External Factory Defects

[tul9033]

I hand washed my 2 week old limited last weekend and found several defects. First I'm mad at myself for missing these before accepting delivery. Then I shake my head at how these things leave the factory with what should be obvious defects during assembly. Seems sloppy and pride in work was lacking.

First is a dent under the chrome trim. Hard to see in the picture, but there is no way this was done after the trim was applied.

Next is what appears to be a thumb print or other finger. I'm not even sure if this is paint or what, but once you see it you can't unsee it!

My truck is patriot blue, but you mostly see my wife's white Toyota reflecting. What should be obvious is the ~24" swipe in the paint on the rear passenger door. Not sure if its in the color or clear, but under the lights of a paint booth should not of been missed.


There is a paint chip exposing bare metal on the driver side retractable step. The steel cables on the tail gate are also different lengths, one cable is holding all of the weight of tailgate while the other is showing slack.
If these obvious defects made it out of the factory on a $64K truck what's hiding underneath? I ordered this truck to my specs and now I'm feeling a bit of buyers remorse.

 

[SpeedyV]

I hand washed my 2 week old limited last weekend and found several defects. First I'm mad at myself for missing these before accepting delivery. Then I shake my head at how these things leave the factory with what should be obvious defects during assembly. Seems sloppy and pride in work was lacking.

First is a dent under the chrome trim. Hard to see in the picture, but there is no way this was done after the trim was applied.
View attachment 35022
Next is what appears to be a thumb print or other finger. I'm not even sure if this is paint or what, but once you see it you can't unsee it!
View attachment 35023
My truck is patriot blue, but you mostly see my wife's white Toyota reflecting. What should be obvious is the ~24" swipe in the paint on the rear passenger door. Not sure if its in the color or clear, but under the lights of a paint booth should not of been missed.
View attachment 35024

There is a paint chip exposing bare metal on the driver side retractable step. The steel cables on the tail gate are also different lengths, one cable is holding all of the weight of tailgate while the other is showing slack.
If these obvious defects made it out of the factory on a $64K truck what's hiding underneath? I ordered this truck to my specs and now I'm feeling a bit of buyers remorse.

I found one scratch after delivery that I couldn’t completely remove, but I didn’t trust the dealership to do better (and it was very minor). I also found one small ding, and my dealership scheduled an appointment with their PDR guy (and he successfully removed it...no trace). Finally, the front air dam was tattered on both ends (how?!), and they replaced it. I wouldn’t hesitate to schedule an appointment for yours and see what they’ll do for you.

The tailgate cables are all like that. There are hundreds of prior posts about that

 

[geotex1]

Respectfully, you are buying a mass-produced automobile, even if you ordered it just the way you want. It's just another build sheet traveling down the line. You will find absolutely no mass-produced vehicle without defects - none. German, Korean, American or otherwise.

The ding at your molding line will take your dealer's PDR pro all of 10 minutes to make disappear while he or she is drinking their coffee. No dealer worth their business would argue about that getting taken care of at no change. Most have an unwritten practice of giving a new buyer 45 days to find the little imperfections on a brand new vehicle for correction.

The defect in your rear window's trim can only be remedied by full replacement of the slider unit. Covered by warranty, no problem. As of 3 weeks ago, they were on backorder from Mopar and had to be shipped direct from the manufacturer - I know as mine was replaced because of a crack in the frame.

The blem in the door paint would be the one that bugs me as well. However, the trucks are not painted by hand and not quality controlled in the booth at all (unless that's a recent change with the new paint facility). Can't really tell what the extent is, but as long as there is sufficient thickness, which can be gauged easily, most things can be corrected with a light wet sanding and polishing out.

The steps are aluminum. Be prepared, you will get the powdercoat knocked off constantly by road rash and debris. Literally 2 days after installing them on my own truck, a piece of road debris cut 3 gashes from 4" to 11" in my driver's side. A LOT easier for me to refinish that board than to repair the truck itself! Of course after I fixed the driver's side, the passenger side took a hard shot with a stone or such and has a 1/4" dia chip with a 1" scratch that always seems to catch the sunlight so it bothers me. Fortunately, I have got a technique down for their cosmetic repairs.

As far as the tailgate cables, this is one of the MOST misunderstood things about modern pickup tailgates. You will find this variation on all current trucks to some extent. Gone are the days of hinged steel, equal length stays for heavy, rigid tailgates. The design tension in the cable is stipulated at a specific load on the tailgate - remember, everything is designed lighter now. Just dropping the tailgate is not that load. The helper spring bar in modern tailgates actually causes the thin shell design of the tailgate to twist slightly. Depending on the degree of that twist (by design) determines if a manufacturer specifies one cable to be truly longer than another - some do, and FCA is actually one that does! The reason for that is because once the tailgate is loaded, the design is to overcome the spring assist tension such that both cables react with the same load. Simply, it's a means to equally distribute the load, once loaded. For others makers, it just look like the cables are different lengths because of the twist in the gate unloaded. And yes, this drives me bonkers with all the keyboard debate about the cables by those without the knowledge and understanding because I am an engineer and also a damn good mechanic, body, and paint man.

