Panel gaps - LV focus

fromthefridge · 30-12-2011, 10:14 PM

Hey all

I discovered this afternoon that when I open the right rear door, the front edge of the door rubs against the back edge of the drivers door. I've had the car just over two months and bought it new at runout sale.

I noticed on the paper from the 3000km service that one of the items was check and adjust door. As far as I know, it wasn't doing it before the service, but then again, I don't often open that door so wouldn't be sure. As far as i can tell, the paint is stuffed now.

I rang the service department at the local dealer and the service advisor's initial response when I asked what needed to happen was to take it to a panel shop. Apparently there is a limited time to claim some things. Then I asked about the item on the service paper and he said that they might have to pay for it. He really didn't fill me with confidence, so I emailed ford directly.

Has anyone else had any similar problem?

In Focus · 30-12-2011, 10:30 PM

I thought this problem sounded familiar. Have a look at this link below.

http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthr...t=edge%2C+door

fromthefridge · 30-12-2011, 10:51 PM

Ergh. Hopefully it's not that bad, and just the checking and adjusting gone wrong. Either way, it's going to have to be painted, which I'm not keen on cos of mismatching colours.

Ill see if a mate who is a spraypainter can go over it and see if the rest of the car is right.

Russ · 31-12-2011, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by In Focus

I thought this problem sounded familiar. Have a look at this link below.

http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthr...t=edge%2C+door

That was an obvious Friday arvo special assembly job :( I had exactly the same issue with my drivers door and had it adjusted at the dealer, it was not a big deal and is an easy fix

fromthefridge · 31-12-2011, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russ

That was an obvious Friday arvo special assembly job :( I had exactly the same issue with my drivers door and had it adjusted at the dealer, it was not a big deal and is an easy fix

Had the paint been damaged? The top coat of the paint along the edge is worn through on mine :(

In Focus · 31-12-2011, 02:45 PM

I had to look at mine, and while the two doors don't actually touch, boy are they close! It's no wonder a slightly misaligned door/s can cause the problems as described.

Franco Cozzo · 31-12-2011, 02:51 PM

Interesting, I might have to go take a look at mine.

Russ · 31-12-2011, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fromthefridge

Had the paint been damaged? The top coat of the paint along the edge is worn through on mine :(

Mine had a small dark mark on it about 50cm long which came off with a light rub of cut and polish

I would suggest that as it is a warranty issue If the mark won't buff out it should also be covered and repaired under warranty

fromthefridge · 06-01-2012, 01:36 PM

My spraypainter mate had a look at it last night. He said they shouldn't have needed to adjust it unless water was coming in, which it wasn't as far as I know. He said they would have moved the striker inwards, which has brought the door in about a mm. You can clearly see the misallignment of the panels now.

The plus side is that the other panelbeater that he shared the workshop with is the guy who the dealership use, so that is some relief that it will be a reputable repairer.

fromthefridge · 14-01-2012, 11:47 AM

I've had a few emails and phonecalls this week. The most satisfying email was from the dealership, and initially was unrelated.

They send out customer satisfaction surveys after each service, asking for a rating out of 1-10. I gave them a minus 3 and explained about the door gap and the poor response from the service advisor. I also said I thought it was a bit backwards that they wait until the other parts arrive before checking the door as the door skin is flexing and could be warping everytime i open the door. And whattaya know, it's now booked in for monday for them to have a look at it, and a loan car will be provided.

I've also heard back from Ford HQ, they will be liasing with the dealership until it is fixed. The first call from them was still going with "wait til the parts for the other issue are in" and the call yesterday said they are hoping the parts will be in darwin by monday.

The stupid thing is, if the guy at the dealership hadn't been so unhelpful on the phone, and stuck to sorting out problems, rather than trying to get the dealership out of doing warranty work, I wouldn't be ranting on here or in emails to customer satisfaction surveys about the problem!