Passenger Door and Fender Rubbing and Chipping Door Paint

[broncodream]

Hi All,

I'm hoping to get some advice on an issue I'm having with my new Bronco and of course the worthless dealership and Ford.

I purchased a brand new 2023 Ford Bronco 2 months ago. I'm am not an expert in auto manufacturing, but there appears to be either a manufacturer defect or some other issue that is causing the passenger side door to rub against the passenger side fender and chip the paint. So far the dealership has refused to help. Aside from refusing to help or call me back they've managed to refer me to their collision shop. I've just contacted @Ford this morning, but I hold out very little hope they'll do anything. I've attached some pics.

Have any of you experienced ill fitting panels that have rubbed together and chopped the paint? What would you do?

The options I've been given so far are:

1. have it touched up with basic tough up paint
2. bring it to the dealer owned collision shop and deal with (pay for it myself)
3. open a ticket with Ford if it's a manufacturer defect .. the dealer is claiming I have to deal with Ford

I've only just started to try to figure this out. I don't think that suing is the right move as It would cost much more in lawyer fees and heartache for me. Any constructive thoughts are welcome. Thanks.

Sponsored

 

[JBlanco]

Touch up will only mask the problem until you open the door again. If you plan on paying for yourself, why bring it to the dealership? Just find a reputable body shop and have them handle it.

Have you tried other dealerships?

 

[Phil Brown]

I dont think that the door chipped the paint in the middle of the other pannel, most likley it was what someone drug across the door jamb area so not really Fords responsibility to fix, but an easy fix for any body shop

 

[Dan-O]

The pics show door edge when open and closed but I don’t see where they are touching/rubbing.???

 

[0ne]

Look like rock chips and someone with a key ring on their belt went across the door edge. I gave up on perfection 200 miles in when the Sasquatch tires pelted the sides with rocks. Drive the shit out of it and enjoy!!

 

[broncodream]

The pics show door edge when open and closed but I don’t see where they are touching/rubbing.???

It's more of an assumption that it is/was rubbing at some point. Maybe at highway speeds? I don't know. It's kina mysterious because it's not presently rubbing, but it's a super close. I don't want to have it touched up or repainted without knowing how this happened and if it'll happen again. The owner of the ceramic coating shop showed me where the passenger fender appeared to be further back toward the door than the drive side. And how the driver side gap is much bigger. I still haven't' been able to have anyone from Ford asses this. They're blowing me off.

 

[frdfan]

Have you physically taken the truck to the dealer to have them look at it? I'm assuming your dealer has a body shop. They can't blow you off if you're on their service drive.

 

[Dan-O]

It's more of an assumption that it is/was rubbing at some point. Maybe at highway speeds? I don't know. It's kina mysterious because it's not presently rubbing, but it's a super close. I don't want to have it touched up or repainted without knowing how this happened and if it'll happen again. The owner of the ceramic coating shop showed me where the passenger fender appeared to be further back toward the door than the drive side. And how the driver side gap is much bigger. I still haven't' been able to have anyone from Ford asses this. They're blowing me off.

I totally understand and agree with addressing the issue before repairing. I just could not see from pics that it was making contact. Did the dealer refer you to their collision body shop telling you it would not be covered under warranty, or were they referring you to them to get it repaired under warranty? Also are you working with the dealer where the Bronco was purchased? Either way, if the current dealer you’re working with is not getting it done, maybe you could find another dealer and get it looked at and then see if they can either correct any problem or for them to let the other dealer know it genuinely needs to be corrected. Hope you can get it taken of!!

 

[vicorjh]

Kind of looks like someone (dealer?) may have already tried to touch those up:

 

[Mad Martigan]

My passenger door does not make contact with the fender but it is very close to make contact when I open the door. It is much closer than the driver side. I missed it when I took delivery of the vehicle or I would have asked about it. Fortunately it does not make contact at the moment. I have not looked to see if the door or the fender could be adjusted to widen the clearance closer to what the driver side shows.

 

[flip]

I'd look at the fender bolts to see if there are witness marks from being adjusted or moved. Could've happened at the plant and they did a quick fix or might have arrived at the dealer like that and it's anyone's guess what went down.

Compare gap from side to side and around the door itself. I don't think there's a spec but they should be fairly equal. If it's still close to touching, may require both a fender and door adjustment depending on where the issue is. If it's not through the paint yet, the OE touch-up pen has color and clear. I would try to fix adjustment problem first then do everything possible to avoid repainting as there's a high probability, even with a good painter, it won't match the adjacent panels exactly and end up blending or doing the whole side.

 

[BoverW]

It was a windy day and the wind blew my door wildly and bent the hinge mount. Immediately I noticed that my door would contact the fender when I opened it. (It has a clear pop noise)
My dealer fixed the rubbing door issue using their body shop (but not perfectly. )

So if you think it rubs, then you can see it when you open it.

 

[ecasazza]

I agree, if the door was sprung open past the stop, the hinge or mounts could be bent and this will cause the door to rub the fender ( I have seen it happen before) a good body shop can adjust the door and replace the bent hinge, if needed.

 

[broncodream]

Touch up will only mask the problem until you open the door again. If you plan on paying for yourself, why bring it to the dealership? Just find a reputable body shop and have them handle it.

Have you tried other dealerships?

Not yet and the goal to not pay for it myself. I've never had a manufacturer or dealer take zero responsibility for something like this. In fact never bought a vehicle that was so poorly put together. I expect a vehicle that can be taken apart to not be perfect, but at least stand behind it. I thought about bringing to another dealer, but I'm afraid I'd turn around and drive it through the front door if they blew it off too. I may have to eat this just to keep my mental health near stable.

 

[broncodream]

The pics show door edge when open and closed but I don’t see where they are touching/rubbing.???

That's the mystery and yet another reason Ford will reject fixing it. I know how this sounds. Clear signs of rubbing, but not currently rubbing. Clear signs of touched up chips, but now there are newer untouched chips. I'm pretty sure there's no way the dealer will admit they touched it up (or the port maybe?) and def will not take responsibility due to mileage, how long I've had it and the mysterious on again off again issue. I'm working up to just dealing with it on my own, but not a good feeling considering how much these POS's cost to purchase.

Sponsored