Door Alignment - Adjustable?

[cusewordsmith]

My door vertical alignment is perfect, but both sides it seems like they don't shut far enough. They latch and function ok, but if you look at it from the rear or above you can see the trailing edges of the front door stick out a bit further than the leading edges of the rear door. It's hard to get a picture of. Anyone else have that?

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I do have a variety of fitment issues and inconsistent gaps. The only one that's flaring my OCD is the passenger front door seems like you describe -- it's almost like it's not fully closed, but only by a few millimeters. My paint definitely has some orange-peel effect in various areas. I did a ceramic coat myself, and I was fairly shocked at how bad the swirl marks were, though I think that was probably thanks to the dealer's "detailing" efforts. All in all, my cheap Japanese cars (Mazda Protege & Subaru WRX) had far better fit and finish and paint for 1/3 the price.

 

[rdollie]

I learned to NEVER let the dealers do a car wash if you care about paint swirls. Nothing worse for a black car...

 

[565565]

Yep I have the same door misalignment issue on both my front doors. Driver side being worse. Trunk is also misaligned where I think it’s causing it not to latch unless I slam it. The paint is not good. I also agree for a car this expensive, it’s laughable how bad the exterior quality is. This is my 2nd and potentially last one. First one was my 86 la Sabre as my first car.

You previous said one had better quality than the other, which one was better, the earlier or later build?

 

[565565]

My door vertical alignment is perfect, but both sides it seems like they don't shut far enough. They latch and function ok, but if you look at it from the rear or above you can see the trailing edges of the front door stick out a bit further than the leading edges of the rear door. It's hard to get a picture of. Anyone else have that?

View attachment 17655

Supposedly in some cars like Tesla this is normal. It avoids the leading edge of the rear door being completely sand blasted. Some Teslas didn't have the front doors stick out just a bit further than the leading edge of the rears due to malalignment and that area of the rear door was blasted.

Tesla Model Y Rear Door Paint Damage

Greetings, My Model Y has experienced significant paint damage reported by other owners to the leading edge and bottom rear bump-out on the rear doors of the car from road debris being kicked up by the tires. Both driver and passenger rear doors appear to be “sandblasted” in these areas...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[Deneed4spd]

You previous said one had better quality than the other, which one was better, the earlier or later build?

I just got my 2nd BW 2 wks ago and its build quality is way better. Only sat in the goat pen after production for a month. Trunk shuts way better. 3 out of 4 doors are aligned. Driver door is not aligned but dealer said they can adjust it when I bring it in for first oil change. Paint is way better.

 

[Lithoss]

Supposedly in some cars like Tesla this is normal. It avoids the leading edge of the rear door being completely sand blasted. Some Teslas didn't have the front doors stick out just a bit further than the leading edge of the rears due to malalignment and that area of the rear door was blasted.

Tesla Model Y Rear Door Paint Damage

Greetings, My Model Y has experienced significant paint damage reported by other owners to the leading edge and bottom rear bump-out on the rear doors of the car from road debris being kicked up by the tires. Both driver and passenger rear doors appear to be “sandblasted” in these areas...

teslamotorsclub.com

Interesting. I guess it's a feature and not a bug! That does put my mind at ease though. Thanks!

 

[99sport]

Just picked up my 5 on Saturday. Doors are misaligned. Paint has lots of "runs" at every panel edge and at least one fisheye on the hood by the fender. The runs are so bad I thought one panel had a crease in it, but the salesman convinced me it was a paint defect and not the sheet metal. My steering wheel is off to the left. Lots of orange peel - but pretty much all cars have that these days. I'll fix the steering wheel and door and hood alignment issues eventually.

However, my left front fender is WAY out of alignment and this one I can't wait on as it drives me crazy. It doesn't help that the exposed edge of the fender isn't painted and I can see the primer. Picture below. The dealer had a second 5 Blackwing on the lot and it was identical - right side fender alignment was "good enough." Left side was atrocious on that car too - must have been built on the same day and the guy installing the left side fender (and the quality control / panel alignment checker) didn't give a shit.

We just bought a used 2020 Highlander and the panel gaps are absolutely impeccable and the paint is flawless. MSRP was low $40s on that car. Also stopped by the BMW dealer to look at a M2 with a stick and the paint and panel gaps on that were also incredible. Hell, even my 20+ year old Civic and Insight with 350,000+ miles have nearly perfect panel gaps.

Car drives great though. All the Blackwing specific stuff is fantastic - too bad it had to be built in a regular GM plant instead of a separate factory (like the NSX, S2000 and Insight were). Or at least the Blackwings could get a separate quality inspection before shipment...

I think the Dealer screwed up the seat too. Got damaged sometime before delivery and hasn't gotten better in the last 5 days.

Right side - "good enough"

 

[Beamz27]

Just picked up my 5 on Saturday. Doors are misaligned. Paint has lots of "runs" at every panel edge and at least one fisheye on the hood by the fender. The runs are so bad I thought one panel had a crease in it, but the salesman convinced me it was a paint defect and not the sheet metal. My steering wheel is off to the left. Lots of orange peel - but pretty much all cars have that these days. I'll fix the steering wheel and door and hood alignment issues eventually.

