Interior Door panel issue / separation

[peterk9]

Looks like my attempt to post a picture failed, I'll look around the forum and see if I can find the appropriate way to post.

Welcome to the Forum James.
The easiest way to post pictures is by taking out a $20 Elite membership which will allow you to post from your device and the pictures are saved to the servers. It also helps to support the site. Otherwise you can use a 3rd party site like Photobucket and use links. Many pictures posted this way seem to disappear after time since they are not saved here.

Peter

 

[peterk9]

I have a 2014 Explorer Sport with about 43000 miles on it. At 42000 the door panel on the passenger side door started pulling away from the door up by the window. Also the upholstery on the front of the drivers seat keeps popping loose. Crossley Ford ,who has been doing my service work refused to do anything because it has over 36000 on it and the $3500 100,000 mile extended warranty doesn't cover cosmetic issues. These are not cosmetic issues they are manufacturing failures. Called Ford's customer satisfaction line and was told they weren't doing anything to help me either because of the 6000 miles over warranty. Yesterday 6/20/17 I got a call from Crossley's service rep informing Ford had decided to cover about $300 of about $700 they want to fix this. Right after I got the call I noticed the driver side door is starting to do the same thing. I refuse to give Ford or their minions one red cent to fix their poor quality workmanship. If I have to fork out any money to fix this it will be to a private trim shop. My extended warranty is through a third party company and I am no longer obliged to take this vehicle to a Ford dealership for anything if their not going to help me. I've worked at KCAP Truck 23 years and my Dad retired with 38. Apparently Ford could give a hoot about customer loyalty or satisfaction or employee loyalty. Any suggestions would be welcome at this point. Kenny

Welcome to the Forum Kenny.
Even if you had take out the Ford ESP you still would not have been covered. Trim, upholstery and panels are among the excluded items. One member here had his repaired at an upholstery shop. Good luck.

Peter

 

[Kenneth Wilde]

Welcome to the Forum Kenny.
Even if you had take out the Ford ESP you still would not have been covered. Trim, upholstery and panels are among the excluded items. One member here had his repaired at an upholstery shop. Good luck.

Peter

It seems Ford is getting away with robbery. Forums are fine but in the end the only way to change this behavior is action. Class action lawsuit? Media exposure . If the victims of their malfeasance don't hammer them in mass some way, letters to Car and Driver?, Office of state attorney where the vehicles are built? Mass letters to a major news outlet? Something to draw massive attention to this will be the only way to shame them into doing something about it.

 

[James DH]

Looks like my attempt to post a picture failed, I'll look around the forum and see if I can find the appropriate way to post.

https://goo.gl/photos/ywutMixQaJgEbvpM6 - passenger side

https://goo.gl/photos/R71y1jQZHUSRZGgk9 - drivers side

 

[Elizabeth B.]

I have a 2014 Explorer Sport with about 43000 miles on it. At 42000 the door panel on the passenger side door started pulling away from the door up by the window. Also the upholstery on the front of the drivers seat keeps popping loose. Crossley Ford ,who has been doing my service work refused to do anything because it has over 36000 on it and the $3500 100,000 mile extended warranty doesn't cover cosmetic issues. These are not cosmetic issues they are manufacturing failures. Called Ford's customer satisfaction line and was told they weren't doing anything to help me either because of the 6000 miles over warranty. Yesterday 6/20/17 I got a call from Crossley's service rep informing Ford had decided to cover about $300 of about $700 they want to fix this. Right after I got the call I noticed the driver side door is starting to do the same thing. I refuse to give Ford or their minions one red cent to fix their poor quality workmanship. If I have to fork out any money to fix this it will be to a private trim shop. My extended warranty is through a third party company and I am no longer obliged to take this vehicle to a Ford dealership for anything if their not going to help me. I've worked at KCAP Truck 23 years and my Dad retired with 38. Apparently Ford could give a hoot about customer loyalty or satisfaction or employee loyalty. Any suggestions would be welcome at this point. Kenny

With all the problems I see here I wish we could get a class action against Ford.

 

[peterk9]

There have been other posts on this Forum where members were talking about class action lawsuits regarding different issues but nothing has ever happened beyond that point. I believe anyone can start a class action and it would have to meet certain criteria and then be certified before it can proceed.
Just did a quick check and of the 21 members who have posted in this thread about the problem, 14 of them owned a 2014 model, 7 had a 2015 and 1 had a 2012.
I don't know what percentage of the total 5th generation members 12% makes up but I'm guessing it is a small one.

Peter

 

[Andy C.]

Here are my pictures. The driver side is severe, even though the passenger side started separating 3-4 months earlier. The driver side went from slight to severe in 2-3 weeks.

Peter is probably right that there is nothing Ford will do but after having 3 Explorers and 1 Expedition, I may finally switch since I've never seen this disregard from the manufacturers of my wife's or son's cars.

I removed the door panel, purchased some $4 3M contact cement and glued the fabric back to the door panel. I used paint stir sticks on the outside and pipcicle sticks on the under side that wraps over the plastic back panel and clamped them together for even pressure until the adheasive cement dried. Looks good as new and only took about 30 min of my time. Far cry from the $1,200 Ford wants for repair/replacement panels.

 

[Kenneth Wilde]

I thought about fixing it myself and had similar ideas. Sounds like you're very creative and I'm all about fixing it yourself if you have the skills. Unfortunately I was in a bad wreck in 2013 that left my left and weak and clumsy. Also I would have no idea how to get that door panel off. I'd end up screwing up my door panel and getting glue all over everything. That's how my luck runs. I do encourage everyone who's out of warranty any way to make sure Ford knows you will be not be paying they're shops for repairs or buying tires or any other parts that have to come from a Ford dealership. Hit them where it hurts. Their wallets.Those of you who do social networking need to put this story out to all your "friends" as well.

