Body panel alignment issues

[Lord Thunder]

Yes on some cars. Unfortunately this is the "1st year of a new model" syndrome!

Odd, I have blindly ordered several lease cars that were the latest model and in their first year and never experienced panel alignment issues. Not even on Fords. Perhaps QC is stricter in/for Europe?

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[JoeySD]

Again.....what are the roles and responsibilities of the Ford Quality Control team when the cars roll off the assembly line? I'm curious how some of these obvious panel fitment issues are occurring.

Is anyone from Ford here that can answer this? I'm just curious as there seems to be so many people on here with body panel alignment issues. If I buy I band new 40k car I expect it to be perfect or is that way to unreasonable ??

Thanks !!

 

[aclos3]

They know about the issue since it has a fairly high rate of occurrence, but the fix must not be a simple one. The majority of buyers will not notice the issue or ask for it be fixed, so they've made the decision to send the misaligned cars to dealerships. Its cruel economics for us passionate Mustang fans, but the reality is that it is far cheaper for the company to fix a relative handful of vehicles for picky buyers than it is to fix all cars as they roll off the line.

EDIT: I should add that I have not bought one yet, and would buy one sight unseen (or order it) if it weren't for the bad stories I've read about panel alignment. I just hope I am able to find one that fits my criteria and is without panel alignment problems.

 

[Tom]

I bet the one's going to Europe don't have these fitment issues. They don't want the Mustang's to make a bad first impression there. I would think. To say most people wont notice the problem's or don't care, just don't cut it for me. The worker's that produce the car's get paid very well for what they do, and in return, I expect to get a car that's very well made, with no issues. It's that simple.

 

[Yamaha811]

I bet the one's going to Europe don't have these fitment issues. They don't want the Mustang's to make a bad first impression there. I would think. To say most people wont notice the problem's or don't care, just don't cut it for me. The worker's that produce the car's get paid very well for what they do, and in return, I expect to get a car that's very well made, with no issues. It's that simple.

I feel the same way and that's exactly what I told the body shop
From what the dealer told me after they gave me the new one was that ford didn't care to lost ONE customer they have thousands more

 

[Highwayman]

Overall mines pretty sloppy, front to the back. Most notably the left front fender to hood alignment. Not super anal about stuff like that, but pretty sad when panel fitment on any Japanese econo-box is better.

 

[FelixGER]

Rumor has it, the European export Mustangs will be more "premium" regarding build quality.
Maybe you US guys could re-import ;)

 

[JWS]

So I took delivery on Thursday, and told the sales manager that the Trunk Lid needed to be properly aligned, he took me out to the service bay and made me an appointment for this morning, I took it in and after about an hour the service manager tells me they don't know what to do, they were fiddling with the latch when you can see clearly that it has something to do with the mounting itself, i.e. the hinge assembly on either side. I say this because when it's closed, the driver's side (rear just above the black plastic at the seam) sticks up a little while the passenger side at the front portion is depressed a little (kinda caddy corner opposites). They took several pictures and are going to Ford for advice. Does anyone know if the hinge/lift assembly on each side has any adjustment for up and down or back to front?

A Big Hammer, a Welding Torch and a Re-Spray! Really, that's the only way I can see it being aligned. I will do it on my car if Ford can't! Should they foot the bill?

 

[SkapeGote]

On topic, I have worked on my car projects over the years. Most issues like this can be adjusted out by the dealership. In really bad cases they will replace who cars. I hope this turns out for you.

Regards and respect,

Skape

 

[Luckystang]

My back glass on the driver side is lower than the passenger side making the brake light on the right side look lower than the left. After speaking to my dealer and them calling Ford, I was told they would do what ever it takes to make the repairs. The problem is they do not know what causes the issue and not sure how to make it right. I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place. In my opinion, its not the brake light positioning nor the glass positioning but I think it could be the roof panel out of line or stamped deeper on one side than the other from the factory. Just guessing on the last one. Any help would be appreciated. By the way I've had 6 mustangs and this one is my favorite, I love it.

 

[PonyGrrrl]

My back glass on the driver side is lower than the passenger side making the brake light on the right side look lower than the left. After speaking to my dealer and them calling Ford, I was told they would do what ever it takes to make the repairs. The problem is they do not know what causes the issue and not sure how to make it right. I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place. In my opinion, its not the brake light positioning nor the glass positioning but I think it could be the roof panel out of line or stamped deeper on one side than the other from the factory. Just guessing on the last one. Any help would be appreciated. By the way I've had 6 mustangs and this one is my favorite, I love it.

Have them give you a new one, you shouldn't have to have your new car have major body work. They'll never get it right.

I feel your pain, every effing panel on my car is way out of alignment, creases in so many panels, it looks like it was in a wreck and a 5 year old did the body work

This is by far my favorite Mustang and it's not my first Pony! Where the hell is quality control? I'm asking for a replacement, no way in hell is anyone tearing apart my brand new car and putting it back together and returning it to me. To me that's not fair and I am insisting mine be replaced and you should do the same.


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[pyrophilus]

I seem to have minor things, such as driver's side hood curvature along front fender doesn't have the exact arc of the fender itself.

The passenger side trunk edge is 1/16th to 1/8th inch higher than the fender.

But no real gap inconsistencies. I just am annoyed to heck by the rattling headlamp switch center piece.

What does annoy me is that at night, when the headlamps are on, the top of the headlamp housing bleeds light up, and it shows through the gap between hood edge and the fender (on top of the lamp housing). I know some cars have a "black plastic trim" on top of the housing to minimize bleeding of light into cracks between panels... I love my car to death, but these little things I feel like Ford could have spent extra $0.50 to put two plastic trims on top of the lamp housing.

 

[JWS]

Glass

My back glass on the driver side is lower than the passenger side making the brake light on the right side look lower than the left. After speaking to my dealer and them calling Ford, I was told they would do what ever it takes to make the repairs. The problem is they do not know what causes the issue and not sure how to make it right. I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place. In my opinion, its not the brake light positioning nor the glass positioning but I think it could be the roof panel out of line or stamped deeper on one side than the other from the factory. Just guessing on the last one. Any help would be appreciated. By the way I've had 6 mustangs and this one is my favorite, I love it.

My Glass is like that too, near the roof panel. It could be a lack of adhesive on that side near the roof, as the trunk area isn't so bad. An alternative could be that the glass is warped. Not everyone's is like this.


Also, the left rear quarter panel has a hole for the fuel filler. This could be pulling things out of alignment when it is welded in the fixture. Or, because of the filler hole, the whole stamping is distorted. My quarter panel has excess metal over the top of the tail light where it is welded to the trunk opening. There was a wavy portion and then the corner, which pushed on the top of the tail light housing. If you look straight down on the bottom of the housing, over the bumper and compare it to the right side, my housing is pushed in enough to mis align with the center plastic on the trunk lid. The right side of the trunk lid is above the fender on even the GT350. Gaps in the lid lip leave an odd shaped opening above the tail lights.

The Clay model is what is should look like . . . almost. They even made mistakes here too.

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