Just found a pretty big quality control issue on my brand new vehicle. How to fix?

[sigintel]

edit: zoomed in that looks like fabric not paint. It just needs to be slid aft/out/toward wheel. Its looks just wedged in there.

First off, when attacked by horde of Smurfs, avoid the reverse burnout AKA death blossom maneuver. Try the first gear "Car n Coffee" maneuver, even if you dont kill all the Smurfs, enough people with cameras and cops will show up to insure your safety. If you see Smurfet, watch your man, she WILL try n steal him from you.

Second, just imagine that you had a piece of floss break off and get stuck between your teeth. Basically that is what this looks like except its might be polyester rope. Maybe try grabbing pieces and dragging then aft or towards the wheel. Turn the steering before you start working give yourself room.

Do you have a pair of toenail or fingernail nippers?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07J6B3W12/
Or eyebrow tweezers?
Try either of those?

Do not CUT, just try to use the nippers to drag pieces out of the slot. Squeeze just hard enough to get a grip on a couple threads at a time. You might try having someone else pull downward on the black plastic to see if the slot opens enough to let you drag that crap out.

If still stuck, Maybe give if medium heat w blow dryer to soften black plastic.
Keep hairdryer at least 10" away to start and use back of hand and stop heating if it gets so hot it feels like it would burn back of your hand if you graze plastic to check. (130-150F max). Plastic is insulator to it may take 20 minutes to get it soft.

Welcome to Mustang ownership and the forums!

If all that doesn't work, go get a smurf doll and cut the head off, then jam it by the hair in the same slot and drive over to the dealership and ask them to get ALL of it out.

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[WD Pro]

That’s simply a bit of wash cloth stuck in Fords standard fit shut line that’s purposely designed to grab said bits of wash cloth …

Here is your problem and how to fix it :

Similar with the realignment of things, this was the other side rear valance (finger provided purely to provide a bit of contrast to highlight the gap lol) :

And after 60 seconds with a 7mm socket :

WD

 

[The Dark Horse]

Probably not a major issue, but I totally get the frustration of waiting that long and spending that kind of money to have something like that missed.
If you are worried about making it worse by trying to pull it out, definitely give your dealer a call and they should take care of it in quick order as they missed it during their prep....which you paid for.

 

[luca1290]

My custom order literally came off the truck at my dealership yesterday and I picked it up the same day. I was so eager to get it home after waiting since June that I somehow managed to miss this obvious flaw. No idea what this is or how to fix it. Should I ask the dealership to take care of it or could I fix it at home?

Really?
Mine came with:
- Heavily tar"ish" contaminaed wheels. Had to clean them in the shower with tar cleaner and wheel cleaner. (fixed)
- Lower engine cover full of stones because the transporters had a joyride. (fixed)
- Unaligned front bonnet. (have to find time to fix it, should be easy)
- Scratch on the clearcoat on the trunk (have to go in body shop)
- Scratch on the paint on the lower portion on the rear quarter (have to go in body shop)

I envy your "pretty big quality control issue". How would you describe mine?

 

[Skye]

If you haven't done so already, consider going to the dealer today to document now and discuss.

I was given three days to find anything which could be considered a claim, damage during shipment. Afterwards, the dealer advised it was my responsibility. YMMV.

Another aspect to consider, you might make the best attempt to correct the problem, only to cause more issues with this or something else. The dealer is required to provide the car in an expected condition. Do they have a supporting body shop (not the detailers at the dealer) you could review with and discuss?

 

[luca1290]

Another aspect to consider, you might make the best attempt to correct the problem, only to cause more issues with this or something else.

That's the point. I know how to correct these conditions much better than they do. So I decided to put my time and money to solve 5 problems instead of wasting my time and come back with 10.

The dealer is required to provide the car in an expected condition. Do they have a supporting body shop (not the detailers at the dealer) you could review with and discuss?

Their body shop will do a half assed job, so I'm taking Janey this spring to a specialized one.

 

[IPOGT]

Literally I already have a lemon as a mustang, waited 6 months for this one, and they sent it to me with some crap fused to the trim

100% normal. Flat rock pride in assembly. Every car they assemble has something not right. If you don’t think so, you just haven’t found it yet.

 

[Project]

If you want to try and remove it yourself, you could jack that side up and remove the (2) 7mm screws closest to the wheel holding the diffuser to the body and see if it'll come out.

 

[Nightmonkey]

That is smurf skin and is placed there before delivery by the dealer according to Ford's instructions, so that the great gap dimensions from the vehicle do not become an eye catcher.

Have you never washed your car by hand and lost a fiber of your wash glove at a slit?
Simply pull out in the direction of the slit.

- Lower engine cover full of stones because the transporters had a joyride. (fixed)

That evantually are the rocks from the parking lot in Flat Rock! (Seriously!)
Their concrete surfaces are in exactly the same condition as some other roads in the US.
You can even see on Google Maps how poor the condition of the lots are.

- Unaligned front bonnet. (have to find time to fix it, should be easy)

The dealer instruction regarding the smurf skin should definitely be applied in Europe as well.
Honestly, you know beforehand how good the gaps are on a Mustang!?

Have you looked to see if your rear window was bonded in straight?
After bonding, the body is turned on its side at the factory, which causes the window to be misaligned if not enough bonding time has passed. (This is then a real quality issue coming from the manufacturing process).

 

[MattMPA]

100% normal. Flat rock pride in assembly. Every car they assemble has something not right. If you don’t think so, you just haven’t found it yet.

Exactly. Infuriating? Disappointing? Yes. Takes the joy out of a new car.

My '22 GT has a few "little things" that truly made me feel the same way when taking delivery of an almost $50,000 car. In my case, I chose to "live with it" as the fixes would likely cause a bigger problem.

When I bought the 2000 Viper GTS that I still have, I had the same feelings over fit and finish items.

I came to terms with all this by realizing that nothing is perfect, and I have to accept same. When I had the PPF put on my '22 GT, the installer was commenting how bad the fit and finish is on Teslas and some expensive Italian cars.He actually thought the GT was pretty good overall.

To the OP - I agree that your concern looks like car wash brush remnants...pull 'em out. Enjoy your new Mustang.

 

[luca1290]

Honestly, you know beforehand how good the gaps are on a Mustang!?

I thought I knew, but I was a little unprepared to this.
Well, you love the car for other reasons....

 

[vanquishvzla]

So much drama for such a little thing…

 

[IPOGT]

So much drama for such a little thing…

That’s what forums are for!!!

 

[luke1333]

Can you remove lip and pull off and reinstall lip?

 

[dmcg940]

Might be easier to remove if you loosen the splitter screw.

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