Scratched dash plastic

[advhawk]

My passenger today noticed a small long scratch on the passenger side of the dashboard near the right tweeter speaker. In sunlight at an angle it appears there was a metallic object was scraped on the dashboard. The end of the scratch near the speaker has a small bit of plastic sticking up.

I obviously have not placed anything on the dashboard since taking delivery last Thursday, so I'm thinking this happened before delivery during set up or earlier. Taking it to the dealer tomorrow to have them look at it.

The interior plastics don't seem to be too brittle or anything, but I know something metallic could cause this kind of damage.

I was surprised to see this in a new car. It's not very noticeable since it took me this long to even see it. I'll get some pictures tomorrow when the sun is out.

Anyway, y'all be sure to check out the plastics before taking delivery!

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[Naranjita]

Thanks for the heads up. I have been wondering how well these plastics will hold up. I'm especially concerned about the high textured weave style plastic as they have been easily scratchable when I have seen similar plastics, and the broad recycled corian looking one looks kinda soft to me.

I hope they are more durable than I am thinking.

 

[advhawk]

Thanks for the heads up. I have been wondering how well these plastics will hold up. I'm especially concerned about the high textured weave style plastic as they have been easily scratchable when I have seen similar plastics, and the broad recycled corian looking one looks kinda soft to me.

I hope they are more endurable than I am thinking.

Haha, thanks for the GIF. It’s extremely faint except for the deeper nick at the end of the scratch.

I would have never noticed it except I had a major Ford fan as my passenger and he was going over everything very carefully from the passenger seat. Now I can’t unsee it.

It’s nearly impossible to see when I was driving at night today. The plastic doesn’t seem overly soft so I didn’t think to check the plastics from every angle.

I think it’ll be fine for durability if I keep the sharp metal things in the truck bed where they belong. And maybe make sure any heavy metal objects are never placed on the dashboard which looks like a shelf. I bet someone put something there, maybe during transport or dealer set up? Hard to know.

 

[Zepper]

A picture is worth a thousand words.

 

[advhawk]

A picture is worth a thousand words.

This is the deeper nick at the end of the scratch. The scratch itself is faint but this nick is noticeable on camera.

 

[ColoradoShooter]

Probably happened at the dealer.

 

[ITSATRUCK]

Systems damage from factory probably. Its just if its worth it for you to have dealer replace panel. Personally I would leave it as i never feel it goes back together the same way a second time around.

 

[JASmith]

Systems damage from factory probably. Its just if its worth it for you to have dealer replace panel. Personally I would leave it as i never feel it goes back together the same way a second time around.

If they will even do it. Generally speaking vehicles are sold as is, and there's no way for the dealer to know that someone didn't do that themselves on a Home Depot trip hauling some long object that was resting on the dash.

That's why its important to take delivery during daylight hours IMO and bring a family member or friend and just be ridiculously anal going over everything in the vehicle. This is also how you can tell apart cheaper vehicles from more expensive ones when you really start paying attention to panel gaps and plastic flashings and the like. Dealer shouldn't mind leaving you outside with the vehicle for 10 mins while you slap on the white gloves.

 

[clavicus]

FWIW I saw various scratches in people’s photos of pre production models at events, it leads me to believe that navy pier material will show wear easily if you toss stuff around in there.

 

[advhawk]

If they will even do it. Generally speaking vehicles are sold as is, and there's no way for the dealer to know that someone didn't do that themselves on a Home Depot trip hauling some long object that was resting on the dash.

That's why its important to take delivery during daylight hours IMO and bring a family member or friend and just be ridiculously anal going over everything in the vehicle. This is also how you can tell apart cheaper vehicles from more expensive ones when you really start paying attention to panel gaps and plastic flashings and the like. Dealer shouldn't mind leaving you outside with the vehicle for 10 mins while you slap on the white gloves.

Yup. I did have nearly the same issue happen with my last new car. I took delivery at night with my last car (bad idea) and didn't see a giant grease stain on the headliner and a scratch on a dash trim panel. In that case the dealer fixed everything even though I came back after delivery.

Here in CA the dealer puts on a big registration sticker right there before delivery, so I bet someone's watch or something sharp dragged on the surface as they reached over for it.

Good advice here to pay attention and take delivery during daylight. I did and noticed some other extremely nit picky things which I called out to the dealer but didn't want them to try to "fix" because I believed they would make it worse, e.g. a tiny bit of overspray on the paint. The glare of the plastic pattern made me miss the nick from the drivers seat and I didn't look for it while in the passenger seat.

 

[sickser66]

I’d leave it alone. The mechanic will probably do more damage trying to fix it.

 

[advhawk]

^^This exactly. Why open the door for new rattles and probably less than ideal fitment. Something that minor I'd leave as-is. There's no way I'd want a tech ripping my entire dash out to replace a panel with a small nick in it. Not to mention, can they even get that part in stock? Could be a very long wait to get a replacement.

I would make the dealer aware and document the issue, then just keep an eye on it to make sure temperature changes don't cause it to crack and spread. Based on how small it is, that's highly unlikely though.

Yeah, I bet the part is impossible to get and also very expensive — it's on a very large top panel.
There's no way it's getting replaced anytime soon so I don't have to worry about big work being done so soon.

I did have my last car's dash ripped out for dealer delivery issues back in 2018 back when parts were way more available. No rattles after to my great surprise.

It's a very small imperfection which I barely notice but it's a new car which shouldn't have any which is why I'm giving the dealer an earful about it. Going in tomorrow for it.

 

[advhawk]

I’d leave it alone. The mechanic will probably do more damage trying to fix it.

With the part being impossible to get anytime soon I don't need to worry about that, haha!

 

[advhawk]

FWIW I saw various scratches in people’s photos of pre production models at events, it leads me to believe that navy pier material will show wear easily if you toss stuff around in there.

Yeah, agreed.

 

[advhawk]

Update. I visited my dealer. The service manager documented the condition of the dashboard and will submit a request for Ford to cover the dashboard under warranty.

I'm not sure yet if it's worth the hassle of potential issues with a dash reinstall; however, I wanted to request a repair since it's a brand new dashboard. Will have a long time to think about it since I'm sure parts will not be available for a long time.

The dealer was very accommodating. The staff took the problem seriously even though I did not notice it at the time of delivery.

I am satisfied with my dealer's response so far. Seems like Ford is wanting customers to be happy about their trucks.

FCA did the same when my last new car had a scuffed up dashboard which I noticed a few days after delivery. Back then I opted to get it replaced and everything turned out okay, no issues or rattles after the dealer reinstall.

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