However, my left front fender is WAY out of alignment and this one I can't wait on as it drives me crazy. It doesn't help that the exposed edge of the fender isn't painted and I can see the primer. Picture below. The dealer had a second 5 Blackwing on the lot and it was identical - right side fender alignment was "good enough." Left side was atrocious on that car too - must have been built on the same day and the guy installing the left side fender (and the quality control / panel alignment checker) didn't give a shit.

We just bought a used 2020 Highlander and the panel gaps are absolutely impeccable and the paint is flawless. MSRP was low $40s on that car. Also stopped by the BMW dealer to look at a M2 with a stick and the paint and panel gaps on that were also incredible. Hell, even my 20+ year old Civic and Insight with 350,000+ miles have nearly perfect panel gaps.

Car drives great though. All the Blackwing specific stuff is fantastic - too bad it had to be built in a regular GM plant instead of a separate factory (like the NSX, S2000 and Insight were). Or at least the Blackwings could get a separate quality inspection before shipment...

I think the Dealer screwed up the seat too. Got damaged sometime before delivery and hasn't gotten better in the last 5 days.

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Right side - "good enough"
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Those gaps look like they were due to the car being lifted wrong. The alpha platform if not lifted right, will distort side skirts and panels very easily.

I’ve had 5 alpha platform cars and only one was ever not screwed up when lifting. My current 4BW not has door and side skirt issues from the damn dealer not lifting it right when doing the PDI

 

[99sport]

Interesting. The dealer found some noise in the trans and replaced the trans before I ever saw the car. It was up on the lift for at least a week straight. When I saw it, it was lifted at the pinch welds at the back (couldn't see the front, but there is rubber on the pinch welds in the front, which I assume is from the lift pads, so I assume they were also on the pinch welds). That doesn't explain why the other 5 Blackwing on the lot had the same issue (unless they screwed that one up too during PDI). I'm also getting the A/C condensate dripping from behind the heat shielding in the trans tunnel - so I think they screwed up the condensate drain too when they replaced the trans, but I'll save that for another post.

Is there a fix for this? I signed up for the GM service manual to try to figure out how to fix this gap. I had hoped it would be as easy as loosening the lower rear fender bolt, adjusting the fender and re-tightening. If that bolt was vertical (normal to the ground) or parallel to the long axis of the car that would work. Unfortunately there are two bolts at that corner and they point left to right, so unless there are some shims to remove I don't know how I am going to get the panel gap closer.

It does make sense that the dealer did it. The door alignment, hood alignment and paint defects are pretty subtle, but the left fender and the seats are not. It seems hard to believe those two issues would make it through quality control at the factory, so it does make sense that the dealer did it (I think they left a box of parts on the seat when the car was on the lift for a week+).

Here is the fender install / bolt diagram:

Lifting instructions:

 

[TexasHawkeye]

I learned to NEVER let the dealers do a car wash if you care about paint swirls. Nothing worse for a black car...

I have a Black Raven 4BW and have noticed some awful swirling now that I have washed it a couple times and been up close and personal. And to think I had to pay for the privilege of the dealer detailing and ceramic coating the car! They did a crappy job.

I have contacted the dealership to see what they are willing to do, but I'm almost afraid to let them have a crack at it. I'm afraid I may get it back worse!

 

[rubberduck]

Take it to a reputable detailer. I had a black S4 for 8 years and the amount of effort and money to keep it looking good was substantial. I gave up at around year 6. It did not have PPF. One time I got caught in a sand storm on the highway and the paint was a mess. Never really looked the same after that.

 

[Tall Steve]

I have a Black Raven 4BW and have noticed some awful swirling now that I have washed it a couple times and been up close and personal. And to think I had to pay for the privilege of the dealer detailing and ceramic coating the car! They did a crappy job.

I have contacted the dealership to see what they are willing to do, but I'm almost afraid to let them have a crack at it. I'm afraid I may get it back worse!

Black is so hard to keep looking nice and you have to start with good paint to maintain it correctly... You will need to use the right soap, towels, and sprays to keep it looking new..

 

[TexasHawkeye]

Black is so hard to keep looking nice and you have to start with good paint to maintain it correctly... You will need to use the right soap, towels, and sprays to keep it looking new..

Agreed. I know I didn't swirl it -- I use good stuff. Also had a 3" scratch on the trunk lid (which is the most swirled panel) from the dealer. When I get a flashlight out, it looks like someone cleaned the car with a Brillo pad.

Not happy -- got an email to the dealer last night. We'll see how they respond. I just don't want them to make it worse. I'd rather them pay for the correction at a third party of my choosing, but I'm guessing pigs will fly first.

 

[Yalferd]

I'll be doing my first "full exterior detail" on my car tomorrow. I am now scared to death of what i'm going to find and never be able to unsee! I already saw a fine scratch on the rear quarter that goes from the pangel to the tail light

 

[TexasHawkeye]

I'll be doing my first "full exterior detail" on my car tomorrow. I am now scared to death of what i'm going to find and never be able to unsee! I already saw a fine scratch on the rear quarter that goes from the pangel to the tail light

I elected to do the swirl removal myself this weekend. Told the dealer I didn’t want the same guy that caused the damage trying to fix it. I was afraid I would have no clear coat left.

At least with my many hours of sweat, I know it will be done right.

 

[Yalferd]

I love my first car washing of a new car. I found a number of micro scratches. Right now, no correction, need some better weather for that, but the car is clean and shiny right now. I'm looking forward to getting after this thing with the orbital