 

[Dusty1948]

Every pickup I've owned that used cables seem to have one ever so slightly longer. I was about to begin electro-shock therapy because of it until someone pointed out that it's common across every pickup line. It has never developed any problem for me even though I run my 800 lb. ATV across the tailgate dozens of times a year.

Best regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Silver Billet Laramie, Quad Cab, 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33 gallon fuel tank, 18 inch wheels. Build date: 17 April 2018. Now at 021097 miles.

 

[diamondmi]

Respectfully, you are buying a mass-produced automobile, even if you ordered it just the way you want. It's just another build sheet traveling down the line. You will find absolutely no mass-produced vehicle without defects - none. German, Korean, American or otherwise.

The ding at your molding line will take your dealer's PDR pro all of 10 minutes to make disappear while he or she is drinking their coffee. No dealer worth their business would argue about that getting taken care of at no change. Most have an unwritten practice of giving a new buyer 45 days to find the little imperfections on a brand new vehicle for correction.

The defect in your rear window's trim can only be remedied by full replacement of the slider unit. Covered by warranty, no problem. As of 3 weeks ago, they were on backorder from Mopar and had to be shipped direct from the manufacturer - I know as mine was replaced because of a crack in the frame.

The blem in the door paint would be the one that bugs me as well. However, the trucks are not painted by hand and not quality controlled in the booth at all (unless that's a recent change with the new paint facility). Can't really tell what the extent is, but as long as there is sufficient thickness, which can be gauged easily, most things can be corrected with a light wet sanding and polishing out.

The steps are aluminum. Be prepared, you will get the powdercoat knocked off constantly by road rash and debris. Literally 2 days after installing them on my own truck, a piece of road debris cut 3 gashes from 4" to 11" in my driver's side. A LOT easier for me to refinish that board than to repair the truck itself! Of course after I fixed the driver's side, the passenger side took a hard shot with a stone or such and has a 1/4" dia chip with a 1" scratch that always seems to catch the sunlight so it bothers me. Fortunately, I have got a technique down for their cosmetic repairs.

As far as the tailgate cables, this is one of the MOST misunderstood things about modern pickup tailgates. You will find this variation on all current trucks to some extent. Gone are the days of hinged steel, equal length stays for heavy, rigid tailgates. The design tension in the cable is stipulated at a specific load on the tailgate - remember, everything is designed lighter now. Just dropping the tailgate is not that load. The helper spring bar in modern tailgates actually causes the thin shell design of the tailgate to twist slightly. Depending on the degree of that twist (by design) determines if a manufacturer specifies one cable to be truly longer than another - some do, and FCA is actually one that does! The reason for that is because once the tailgate is loaded, the design is to overcome the spring assist tension such that both cables react with the same load. Simply, it's a means to equally distribute the load, once loaded. For others makers, it just look like the cables are different lengths because of the twist in the gate unloaded. And yes, this drives me bonkers with all the keyboard debate about the cables by those without the knowledge and understanding because I am an engineer and also a damn good mechanic, body, and paint man.

Where’s the best place to have a rock scratch taken care of? I went to a body shop and they wanted to charge $550 cash to take off hood, paint, heat and reinstall hood. I ordered the touch-up kit but am wondering if there is a better way.

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Waiting for my newly ordered 2020 Laramie Longhorn, Delmonico Red, chrome bumpers, 20” wheels, 5.7 V8 Hemi MDS VVT eTorque, 3.92 rear, all options except diesel, multifunction tailgate, protection group and trailer tow group. Interior Black/New Saddle. Looking forward to delivery. Truck arrived!!! Yes!

 

[MJP]

Where’s the best place to have a rock scratch taken care of? I went to a body shop and they wanted to charge $550 cash to take off hood, paint, heat and reinstall hood. I ordered the touch-up kit but am wondering if there is a better way.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Waiting for my newly ordered 2020 Laramie Longhorn, Delmonico Red, chrome bumpers, 20” wheels, 5.7 V8 Hemi MDS VVT eTorque, 3.92 rear, all options except diesel, multifunction tailgate, protection group and trailer tow group. Interior Black/New Saddle. Looking forward to delivery. Truck arrived!!! Yes!

Can’t do much about it other than body shop repair unless you just touch it up and forget about it.

 

[2019REBEL]

I have a finger print on my instrument cluster, I keep thinking I will just rub it off.....nope its on the inside.

 

[MJP]

I have a finger print on my instrument cluster, I keep thinking I will just rub it off.....nope its on the inside.

That sucks and I’m severely OCD so it would drive me completely insane. You have to get it replaced.

 

[tul9033]

I think some paint correction would make a big difference in that one.

Where’s the best place to have a rock scratch taken care of? I went to a body shop and they wanted to charge $550 cash to take off hood, paint, heat and reinstall hood. I ordered the touch-up kit but am wondering if there is a better way.