Mustang Panel Alignment Problems

[Rag]

LOL

The fact that you think only expensive luxury vehicles have better alignment worries me.

My VW Polo, budget Renault Clio, Toyota Yaris, Peugeot 307 and all them cars had a better alignment. WAY better than Ford.

Ford is just super bad in this. No need to cover them up by telling that it is not a Jaguar.

It's a sham thata great pony car that costs over 50k looks like an aftermarket built car.

RIGHT. Having seen and owned many on your list. either you got units better than most. or are FOS. and trolling.

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[Ace]

"Before buying a Mustang, check the panels, because in America they have different standards than us, they don't care much about panels that rub against each other or panels with gaps, so if you don't like that, check for the panels".

It's sad this rumor still sticks out, especially since most american cars don't have any alignment problems. Never seen a Camaro with any of this, but tons of really bad aligned Mustangs, even GT500 where the trunk lid was scratching the bumper through contact or where you could put a finger under the headlights when the refresh launched.

Here is another angle which really hurts my eye.

The first Belgian Mustang S650 GT.

Look at the trunkpanel around the rear lights. This picture is smaller than the real life size of this flaw. Imagine how big of this misalignment would look in real life.

With things like this, I would definitely take it to the garage to have it fixed. Because everytime I look at the rear, my eyes go directly to that part.

But on this, I really wonder how this happens.
- Is the trunk good but not well fitted?
- Is it a trunk production error?
- Is it a production error of the panel right from the trunk
- Is the panel right from the trunk not well placed?

Pretty much every S650 I see on pictures has exact this issue above the rearlights. But I maybe just saw the problem. The upper part of the trunk is actually not part of the trunk, but a screwed or glued on seperate panel, wtf!?
So if it's not glued on, it might be possible to unscrew it and readjust it.

 

[KINGKONA]

You don't have compare to a direct competitor to a Ford Mustang to see that a cheaper costing Kia or Hyundai has better panel alignment regardless of 2 doors or 4. That's a ridiculous comment to make....son

O.k.

Since there seems to be a tremendous amount of ignorance on this topic;

You're going to build a new Mustang. Ford gives you a sum of money to do that. That sum is based on projected sales and anticipated profits.

Part of developing a new Mustang is that you also have to set-up the production/assembly line. You can spend millions of dollars to improve "build quality" by investing into your production facilities and people, or you can use that money for development into 20 more HP, better suspension, re-designing the car, a new interior, and on, and on, and on.....

So......which would you like?

You can have your better build quality by investing your millions of dollars into new production equipment and people, OR you can make a nice, shiny "new" S650 Mustang with lots of new content. But you can't have both.

Of course there is a 3rd possibility; raise prices by thousands of dollars per unit, and do both. But that's not what Ford chooses to do.

Ford chooses to go the cheap route, and to keep prices low. Therefore Fords are cheap cars. They're built cheaply, by cheaply trained and equipped employees.....who are unfortunately HIGHLY paid due to union efforts, further forcing Ford to build the cars cheaply.

So......ya'll can deal with that reality, or keep crying about it. But I promise you, crying about it won't change anything.

 

[KINGKONA]

It's sad this rumor still sticks out, especially since most american cars don't have any alignment problems. Never seen a Camaro with any of this, but tons of really bad aligned Mustangs, even GT500 where the trunk lid was scratching the bumper through contact or where you could put a finger under the headlights when the refresh launched.

Pretty much every S650 I see on pictures has exact this issue above the rearlights. But I maybe just saw the problem. The upper part of the trunk is actually not part of the trunk, but a screwed or glued on seperate panel, wtf!?
So if it's not glued on, it might be possible to unscrew it and readjust it.

These are pre-production models.

Seems all you Euros know about Mustangs is what you see in pictures.

 

[BrianJ77]

I hear what everyone is saying on this thread and I do agree that for the money the alignment of body and interior panels should be good if not very good. I also get that in the end these are mass produced vehicles, and let's not forget all we have seen are pre-production models. CEO Jim Farley is dedicated to increasing quality at Ford so we may see an improvement in production Mustangs over the pre-production units. I believe that is why they had so many test mules out and about to work out all the bugs and kinks before it arrives in the hands of the customer. Ford is watching this forum and paying attention. I think that what actually comes out of the factory will be better quality/fit & finish over the pre-production units. Just my $.02.

 

[Gregs24]

Yet another thread that descends into childish willy waving!

Panel gaps are entirely down to production facilities and standards. Ford make cheap cars in Europe with much better panel gaps and paint finishes than the US made cars, so they know how to do it!

My Mustang (2019) is OK, but not quite as good as my wife's 2021 Kuga (Escape) made in Spain.

What would be interesting / a bit more scientific would be to compare a European built Kuga with a US made Escape where you can rule out design differences.

 

[wilkinda65]

O.k.

