Trunk "buckling" in center, paint rubbing off inside

[mikeyjobu]

My trunk has been hard to close since I picked the car up, but the alignment seemed to be good. I washed the car Monday before putting it away, and covering it up. I got it out yesterday, and noticed some very, very faint dents in trunk, in the very center along the back of the trunk in the portion of the lid where it kicks up as an integrated spoiler -- it's really easy to miss -- it's easiest to see bent down from the side to look at the surface. I opened up the trunk and checked along the inside, and there are two spots where paint has rubbed off at the far left and right of the inside -- it's like there's a "spring action" on the trunk latch that has caused the trunk to begin to deform right above where it latches.

Has anyone had this issue? It seems like this should be a warranty issue. I'm sure a paintless dent repair guy could fix it for very little cash, but if the underlying problem isn't addressed, it would likely keep happening. There are no scratches or anything like that on the outside -- just on the inside where the trunk makes contact. I'm guessing there's contact when driving and that the small amount of movement and flexing that occurs is a contributing factor.

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[GT Pony]

Is there really some kind of contact way up inside the trunk where the top back edge with the little rise "spoiler" is? I thought the latch was way down towards the bottom of the lid. Maybe from slamming the trunk lid? If you adjust the latch it should be much easier to close.

 

[mikeyjobu]

No - the contact is on two points of the bottom edge of the trunk lid: one on either side. You may be right, but Ford should do whatever latch adjustment is required to prevent the deformation, fix the buckling, etc. It's as though with the trunk latched, the corners of the trunk push up on the latch.

I mostly use the GT emblem to close the trunk - as strong as I am, I don't think I have enough finger strength to put dings in the trunk with my bare hands shutting the trunk. I just ran out to look at it again after your response. It's really odd looking - it just doesn't look at all like something pressed on the trunk - zero marks. I'll look at my car cover when I put it on tomorrow - if something fell on the car, surely it would leave a mark on the cover, at least.

 

[GT Pony]

No - the contact is on two points of the bottom edge of the trunk lid: one on either side.

So the contact is between the lip of the center section and the top of the rear bumper - near the corners next to each tail light?

Mine was rubbing there slightly until I raised the trunk latch up a millimeter or two. I doubt the trunk is so weak & flexible that having contact there would cause it to bend/crease at the top edge. Seems the plastic bumper/fascia would flex first it.

 

[mikeyjobu]

So the contact is between the lip of the center section and the top of the rear bumper - near the corners next to each tail light?

Mine was rubbing there slightly until I raised the trunk latch up a millimeter or two. I doubt the trunk is so weak & flexible that having contact there would cause it to bend/crease at the top edge. Seems the plastic bumper/fascia would flex first it.

Yeah -- you're probably right -- It seems like it's strong enough back there. It's still really odd to me -- looks like I'll have to get a good paintless dent repair guy...

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