rattle, though the clearcoat was peeling.

It's like if you bought a Colt Gold Cup and the slide rattled and the trigger had a ton of slop in it. It may still shoot well, but fit and finish are not up to expectations.

Ford owned a big stake in Mazda for quite a long time, and it's as if they willfully ignored any build quality lessons or manufacturing processes that could've been gleaned from the Japanese. At least when GM and Toyota ran NUMMI together the Japanese quality and efficiency bled over to the General's side. Ford just marches stolidly on.

The Mustang is a gorgeous car (from most angles). It handles very well, and the drivetrain is great. At the price point I don't think there's anything to compete with it performance-wise. However, that doesn't mean that it should've been assembled by drunk transients and then passed through a QC check by an eager-to-please aging shepherd.

 

[Shawnski]

I was comparing my '15 premium to a '13 the other day and was surprised at how much more upscale the newer ones are. Previous years are just pathetic.

Not sure you have actual experience to quantify earlier cars as being "pathetic". SN95 were an improvement over the Fox body as that was an improvement over the Mustang II. I realize you were making a point, however each had particular models that were ho-hum and really good. The later Fox bodies had interiors that were every bit as good and functional as an Audi or BMW e30.

I would never call 5.0 HOs, SVO's, SVTs "pathetic" in quality or performance value.

 

[theduke]

Compared to my 2011 my 2016 is a nightmare fitment / small issues wise.
Hood to fender gaps way off, trunk misaligned, rear valence to quarter panels bowed and misaligned, bottom of passenger door bows outward, driver window drop isn't quick enough so it catches on the sill, paint drips / chips all over etc..the black part of the lower rear valence wasn't even fully clipped in on one side.
YES I should've looked it over carefully before I drove off but it was the last GT PP spec'd out the way I wanted within 1000 miles of me and I needed a car. Figured any issues I had would be taken care of after the fact.
One or two of those things and I wouldn't care at all but all of them together adds up to one poorly put together car, price point or no price point.
Now since I've recently had it turned into a golf ball thanks to springtime hail in North TX, I'll have the body shop fix those things. But it would've been nice to not have to address them at all.

 

[18psi]

Not sure you have actual experience to quantify earlier cars as being "pathetic". SN95 were an improvement over the Fox body as that was an improvement over the Mustang II. I realize you were making a point, however each had particular models that were ho-hum and really good. The later Fox bodies had interiors that were every bit as good and functional as an Audi or BMW e30.

I would never call 5.0 HOs, SVO's, SVTs "pathetic" in quality or performance value.

Perhaps, but I disagree.
We're talking about build quality of the whole car, completely. Not just the engine, or trans, or whatever. I don't think anyone will attempt to argue that the prev gen mustangs have good interiors, unless that person has owned nothing but ford/gm/domestic for their entire lifetime. Engine/Transmission is only a part of the big picture.

Doesn't mean older mustangs are "bad" by any means. People still love them, and willing to overlook the terrible interior and other things. For example I was willing to live with quite possibly the worst interior of all time (hehe) in my c5z because I loved the rest of the car so much.

 

[GTP]

The center of my hood sits noticeably lower than the front bumper and the hood is extremely difficult to close.

You can adjust your hood latch to correct both of those issues simultaneously.

 

[Kevin08]

^^This^^

Like the dudes buying the 1911 clone from the Philippines thinking it should look and shoot like a Colt Gold Cup.

Count me as one of the "silent majority" (no longer silent) that hasn't experienced any issues. Very happy with my S550.

Best,

I love my RIA and their pistols are much truer to the original design as JMB intended than any Series 80 Colt. Plus it's much more fun to shoot a $350 pistol that you're not worried about versus scratching and dinging up your $1,000 prize. My Colt usually sits in the safe while the RIA gets all of the mileage.

 

[MedStang]

Mine had some dirt here and there in the paint. A very minor scratch or two under the clear coat that looks like it occurred in the manufacturing process. Besides that, I don't have too much to complain about. Body panels all line up fine by my observation. Although, I do try not to look super hard for imperfections because they will drive me insane.

Sponsored