Since there seems to be a tremendous amount of ignorance on this topic;

You're going to build a new Mustang. Ford gives you a sum of money to do that. That sum is based on projected sales and anticipated profits.

Part of developing a new Mustang is that you also have to set-up the production/assembly line. You can spend millions of dollars to improve "build quality" by investing into your production facilities and people, or you can use that money for development into 20 more HP, better suspension, re-designing the car, a new interior, and on, and on, and on.....

So......which would you like?

You can have your better build quality by investing your millions of dollars into new production equipment and people, OR you can make a nice, shiny "new" S650 Mustang with lots of new content. But you can't have both.

Of course there is a 3rd possibility; raise prices by thousands of dollars per unit, and do both. But that's not what Ford chooses to do.

Ford chooses to go the cheap route, and to keep prices low. Therefore Fords are cheap cars. They're built cheaply, by cheaply trained and equipped employees.....who are unfortunately HIGHLY paid due to union efforts, further forcing Ford to build the cars cheaply.

So......ya'll can deal with that reality, or keep crying about it. But I promise you, crying about it won't change anything.

I wasn't crying about anything. Show me where I was "crying" about anything. I simply stated that it is possible to have quality built cars in this price point. I've also owned much higher priced cars whose quality was nothing special either....called BMW. Hell, I've own much cheaper cars with great quality so whats your point?

I've owned a 2015 Mustang GT LE (Kona Blue), a 2018 GT, a 2020 Shelby GT500 and a 2021 Mustang Mach1. My 2015 LE was the only one with panel alignment issues and the dealer fixed it. No whining from me. The 2021 suffered from the well known issue with the heater core. I got rid of it rather than wait 6 months for a part that was on backorder. No whining.

You have an "Opinion" and so do others. Doesn't make yours right or theirs wrong. Respect that or FO....

 

[NegativeMultiplier]

I just want to reiterate a couple of things that I've seen in this thread:

S650 GT is Dutch. They have a matter-of-fact way of stating things, I have a number of Dutch friends. He's not intentionally trying to be rude, even if to us Americans it seems that way. I don't think we should be getting offended too quickly, however that doesn't excuse some of these transactions from either side. We're all adults here, why would we resort to name-calling?

Panel gaps are going to be a concern for some, not so much so for others. When I take delivery of my car I'll be checking for them but I'm not going to make a very big deal out of it if there are. I'm related to someone who has used a Continental for business purposes for over five years (also produced at FRAP), and outside of a minor misalignment on the trunk the car has served them quite well over the last five years. Nobody has ever commented on it to my knowledge, I'm the only person who ever noticed it. My concern over it is not going to be on the same level as anyone else, nor should I expect it to.

Lastly, these are still pre-prod units. I highly doubt if Ford is targeting a early summer OKTB, as was suggested in another thread, that they've begun testing anything in super-advanced stages of development. There is still plenty of time for them to fix this.

But I maybe just saw the problem. The upper part of the trunk is actually not part of the trunk, but a screwed or glued on seperate panel, wtf!?
So if it's not glued on, it might be possible to unscrew it and readjust it.

I have noticed this as well, and I'm also assuming this is the issue. My guess is that they've made the trunk panel this way as a means of making it easier/more modular of a process to attach the different wings to the trunk. If this is in fact the case, adjusting the fitment could be something even we do in our own garages. Hell if we bring it up during our own delivery inspection they should even fix it for us for free!

Just my two cents on the situation after monitoring silently for the last couple days.

 

[Zcarmenb28]

You're not able to grasp this, clearly. I just explained in detail what you have to compare and why, but you're not able to understand it.

For instance, Toyota is NOT a cheaper brand. I don't know what part you don't understand about the direct-competitor TOYOTA Supra costing $11,470.00 more than a Mustang.

I can't make it any clearer than that.

It's like you think a Ford is a premium car.

You're wrong about the price. My GT Supra 3.0 (non premium) is comparable to a GT Premium, high package, with A10, PP1, and Magneride, NOT a base Mustang GT. A '23 Supra 3.0 is $54k, a new 23 GT with those above options is $57k. So, the Mustang is MORE expensive than the direct Supra competitor. And trust me, the Supra is a nicer car (better quality interior, build quality, etc.) than the $57k GT.

 

[6String]

I was stuck in traffic today, and I happened to think of this thread. I was behind a Bently Flying Spur. Coming up behind the car, the panel gaps in the rear looked perfect--though my eyesight isn't what it used to be. I'd wager you'd need a micrometer to measure any variance. Craftsmanship, performance, luxury, et al. The V8 version starts at $211,325. Of course, if you want the 0-60 in under four seconds (twin turbo W12) the price of entry is $261,425. Toss in a few options, and you're over $300k. If you're looking for perfection, this might be close. However, this is not a car for the masses. (But it did look good.)

