Whats up with the doors?

[Cgo]

Well, my PDR guy suggested I leave it alone. Lol he said up close, he couldn't see it well enough to even try to straighten it out. Said he wouldnt risk making it worse since it is obviously from the stamping process on a large panel. He commented that the RAM paint and body is quite good compared to other makes especially the Fords (poor F150s) lol. He also said he sees stuff like this all the time even on exotic brands. Modern assembly line shenanigans I guess.

On another note, I noticed the passenger side "fang" plastic panel under the headlight assembly is a totally different shade of white than the driver side, bumper, and fender. I took it to the dealer thinking they could just order another one. Manager agreed that the color is off but said they would need to blend and repaint the whole front quarter... what?! He said they dont ship those parts already painted. Said they would do whatever I want to fix it but up to me if I want a brand new factory paint job tampered with.

Good Lord, I guess I need to start being less detail oriented / nit picky.

 

[Cgo]

I think we are talking about two different things. As I mentioned earlier, the OP may actually have an issue with his door, however, there are indeed stamping creases on every body panel, including our RAMs. The doors are straight, however there are very small vertical creases where stamping is done to shape the body panel, they are easy to see such as the edges of the door handle openings, gas fill door stamping, edge of window cutouts, etc. These are natural and are not defects.

Yeah, dont even look at the RAM Box doors... lol my door bugs me, but I've seen worse on other trucks and colors. I've also seen better. Its steel sheet; none of them leave the presses the same... unfortunately. At least I can live with a factory issue out of my control. If it was post production damage, I'd be more bothered by it.

 

[SD Rebel]

Yeah, dont even look at the RAM Box doors... lol my door bugs me, but I've seen worse on other trucks and colors. I've also seen better. Its steel sheet; none of them leave the presses the same... unfortunately. At least I can live with a factory issue out of my control. If it was post production damage, I'd be more bothered by it.

I feel the same way. Whenever I see a variance on my vehicles, I end up going to the dealer and inspecting other vehicles to see if it's a factory variance. Once I realize it is, I am fine with it. That's the way they come. However, I will feel different if it came from someone being careless around my truck.

I've owned many vehicles in my lifetime, half of them new, and I can tell you they all have these variances to a degree. When it comes to my RAM, just the same as you, I've seen some variances worse and I've seen better.

 

[Neurobit]

I feel the same way. Whenever I see a variance on my vehicles, I end up going to the dealer and inspecting other vehicles to see if it's a factory variance. Once I realize it is, I am fine with it. That's the way they come. However, I will feel different if it came from someone being careless around my truck.

I've owned many vehicles in my lifetime, half of them new, and I can tell you they all have these variances to a degree. When it comes to my RAM, just the same as you, I've seen some variances worse and I've seen better.

Ditto. Agree with you both. Just learn to love it the way it is.

Cheers,

 

[Dusty1948]

Well, my PDR guy suggested I leave it alone. Lol he said up close, he couldn't see it well enough to even try to straighten it out. Said he wouldnt risk making it worse since it is obviously from the stamping process on a large panel. He commented that the RAM paint and body is quite good compared to other makes especially the Fords (poor F150s) lol. He also said he sees stuff like this all the time even on exotic brands. Modern assembly line shenanigans I guess.

On another note, I noticed the passenger side "fang" plastic panel under the headlight assembly is a totally different shade of white than the driver side, bumper, and fender. I took it to the dealer thinking they could just order another one. Manager agreed that the color is off but said they would need to blend and repaint the whole front quarter... what?! He said they dont ship those parts already painted. Said they would do whatever I want to fix it but up to me if I want a brand new factory paint job tampered with.

Good Lord, I guess I need to start being less detail oriented / nit picky.

Usually no one else see's the blemish or flaw I seem to see. So over the years I've developed a reputation bordering on a negative clinical analysis. When they do see it I get a , "Oh that!" kind of response. In an otherwise perfect paint job my '19 has one dirt fleck which is so low it's out of sight of everyone. Except me.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33 gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build date: 03 June 2018. Now at: 044934 miles.

 

[Cgo]

Haha, yeah. Theres another thread on here about a low paint spot or dark shaded spot on a guy's new RAM door. Gotta learn to live with the imperfections of a mass produced vehicle I suppose.

 

[Hustontractor]

Hi. I'm new to the forum. I bought my first new vehicle on November 3rd, 2020, a new 3500 in max steel fresh off the transport. Mine has this same crease in the drivers door. 3 others on the lot did too. I took it in a few weeks later, the shop looked at it, looked at the others, and said "it is what it is". Not acceptable in my book. Salesman at least took a new one to the body shop and the had me take mine in. I just took it yesterday, the said they could try to PDR it or fill it and repaint. I would accept it if the passenger door was the same, but its not. I'm a salesman, maybe I'm just picky, but "it is what it is" just isn't an answer you give to a customer.
I drive a white 2019 Ram 1500 for my work pickup, you can't see a crease at all, so can't tell me it's normal and all of them have it.
Has anyone had any luck with their dealer even submitting something to Ram?
Thanks, William

 

[Cgo]

No. My PDR guy wouldnt even touch it. He said he can tell it's the stamping process on such a large panel but couldn't see it well enough up close to work it. Said he would risk making it worse.

One of my plastic "Fangs" above my front bumper (Limited) is totally a different shade than the other side or any other panel on the truck. Dealership agreed and said they would fix it, but it would require a repaint of the front end of the truck... um no, not doing that to a brand new $70k truck. I'm more pissed about this than the creases now. It looks cross eyed. I figured they could just order a new one but I confirmed that they ship them black and that they need to be paint matched and blended to the truck. Ugh

 

[cevans6318]

A friend of mine works as shift manager at the Sterling Heights Assembly plant. He has seen many of our trucks come off the assembly line.

Over the summer, another friend of mine who had just got a gle350 benz and I went over to his house. The FCA friend couldn't stop but drool over the sheet metal work of the mercedes and mentioned several times how the germans are better at sheet metal than americans.

Prior to my Ram I had jeep GC which my wife drives now, and prior to the jeep I had a cadillac ELR, expensive vehicle at $69k. When I got into a small fender bender and the front bumper had to be replaced, when inspecting the final work, I wasn’t happy with the tolerances, the body shop owner then proceeded to do a 360 around the car with me and showed me multiple imperfections on the cadillac from the factory, misalignments, uneven gaps, even sheet metal imperfections. Now granted, I still made him realign the bumper, but the point is that no production car is perfect, even the germans for that matter.

Regarding the sheet metal, seems like FCA is aware there are issues, but it’s within their tolerances and it certainly passes quality control.

I know this is an old thread but had to put my 2 cents in. I have been a tech with Mercedes Benz since 2006, the quality over time has gone down. I have to disagree somewhat when you say no production car is perfect. I see the cars during the PDI, 5-6 yrs ago, even 10 yrs ago, the fit and finish of most cars was flawless. The problem now is manufactures are using cheaper materials to build these cars. And the cheaper materials fit like ****. Alot of the new mercedes have **** poor fitment when it comes to bumpers and hoods, even interior parts. But Like you said, according to mercedes standards and tolerances, it passes quality control. cars that have been wrecked though, that is a whole seperate issue. Fitment will never be the same unless you nitpick it. And since bodyshops/mechanics are on flat rate, they don't care