Door alignment issue

[peterk9]

It almost sounds like perhaps the part of the frame where the door is attached is flexing. I would think that under normal circumstances the door itself wouldn't move once it is bolted in place. Have you checked to see if the gap between the top of the right front fender and the hood changes as well?
Strange indeed.

Peter

 

[reymar]

whatever it is, looks like the dealership is trying to wash its hands of it. May turn into a legal matter. Do you have the links of the door alignments you talked about? I would appreciate it

Rey

 

[markls8]

Working from my imagination here. I love mysteries!

There are three seals around the door (something I checked before I ordered, it's a sign of a quality build in my eyes). Is it possible that one of the seals (rubber gasketing) in the lower area that sits high could contain, or have absorbed water? The water freezes, expands in cold weather, and prevents the door from closing tightly. Then when it thaws it is fine.???


Ps.Canada just won Gold in the World Juniors against Russia. A most worthy adversary,!!!

 

[markls8]

It also might be possible that the lower door drains have plugged with debris and prevented water from escaping. When this freezes it could cause some distortion in the door ("disdoorsion").

 

[peterk9]

whatever it is, looks like the dealership is trying to wash its hands of it. May turn into a legal matter. Do you have the links of the door alignments you talked about? I would appreciate it

Rey

Page 2 of this link has some pictures.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=418769&highlight=quality

Peter

 

[FordService]

did that already and they made an adjustment. Went back two days later to let them know the problem was still there and they said there's nothing more they can do.

Send me your details in a PM, reymar; I'll escalate this to your regional customer service manager. In your message, please include your full name, best daytime phone number, VIN, current mileage, and servicing dealership

Crystal

 

[cbx1047]

Bottom door adjustment?

Just picked up my new 2015 limited yesterday. This is a much better explorer then my 2011 limited I traded in. Very quiete and tight ride. Old one had 44k. Question is; the only thing I have noticed is the passenger door sticks out at the bottom about a 1/4 inch. No big deal but living in wisconsing with road salt, it is splashing up in the inside door sills. I did notice that the doors are mounted with bolts and I am hoping they can be adjusted? Has anyone had this done?/ It seem from monitoring this site that many explorers have this problem with side doors and rear hatch alignment. I know they can bend the hinges but thats not the way I want it fixed. How should I handle this?

 

[FordService]

Just picked up my new 2015 limited yesterday. This is a much better explorer then my 2011 limited I traded in. Very quiete and tight ride. Old one had 44k. Question is; the only thing I have noticed is the passenger door sticks out at the bottom about a 1/4 inch. No big deal but living in wisconsing with road salt, it is splashing up in the inside door sills. I did notice that the doors are mounted with bolts and I am hoping they can be adjusted...

Congrats on the new ride, cbx1047! Your best next step will be to make an appointment at your dealership so they can check out your passenger door. PM me your information and I'll get your regional customer service manager involved, too. When writing, be sure to include your full name, best daytime phone number, VIN, current mileage, and servicing dealership.

Crystal

 

[solberg]

Hi everyone,
I have my 2015 Sport for 1 week now and I noticed an alignment issue on the bottom of the B-pillar. The back door isn't plane with the front one (in the area of the lower plastic cover). It's set back about 1/8-2/8 inch. Do you guys know this and know how to fix this?

 

[peterk9]

Welco

Hi everyone,
I have my 2015 Sport for 1 week now and I noticed an alignment issue on the bottom of the B-pillar. The back door isn't plane with the front one (in the area of the lower plastic cover). It's set back about 1/8-2/8 inch. Do you guys know this and know how to fix this?

Welcome to the Forum.
If the vehicle is still under warranty, take it to the dealer to have them align it.

Peter

 

[Tier1Terrier]

So glad I found this post. We just bought a new 17 XLT and the day after we bought it, my wife noticed on the passenger side that the door stuck out from the seem slightly, maybe 1/8 - 1/4". We were concerned that maybe trying to fix it might make it worse deciding to leave well enough alone. But it still bother us since it's a brand new car and we have to constantly see it, especially since it's still only got a few hundred miles on it.

 

[solberg]

Welco
Welcome to the Forum.
If the vehicle is still under warranty, take it to the dealer to have them align it.

Peter

It's an import car (in Germany) so I would prefer fixing it by myself.

 

[polaris_dave]

We just had our passenger door aligned by the dealership before the warranty expired. Their body shop had to do the work. Looks better now. The body lines didn't match before.

 

[Palmz43]

Had my passenger door aligned by the dealership body shop. Took them all of 5 minutes to do. Now matches perfectly. Also didnt charge me which is a plus. They said that this is a common problem on the explorer and that they try to fix them as people bring cars in for service.

 

[RandyH2]

I have contacted the original dealer and the one 14 miles away and neither seems to know what to do about it.... contacted local dealer and selling dealer and could not find an answer other than " live with it" or " you should have noticed before you took delivery" so I came here for help...

Traditional domestic car dealerships, don't you just love them? I sincerely look forward to the day I can toast the demise of the last of the "traditional" dealerships, or at least the one closest to me.

 

[FordService]

So glad I found this post. We just bought a new 17 XLT and the day after we bought it, my wife noticed on the passenger side that the door stuck out from the seem slightly, maybe 1/8 - 1/4". We were concerned that maybe trying to fix it might make it worse deciding to leave well enough alone. But it still bother us since it's a brand new car and we have to constantly see it, especially since it's still only got a few hundred miles on it.

Congrats on your new XLT, Tier1Terrier, and welcome to the forum!

Have you mentioned the door alignment to your dealer yet? Please send me a private message with your name, phone number, VIN, current mileage, and servicing dealer; I'll check out options to assist.

We just had our passenger door aligned by the dealership before the warranty expired. Their body shop had to do the work. Looks better now. The body lines didn't match before.

Had my passenger door aligned by the dealership body shop. Took them all of 5 minutes to do. Now matches perfectly. Also didnt charge me which is a plus. They said that this is a common problem on the explorer and that they try to fix them as people bring cars in for service.

Glad to see your dealers were able to take care of this, polaris_dave and Palmz43!

Rachel

 

[metroplex]

I was reading customer reviews of 2016 to 2018 Explorers on Edmunds, seems to be a great source of first hand info on cars. I can feel the frustration of many owners that got screwed over by dealerships (also the 2018 Traverse seems to have issues with the 9 speed trans).

Saw numerous complaints about misaligned body panels on the Explorer. My right rear door doesn't close all the way as it sticks out about 2 to 3 mm. I inspected it and it seems like if I elongated the bolt holes on the striker plate, it'd allow the door to close flush. I inspected the hinges and performed the alignment procedures but the way it isn't closing flush seems to be I paced by the striker plate.

 

[Jon M]

Also saw numerous complaints about misaligned body panels on the Explorer. My right rear door doesn't close all the way as it sticks out about 2 to 3 mm. I inspected it and it seems like if I elongated the bolt holes on the striker plate, it'd allow the door to close flush. I inspected the hinges and performed the alignment procedures but the way it isn't closing flush seems to be I paced by the striker plate.

Just take it to the dealer or a body shop. Both of my rear doors needed to be adjusted, and they had it done in less than 15 minutes.

 

[metroplex]

It's not an alignment issue. The stamping process has an issue. I see the right rear door sticking out about 1 to 2mm on a bunch of 2016 to 2018 Explorers in the parking lot. I adjusted the striker as much as I could so it is better but not totally flush.

 

[Jon M]

It might be by design. When mine were done, the body shop guy said that the front doors don't sit perfectly flush because if they did, there would be additional wind noise. If you're seeing it consistently on '16+, with the body style change, it might be done for that reason.