But it isn't a Mustang. No argument, Ford needs to do better on QA. Having said that, mass produced vehicles from any manufacturer are compromised. Comfort, reliability, performance, fit & finish, all have to stay within the confines dictated by labor, factory overhead, material costs, etc. It's a wonder they bothered to offer a quasi-new Mustang. They canceled everything else in the line-up that isn't a truck. Ford is bleeding billions on EVs. JMO the company has sacrificed ICE efforts in lieu of pursing an electric future that may never arrive.

 

[Gregs24]

I was stuck in traffic today, and I happened to think of this thread. I was behind a Bently Flying Spur. Coming up behind the car, the panel gaps in the rear looked perfect--though my eyesight isn't what it used to be. I'd wager you'd need a micrometer to measure any variance. Craftsmanship, performance, luxury, et al. The V8 version starts at $211,325. Of course, if you want the 0-60 in under four seconds (twin turbo W12) the price of entry is $261,425. Toss in a few options, and you're over $300k. If you're looking for perfection, this might be close. However, this is not a car for the masses. (But it did look good.)

But it isn't a Mustang. No argument, Ford needs to do better on QA. Having said that, mass produced vehicles from any manufacturer are compromised. Comfort, reliability, performance, fit & finish, all have to stay within the confines dictated by labor, factory overhead, material costs, etc. It's a wonder they bothered to offer a quasi-new Mustang. They canceled everything else in the line-up that isn't a truck. Ford is bleeding billions on EVs. JMO the company has sacrificed ICE efforts in lieu of pursing an electric future that may never arrive.

Ford were losing money well before that. The EV future has arrived outside the US so if they don't invest they are doomed - they are already playing catch up hence the reason they are having to platform share with VW in Europe. Ford sell more vehicles outside the US than in the US.

 

[IPOGT]

You're not able to grasp this, clearly. I just explained in detail what you have to compare and why, but you're not able to understand it.

For instance, Toyota is NOT a cheaper brand. I don't know what part you don't understand about the direct-competitor TOYOTA Supra costing $11,470.00 more than a Mustang.

I can't make it any clearer than that.

It's like you think a Ford is a premium car.

If one can build a Corolla with decent panel gaps and a high level of consistency, it fair to say that same metric should be attainable for Mustang.

 

[Gregs24]

If one can build a Corolla with decent panel gaps and a high level of consistency, it fair to say that same metric should be attainable for Mustang.

As I mentioned before, Ford can do it in Valencia on much cheaper cars, so it isn't rocket science and not vehicle price related.

 

[Ace]

I was stuck in traffic today, and I happened to think of this thread. I was behind a Bently Flying Spur. Coming up behind the car, the panel gaps in the rear looked perfect--though my eyesight isn't what it used to be. I'd wager you'd need a micrometer to measure any variance. Craftsmanship, performance, luxury, et al. The V8 version starts at $211,325. Of course, if you want the 0-60 in under four seconds (twin turbo W12) the price of entry is $261,425. Toss in a few options, and you're over $300k. If you're looking for perfection, this might be close. However, this is not a car for the masses. (But it did look good.)

But it isn't a Mustang. No argument, Ford needs to do better on QA. Having said that, mass produced vehicles from any manufacturer are compromised. Comfort, reliability, performance, fit & finish, all have to stay within the confines dictated by labor, factory overhead, material costs, etc. It's a wonder they bothered to offer a quasi-new Mustang. They canceled everything else in the line-up that isn't a truck. Ford is bleeding billions on EVs. JMO the company has sacrificed ICE efforts in lieu of pursing an electric future that may never arrive.

My wife drives a Ford Puma (not available in NA) as daily driver. It costs about $27k and quality is top notch. Ordered a Kia Proceed GT as a family car, all the cars I've seen are build very nicely for the $33k. It's really just the Mustang that still feels like it felt out of time. Flatrock just seems incapable of having a good quality control. I'll give Ford the benefit of the doubt that they fix the trunk alignment on production models, but Gen 6 definitely had huge issues (like the trunk scratching the bumper) that might be continued

 

[IPOGT]

As I mentioned before, Ford can do it in Valencia on much cheaper cars, so it isn't rocket science and not vehicle price related.

My wife drives a Ford Puma (not available in NA) as daily driver. It costs about $27k and quality is top notch. Ordered a Kia Proceed GT as a family car, all the cars I've seen are build very nicely for the $33k. It's really just the Mustang that still feels like it felt out of time. Flatrock just seems incapable of having a good quality control. I'll give Ford the benefit of the doubt that they fix the trunk alignment on production models, but Gen 6 definitely had huge issues (like the trunk scratching the bumper) that might be continued

Exactly. From the crispness of the stamping of the panels to the quality of the final assembly, it’s an 85% effort. Most times enough, but not great.

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