Head lamp and tail lamp rubbing on 2012 Ford Focus 5 door hatch.

[suss6052]

Tail light rubbing, but the body shop on first glance claimed the light looked like the car was backed into, but the bumper cover doesn't show any signs of that damage (only damage seemingly from the lamp rubbing against it, same as the rear quarter panel.

Have to bring it back tomorrow for them to actually look at this and the hood/ LF head lamp.



There is sort of a black mark and other scrape marks on the lamp however. But I'm fairly certain that it was rubbing on the fender the entire time I've had the car.



I'm just getting more and more depressed on all the little things they screwed up on and hadn't admitted. They might get ford to fix the paint, but if they claim it was caused by the damage to the lamp then I may have to make an insurance claim (at least I believe I lowered the deductible, but that will still suck, and also at that point I might as well have them work on the front passenger door as well as there is a dent there, and scratches probably everywhere .



LF headlamp where the hood was rubbing on it.

Its worn through the paint in less than 5000 miles. That will likely rust quite badly if its not fixed soon as winter is coming.



Not sure what hit the radiator support when nothing on the hood should touch it, except potentially under an "over slam" condition.





That does not really look bent to me, but what do I know. I don't know how the lamp got damaged externally, but I do know its worn through the paint down to the primer or bare metal on one side, but the gaps seem excessive on the other side almost. Not sure that it hasn't done damage there also.

For comparison here is the gap between the hood and the headlamp on the right side


This is much more uniform, but the damage is already done on the other side. I hope they will fix this a bit better than the fact that they are ignoring the seat concern. They claim its working perfectly, but they are denying the existence of the evidence in their own factory service manual as posted to their dealer service page, as well as other sources. I'm about at the end of my rope. I mean come on, its no where near as complicated as a dual clutch mechanism or the engine, but seriously is that the best they can come up with?

[Sponsor]

[RedComet]

That sucks man. Still, should merge this to the main headlamp/tail-lamp scratching/rubbing thread.

That's the first I've heard of the headlamps doing that.

[suss6052]

Originally Posted by RedComet

That sucks man. Still, should merge this to the main headlamp/tail-lamp scratching/rubbing thread.

That's the first I've heard of the headlamps doing that.

Considering how that other thread was specifically about the tail lamps rubbing only, it only half applies, and if no one else has seen their head lamp rub through the paint on the hood than that theoretically is different enough to draw specific attention to.

Otherwise I have no issue merging the thread if necessary, but it seems unusual for the headlamp to also be an issue.

[RedComet]

Yeah, like I said, this is literally the first I've heard of it. Looking at it that way it's a valid idea to keep it separate. Though, if you want some attention from the forum's ford rep, you'll get it on there.

[Justintoxicated]

looks like someone bumped your tailight I don't think those marks are from rubbing. Sucks on the hood though.

[suss6052]

Originally Posted by Justintoxicated

looks like someone bumped your tailight I don't think those marks are from rubbing. Sucks on the hood though.

The mark below the tail lamp is due to there being zero gap, that was there before the scuff/ scrape marks. But if something did hit the lamp it doesn't appear to have bent anything else, which doesn't make any sense.

I said the damage there is separate, but the fact remains that there is zero gap to the lamp on that side with the plastic grinding into the paint, where as the other side has a fairly small gap all the way around near the fuel filler.



The gap is not uniform on this side, and it was this way before the marks occurred on the lamp.

[Justintoxicated]

Now I know why my truck has some sort of vinyl around all the lights....

[FordCustomerService]

Originally Posted by suss6052

...I'm just getting more and more depressed on all the little things they screwed up on and hadn't admitted. They might get ford to fix the paint, but if they claim it was caused by the damage to the lamp then I may have to make an insurance claim (at least I believe I lowered the deductible, but that will still suck, and also at that point I might as well have them work on the front passenger door as well as there is a dent there, and scratches probably everywhere ...

Hey suss6052,

I'm happy to get your CSM involved again, if you'd like to go that route. Just send me a PM if you'd like me to proceed.

Originally Posted by RedComet

Yeah, like I said, this is literally the first I've heard of it. Looking at it that way it's a valid idea to keep it separate. Though, if you want some attention from the forum's ford rep, you'll get it on there.

Hi RedComet,

Thanks for giving suss6052 the heads up. It is easier for me to help people when they're all in the same place.

-Crystal

[TboneZX3]

Originally Posted by suss6052

The gap is not uniform on this side, and it was this way before the marks occurred on the lamp.

Mine rubs in this same spot, but I caught it before much damage occurred to the paint. There was just a rub mark in the clearcoat.

I was able to adjust the gap around the tail light by unscrewing the stud a couple mm and "lifting" the housing up while I tightened the plastic nuts back down. Even after the adjustment, the driver's side housing doesn't fit nearly as well as the passenger side.

Fit and finish otherwise is very good on my car, but I did adjust the hood bumpers for uniform gap around the headlamp housings just after I bought the car.