Panel Gap Issues

[ChaoticFury09]

Good morning everyone,

Just looking for some assistance regarding an issue with my 2018 Mustang. I have two issues regarding my bumper and hood. The hood appears to have very narrow panel gap near the front and then gets much larger towards the windshield. I took the best photos I can, but I can easily stack multiple coins and drop them through the gap. I am not sure if this is normal. Took it to the dealership and they said they couldn't fix it and wouldn't touch it. There is also a noticeable gap between the fender and the hood. The hood sits about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch lower than the fender. Very easy to see while driving. Photos attached below.

I also have a gap in my bumper, this is much more minor but super annoying on a new car. I had the dealership take the bumper off twice and they said they can't make it any better than it is.

Just wondering if anyone has experienced anything like this or had any advice on what I should do.

Thanks for any help in advance.

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[bluebeastsrt]

Panel gaps have sucked on the S550 mustangs since 2015. This is nothing new.

 

[ChaoticFury09]

Panel gaps have sucked on the S550 mustangs since 2015. This is nothing new.

Well that sucks. First Mustang for me so I wasn't aware. Any advice on what to do next? Is it worth pursuing with the dealership?

 

[bluebeastsrt]

I doubt the dealer will do anything for you. But it never hurts to ask.

 

[ChaoticFury09]

You would think for a car that costs this much money they could get the panel gaps sorted out. It's not like it's a $10,000 car.

 

[Mazman]

The gap on the fender, half of the cars on the lot had that when I picked mine up including mine.

I just pushed on the fender and I believe whatever clip that was there got seated correctly.

Regarding the hood I have the same issue. As you are saying I cannot understand how this is and has been acceptable. The car was 55k otd....

 

[Timeless]

The truth is you should have brought this up before taking delivery as you would have had much more leverage.

Hopefully Ford or the dealership will help out.

 

[Draklia]

The truth is you should have brought this up before taking delivery as you would have had much more leverage.

Hopefully Ford or the dealership will help out.

X2. They will jump through hoops to fix that stuff when they still want your money and signature now that they have it they won’t care.

 

[ChaoticFury09]

X2. They will jump through hoops to fix that stuff when they still want your money and signature now that they have it they won’t care.

That is the unfortunate part of this situation. Honestly the dealership has been pretty good but it's already been there a bunch of times. At this point I just want to drive my new car. I called Ford Corporate and they are assigning someone to the case. Hopefully I get some results out of that.

100% agree with Mazman, it shouldn't look like that. Manufacturing always has issues or flaws and I could accept some variation but at this point it is to much.

 

[Maggneto]

I had 3 panels that needed adjustment. I took it to a Ford dealership in the area with a body shop and it was corrected in 45 minutes while my wife waited in the lobby. If you can find a Ford dealership with a body shop that is your best bet. Otherwise Ford will send it to a body shop for a 30 minute adjustment.

I can't believe that Ford still allows these cars to leave the manufacturer with these panel gaps. Who is running the quality assurance program at Ford, and how in the hell does that clown keep the job?

 

[Mazman]

My trunk lid has at some point touched the rear fender so the paint has been chipped on the lid and the fender (not yet addressed)

My passenger door had at some point touched the front fender so the paint had chipped on the door and fender(this has been spot painted)

My driver door still looks like it is not fully closed eventhough it has been at a shop

I can go on some more.....

 

[HoosierDaddy]

You would think for a car that costs this much money they could get the panel gaps sorted out. It's not like it's a $10,000 car.

They could if they wanted. Its as much OUR fault (collectively). The better the gaps the more it costs. The more it costs the more people buy a Camaro (or anything else). When they lose more sales from the gaps than they would from the price increase, the gaps will improve. And as it gets cheaper to have better gaps, that will happen. The simple fact is a LOT of us complain but still buy one, proving them right.

 

[ChaoticFury09]

They could if they wanted. Its as much OUR fault (collectively). The better the gaps the more it costs. The more it costs the more people buy a Camaro (or anything else). When they lose more sales from the gaps than they would from the price increase, the gaps will improve. And as it gets cheaper to have better gaps, that will happen. The simple fact is a LOT of us complain but still buy one, proving them right.

I agree that collectively it is our fault but at the same time I’ve never seen Kia’s or Hyundai’s with panel gap issues like this so its hard for me to believe they can’t do it for our cars that cost similar or more. I had a $25,000 used Lexus that had zero gap issues ever.

I’ll try to get it to a dealership with a body shop.

 

[Maggneto]

I agree that collectively it is our fault but at the same time I’ve never seen Kia’s or Hyundai’s with panel gap issues like this so its hard for me to believe they can’t do it for our cars that cost similar or more. I had a $25,000 used Lexus that had zero gap issues ever.

I’ll try to get it to a dealership with a body shop.

We are on our 4th Hyundai since 2012 and zero body panel issues. 3 of the Hyundai's were built in the US south. Maybe Ford should move production to the South to improve quality since the northern union monkeys don't take any pride in their work.

I love my Mustang but it will be a cold day in hell when I buy another Ford product unless quality control improves.

 

[ChaoticFury09]

We are on our 4th Hyundai since 2012 and zero body panel issues. 3 of the Hyundai's were built in the US south. Maybe Ford should move production to the South to improve quality since the northern union monkeys don't take any pride in their work.

Thanks for confirming what I thought. Lots of other car companies can do it, (except Tesla) I don’t think it’s unreasonable to except it from Ford.

Regarding where it’s made, I can’t speak to that but if I was working on Mustangs I would take great pride to make it perfect as possible since this community truly values The Mustang, it’s heritage and prides themselves on showing off what a beautiful piece of craftsmanship they really are.

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