 

[peterk9]

......... I do encourage everyone who's out of warranty any way to make sure Ford knows you will be not be paying they're shops for repairs or buying tires or any other parts that have to come from a Ford dealership. Hit them where it hurts. Their wallets.Those of you who do social networking need to put this story out to all your "friends" as well.

While that may sound like a good plan in theory, in reality I doubt it would do anything to Ford's bottom line. You might only be hurting the dealers which are independently owned. Even if you use a 3rd party repair shop parts still come from Ford if you want genuine parts.

Peter

 

[Kenneth Wilde]

While that may sound like a good plan in theory, in reality I doubt it would do anything to Ford's bottom line. You might only be hurting the dealers which are independently owned. Even if you use a 3rd party repair shop parts still come from Ford if you want genuine parts.

Peter

then just coming to this forum and cry on each other's shoulders waiting for some Ford customer service big shot to suddenly feel sorry for us and come along and make everything right. Good luck with that strategy. I'm open to better suggestions.

 

[peterk9]

then just coming to this forum and cry on each other's shoulders waiting for some Ford customer service big shot to suddenly feel sorry for us and come along and make everything right. Good luck with that strategy. I'm open to better suggestions.

There aren't any Ford personnel monitoring this Forum so we shouldn't hold our breath hoping for that kind of solution. It seems 'Social Media' appears the way many people try to get their point across these days. You can try sending a letter to Ford with a copy to the Better Business Bureau mentioning this issue that owners are having with the panels.

Peter

 

[Kenneth Wilde]

Now that's a real solution. But one letter from one person will be round filed in the bat of an eye. It will a petition like this signed by everyone , including on this site to get anyone's attention. So first how do we get the message of such a petition out to the general public so everyone with this problem knows about it? Second a list of who to send this too ,including the Commerce Dept. down to local state reps demanding something be done. That's just a start. I've talked to several dealers in my area and they all claim they haven't heard of such a problem. I don't buy it. Use facebook or whatever other social media you use to reach out and seek out other victims and tell them to make their voices heard. Contact local news stations with call for action type programs but it must be done in mass, not just one or two people.

 

[James DH]

I removed the door panel, purchased some $4 3M contact cement and glued the fabric back to the door panel. I used paint stir sticks on the outside and pipcicle sticks on the under side that wraps over the plastic back panel and clamped them together for even pressure until the adheasive cement dried. Looks good as new and only took about 30 min of my time. Far cry from the $1,200 Ford wants for repair/replacement panels.

Glad you were able to resolve it so easily. I'm not as handy but if you took pictures of the process, please post. This is why so many of us are complaining about the Ford charge when it seems this can be remedied in an hour or so versus the $700+ charges that are being quoted. I talked to an auto upholstery guy who is quoting $200+ but I still need to go to the place a coworker recommended.

 

[smellthebeans]

Same here MY '15 34 months old. Popped up at about 38,0000 miles. Out of warranty. I am disappointed.

https://goo.gl/photos/73BcjjknNpwEksxb7

 

[tincbtrar]

I'm having this problem on mine too. I will likely repair myself as a replacement part from Ford will likely have the same result.

Getting door panels off are pretty easy according to my helms manual. The manual was like 180 dollars but for a diy guy like myself is essential.

 

[champco]

It seems Ford is getting away with robbery. Forums are fine but in the end the only way to change this behavior is action. Class action lawsuit? Media exposure . If the victims of their malfeasance don't hammer them in mass some way, letters to Car and Driver?, Office of state attorney where the vehicles are built? Mass letters to a major news outlet? Something to draw massive attention to this will be the only way to shame them into doing something about it.

carcomplaints.com

 

[champco]

I'm having this problem on mine too. I will likely repair myself as a replacement part from Ford will likely have the same result.

Getting door panels off are pretty easy according to my helms manual. The manual was like 180 dollars but for a diy guy like myself is essential.

Popping those panels off is not easy. Seven plastic and 2 metal clips. Some are deep from the edge. All are tough to pop out. Put something against the painted surface that can take some pressure to avoiding scratching the paint all up.

 

[soxside]

I have a 2015 (MFR 2014) with 63k and the left door panel is popping up. The driver side arm rest is split. I've also had the evaporator core replaced. Blend door replaced. The power steering rack replaced. Had issues with the power windows. Cruise control works occasionally. GPS often has me a 1/4 mile off my route. This thing is an absolute piece of junk. Never been so disappointed in a vehicle.

 

[James DH]

To update my situation, I went to an auto upholsterer and got this eyesore / nuisance resolved. They fixed both doors and charged me $100. They also said they used stainless steel staples and adhesive to ensure it wouldn't come back up. While I don't like giving up $100 for Ford's poor adhesive issues, it's better than their recommendation of replacing the whole panel at $1400-$1600 for both doors.

 

[tincbtrar]

Sounds

To update my situation, I went to an auto upholsterer and got this eyesore / nuisance resolved. They fixed both doors and charged me $100. They also said they used stainless steel staples and adhesive to ensure it wouldn't come back up. While I don't like giving up $100 for Ford's poor adhesive issues, it's better than they're recommendation of replacing the whole panel at $1400-$1600 for both doors.

I applied some contact cement the other day and I'm not sure it's sealing properly so I'll likely go the same route.