Broken front grill at 1000 miles

[FamousAmos]

First post here !Not sure how this has happened.. or what to do now. Losing sleep knowing it is winter and all the salt and sand will be building up inside of here. Very disappointed on this quality of material. Looking for some advice … should I call my dealership? Local body shop ? Will follow up with a better picture. Thanks everyone.

Everyone has good suggestions, but I look at it from a different angle. A BRA. Some folks hate them, but my last two car bras had the small section that would just cover the front of the hood, as there are no vent holes on this area. Those bras paid for themselves over and over again, particularly with my Miata.

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[Red Ryder]

I had a 2006 Escape that I drove in all sorts of weather, on rutted, rooty rocky fireroads for ~250,000 miles and it looked nearly new, even after having 2" limbs falling on it and so forth. I towed with this vehicle, it and a utility trailer effectively replaced a pickup truck.

My 2016 CX-5, with ~4,000 miles on it at the time, took some damage from what looked like an aluminum soda can on a dark road (caught sight of it in my periphery a moment before running over it). I heard it hit underneath (and though later it might have been a chrome exhaust extension by the damage it caused). It basically broke the black wheel-well molding and left it flapping in the wind. Fortunately, there was no paint or body damage whatsoever. I never used the CX-5 in the same capacity as the Escape, it was definite a soft-roader.

I ordered a replacement wheel trim molding for slightly less than $100 and everything was good as new. My reasoning was:

• Even though a little road debris shouldn't (IMO) have caused that to happen, I did hit something and it wasn't a manufacturing defect or substandard design. It dd confirm to me that the CX-5 was definitely a softer, less rugged/utility vehicle than the Escape it replaced. So, no warranty issue.
• Damage was slight and below insurance deductible. I consider insurance for catastrophic or significant loss. The easiest way to resolution for my issue was to just replace the part and move on.

Of course, this is a different situation from the OP's issue, but similar enough throw into the discussion.

 

[Fleshman03]

Rock or not, the plastic looks pitifully thin.

It's sad, actually.

And while I accept that the Maverick's low starting price requires that the truck use inexpensive plastics, there's no reason that it should be this flimsy.

Surely, in the future, the Maverick's detractors will use this as a talking point when they look upon her history.

***

Fortunately, the rock didn't fly up an inch higher; your hood would've required a significant repair.

Your comment is spot on. I’d like to add this video talking about how the Mav is supposed to be “Ford Tough.”

If I was OP I would be livid and taking this up with Ford Corporate if they didn’t fix it. It would seem to be a molding error.

 

[hcforde]

I went by my Ford dealership and looked at some new Mavericks they had over Christmas. I pushed on the grill and It seemed to be very sturdy which leads me to believe it was a short shot in the injection molding machine. The only way to tell is to measure the thickness of this grill part against the proper manufactured part. No doubt a rock hit it but it should be able to absorb impact without breaking at the proper thickness.

 

[TMAC]

First post here !Not sure how this has happened.. or what to do now. Losing sleep knowing it is winter and all the salt and sand will be building up inside of here. Very disappointed on this quality of material. Looking for some advice … should I call my dealership? Local body shop ? Will follow up with a better picture. Thanks everyone.

I would punch a typical hole, two spaces to the left, and install a couple of these eyeballs.

 

[NDL]

This is likely to happen a lot. I can't wait to see how much the parts counter wants for this POS piece of plastic. Most grills I have had in the past were louvers, or ribs with holes. You got a bit of reinforcement from the shape, so when it impacted the rock was likley to deflect/ding vs break the rib. This looks like a perfect storm of cheap plastic and large flat areas. Someone will make a decent buck selling polyurethane/stainless steel grills in the near future.

Great post, and I much agree. The reality is that the Maverick has balls: the rear bed has sturdy integrated frame rails, and the suspension is sturdy too: Ford did this truck right. Unfortunately, however, because of a handful of chintzy parts, the Mav might get an undeservedly bad rep from some.

As you noted, a ribbed grille is far sturdier, and the aftermarket will come out with a stainless grill solution. I'm sure that a company like LMC will eventually carry a Maverick line of parts.

 

[NDL]

Your comment is spot on. I’d like to add this video talking about how the Mav is supposed to be “Ford Tough.”

If I was OP I would be livid and taking this up with Ford Corporate if they didn’t fix it. It would seem to be a molding error.

You might be right: it may very well be a molding error. Either way, beancounters p--s me off: yes, the vehicle has a low starting price; you can't get something for nothing; this is understood. At the same time, some of the "how to" articles show pieces that look a little chintzy - not in presentation, but they look flimsy; the interior scuffs way too easily, etc. This is tough to bear, given that the cost of beefing up components is nominal. Lest anyone misunderstand what I am saying, I mean to say that it'd be great if aesthetic components didn't have a "when removing such and such panel, do it gently, lest you break it" - look to it.

For comparative purposes: I still own my last gen Ranger, which I refuse to part with, she's been so good to me. Most of the last gen Ranger's interior bits consist of cheap, hard, plastic, yet everything is very sturdy, and none of her pieces scuff easily.

Hard plastic surfaces are perfectly acceptable at this price point, and even a welcome change over the overstyled interiors of most new vehicles, which are so designed to justify a higher price point - but that only works if the hard plastic doesn't scuff easily and holds up.

 

[TCK]

Took a rock- tough luck there.

 

[pigsareus]

First post here !Not sure how this has happened.. or what to do now. Losing sleep knowing it is winter and all the salt and sand will be building up inside of here. Very disappointed on this quality of material. Looking for some advice … should I call my dealership? Local body shop ? Will follow up with a better picture. Thanks everyone.

Some jealous idiot might have swatted it with a hammer or something. Alternately there might have been a stress crack in and (likely) if you slammed the hood after admiring the engine if might have broken off. Did you locate the broken piece?

 

[BasementCrusader]

You could get plastic card stock, cut it to fit and try to glue it in place I suppose...

 

[Camlt12010]

If it was a rock, I think that you were lucky that it missed your windshield!

I don’t think that you should lose any sleep about corrosion. The engine area is already exposed at the bottom, so a little hole isn’t really going to allow in anything that isn’t already getting in via another direction. The hole is really just cosmetic.

Probably not worth the hassle of filing an insurance claim (or the deductible, or the likely rate increase). Maybe just get a price for a new part from Ford.

I think it's quite a job to get the grille out to do yourself and I don't think you would get a rate increase on ins. I think that would fall under comprehensive.

 

[TSAINTS1115]

Jeez...........so many conspiracy theories over a chance hit from road debris.

The govt should ask for your help with 9/11 or the Kennedy assassination.

 

[Chris_G]

Jeez...........so many conspiracy theories over a chance hit from road debris.

The govt should ask for your help with 9/11 or the Kennedy assassination.

Only thing any better would be an area 51 paint job to go with the conspiracy theories.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

I would punch a typical hole, two spaces to the left, and install a couple of these eyeballs.

And be sure to get ones that will follow whomever is walking past!

 

[Coachman]

Yep. Definitely the full story. Casual drive to the store and back. Nothing out of the ordinary.

At least, it appears the hood paint wasn't scratched or damaged. I think that would be worse.

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