OEM cargo mat scratching inside of tailgate

[Palmermc]

Hi all,
I just spent the past week down in Joshua Tree breaking in my FR in the desert -it was a great time. The trip revealed a bunch of issues. One of which is particularly maddening.

I picked up the rubber arego area mat before we left, which is generally pretty nice (however why the hell does the customer need to manually cut out the openings for the cargo hooks!?). About 2 days into our trip and after loading sandy gear in and out of the cargo area, I noticed a trail of scratches and serious little wear marks on the inside of the tailgate - many right down and into the bare metal. What happening is that small rocks and sand are sticking to the little flange on the leading edge of the cargo mat. If the cargo mat isn’t slid all the way forward (and there’s nothing to retain it fully forward), and debris that’s stuck to this flange gets closed against the inside of the tailgate and abrades the finish. Also, anything else in the cargo area that makes contact with the inside of the tailgate also scratches up the paint.

This design is bullshit. They didn’t think this design through, and probably didn’t include this mat in their product testing cycles as it’s likely the accessories were designed after the rest of the vehicle was baked and by different staff. They could have resolved this by retaining the matbetter so it can’t make contact, or modifying the inside of the tailgate so that this contact area isn’t just painted metal but plastic or rubberized. I wish their design team spent more time working out details like this than writing BS ‘accessory ready’ all over the truck - actually make the thing accessory ready and think it through!

Anyhow, this is disappointing and I’m going to raise the issue with my dealer - maybe I can get a new tailgate and refund on the mat out of it. I’ll keep you posted, and beware!

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[dan79]

what brand mat did you buy?

 

[Bronco cat]

I would ppf at least the bottom if not all the tailgate.

 

[FJ 432]

You want a new tailgate?

 

[niterider006]

So you're saying you didn't have the mat pushed all the way in, and had rocks and sand in your trunk and you're surprised that you have some scratches on a painted tailgate as a result?

 

[StrictlyBroncos]

So you're saying you didn't have the mat pushed all the way in, and had rocks and sand in your trunk and you're surprised that you have some scratches on a painted tailgate as a result?

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Tricky Dick]

This kind of stuff is why I suggested LineX in the unpainted tailgate thread. Wait til you have other cargo rolling around back there, that paint is going to be hammered in a couple years.

 

[dan79]

My thoughts exactly.

but its my bronco and I want to cry now!!! but i get it it sucks but kinda ur own fault

 

[Shotsy]

Um, reminds me of Sharon and her Thanksgiving pie...
https://www.boredpanda.com/karen-burns-her-pie-blames-marie-callenders-people-react/

Like @niterider006 and @StrictlyBroncos said, it seems like this may not be Ford's fault...

 

[niterider006]

This kind of stuff is why I suggested LineX in the unpainted tailgate thread. Wait til you have other cargo rolling around back there, that paint is going to be hammered in a couple years.

I mean if someone is that concerned about it, they can always just get some spray on bedliner and coat the tailgate with it.

 

[dan79]

 

[pan-y-cerveza]

Unless there's an attachment point they will slide. The same thing happens in my 4Runner except there's no paint to rub and very little dirt inside of course. The painted tailgate is bound to get damaged in many ways. Same as my plastic tailgate is scratched up.


I'd just PPF that, like mentioned, or find a way to manually attach the mat. Or not worry about it.

 

[604Bronco]

This kind of stuff is why I suggested LineX in the unpainted tailgate thread. Wait til you have other cargo rolling around back there, that paint is going to be hammered in a couple years.

My quick win is to strap a pillow to the inside of the tailgate. That'll help cushion hopes and dreams rolling around back there.

Anyways, I agree - I feel like the cargo mat wasn't pushed all the way in. I initially didn't do this on my Jeep when I got my cargo mat, but realized it right away when it looked like it wasn't fitting properly.

 

[Tricky Dick]

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