[Alan47717]

Adding another jacking damage episode to the file. Had my Conti's (installed new 11/24) rotated last Thursday the 12th by Discount Tire. Made a few stops afterwards and then parked it until yesterday the 18th. Opened the door to go for a day long cruise and a horrifying metal on metal grinding noise erupted. Turns out the lower left corner of the door is contacting the fender as it swings. I think it took a few open/close cycles for the paint to scrub off and start the metal to metal business.

I went straight to Discount Tire and talking with the manager (who owns a 2017 ZL1), making it clear that the door gaps used to be excellent and that the only thing that's "happened" to the car is they jacked it up and he (pretty readily actually) to initiate a damage liability investigation case for me. So far, so good. Some department or outside contractor has been assigned and I have a case manager who will call me by Monday. We'll see.

I haven't seen mention of the door to fender interference I have by anyone else. I am confused by the appearance of the fender being pushed in relative to the rocker yet the door and fender surfaces are still level, just the gap is screwed up. If it's the rocker that's pushed out, why did it affect the door gap?

Needless to say, I am royally pissed off.

[Abubaca]

While I can't speak to your specific situation, I can say that one thing I've learned over the years of trying to fix body gaps during body work is that ANYTHING out of place can do weird things to how the panels fit and how they appear. What you say makes sense, but I can tell you I've been stumped enough times to just take it for what it is. If it's outta place, it'll look wierd!!!!

[Alan47717]

Correction, the Conti DW-06's were installed in November of 2023.

[Gen6cyl]

I was looking at challengers at a dealership in Macon GA a month ago. They had about 10, rt and srt, new. They had a foam rubber like filler covering the door -fender gap from inside. The over all gaps were not bad.

[Alan47717]

Originally Posted by Abubaca

While I can't speak to your specific situation, I can say that one thing I've learned over the years of trying to fix body gaps during body work is that ANYTHING out of place can do weird things to how the panels fit and how they appear. What you say makes sense, but I can tell you I've been stumped enough times to just take it for what it is. If it's outta place, it'll look wierd!!!!

Yes, and the gaps elsewhere on the door are still fine so the door/hinge pillar haven't been affected.

However this ends up and whoever ends up paying for it, I have to make sure someone doesn't try to pass off just adjusting the door as a cheap bandaid fix.

[havelegs]

It is GM quality, only the finest.

[Alan47717]

Originally Posted by havelegs

It is GM quality, only the finest.

??? What does GM quality have to do with it? The door worked perfectly for nearly three years and 12,000 miles before the tire rotation screwed it up.

True, you do have to know what you are doing when you jack up a 6th gen and maybe GM could have made it easier if they tried but hey, Discount Tire's business is based on being able to jack cars up properly.

[Alan47717]

Christmas week update. Discount Tire called as promised and asked to me to get an estimate from the shop of my choice and send it to them along with pictures. Since the car is still under warranty I really prefer the dealership's body shop do the work even with the risk that their number would make them choke. And $1400 might do the trick. Stay tuned.

[bishopts]

The shape of the whole thing is pretty complex, you dont notice it till you do but the whole panel is narrowing from the fender to the door, on top of the fact that it has to be able to open. Slightly open the door and look how the gap is really small and almost touching in one spot

[GreyGhost702]

My ‘19 had the same fender vs door alignment issues and I’ve had the pinch weld pads on the car from day 1. Jacking the car correctly helps prevent tragedy, but it’s not the sole cause. Mine were shit before I purchased the car. I don’t make the dealer scratch their little heads about it because they are not experts at GM product and very few are even “car guys” as much as they can regurgitate what’s in the sales brochures.

It’s just how they come from the factory, it’s within tolerance. I dialed mine in by literally pushing on the offending area with only enough pressure to gain movement. It only needed a few millimeters here and there. I wouldn’t say they are 100% perfect alignment, I would say 99.998% perfect. Will get a pic if I can but I don’t have a before shot since it’s been years. Damn it’s been 5 years already… time to sell! lol

[Alan47717]

Originally Posted by GreyGhost702

My ‘19 had the same fender vs door alignment issues and I’ve had the pinch weld pads on the car from day 1. Jacking the car correctly helps prevent tragedy, but it’s not the sole cause. Mine were shit before I purchased the car. I don’t make the dealer scratch their little heads about it because they are not experts at GM product and very few are even “car guys” as much as they can regurgitate what’s in the sales brochures.

It’s just how they come from the factory, it’s within tolerance. I dialed mine in by literally pushing on the offending area with only enough pressure to gain movement. It only needed a few millimeters here and there. I wouldn’t say they are 100% perfect alignment, I would say 99.998% perfect. Will get a pic if I can but I don’t have a before shot since it’s been years. Damn it’s been 5 years already… time to sell! lol

Did you actually have door to fender interference that you made the adjustment to correct?

[GreyGhost702]

Originally Posted by Alan47717

Did you actually have door to fender interference that you made the adjustment to correct?

The door swing never interfered with the fender, if that is what you are referring to. The fender was just pushed out further than the door, like fish gills. Had the same problem on my Mustang, solved it the same way.

[Summit20171SS]

Originally Posted by GreyGhost702

The door swing never interfered with the fender, if that is what you are referring to. The fender was just pushed out further than the door, like fish gills. Had the same problem on my Mustang, solved it the same way.

Im curious, I have the same problem. Which part of car did you push on to get this corrected?

[Alan47717]

2/26/25 Update. After getting the runaround from Discount Tire's claim adjusters for a couple of months, they officially denied my claim on 2/17. "No proof that they did it" BS.

Put together a package with the estimate, photos, timeline and even some relevant sample posts from here along with a demand letter sent directly to company headquarters, adding an additional $600 for my trouble and assuring them they would end up in court if they didn't pay.

Letter arrived at Discount Tire's headquarters on Monday, the 24th and this morning the adjuster called to tell me they were paying me the full amount including
the extra $600.

Moral of the story is document everything and write actual letters. My whole adult life, hardcopy letters have been exponentially more effective at resolving matters to MY satisfaction than any form of verbal or electronic communication. Something about holding that piece of paper in their hand seems to make them think you're actually serious.