• Sign Up! To view all forums and unlock additional cool features

    Welcome to the #1 Fiesta ST Forum and Fiesta ST community dedicated to Fiesta ST owners and enthusiasts. Register for an account, it's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the Fiesta ST Forum today!


Roof issue

Messages
364
Likes
357
Location
SE, PA
#1
So starting this past winter I noticed the two rubber moldings that run along the roof and cover the seam weld were starting to pull up. Also during heavy rain or snow I was getting a lot of condensation on all windows, so much that I would have to keep a towel in the car to wipe them all down before driving. I thought maybe precipitation may be making it into the car through this area somehow.



I finally decided it was time to take the car into a dealership and look into getting the moldings replaced and fix the infernal blend door actuator.

One final inspection of my roof however revealed what was likely causing the water impregnation:





I took it into Paoli Ford and had the body shop manager have a look and he said the molding issue was a common issue but was flabbergasted when he saw the paint/corrosion issue evident around the antenna. He took many pictures and sent them over to Ford with assurance that this would be covered under warranty (which was approved yesterday). They were not prepared to offer a loaner car which the manager is looking into for me as they need the car for two to three days.

I just wanted to start a thread to document the process and final outcome. I never had to deal with a warranty issue before, but so-far-so-good (knocks on wood).

Wish me luck!

UPDATE 1: The body shop manager was able to secure a loaner for me, I'm scheduled to drop off the car next Monday!
UPDATE 2: I dropped the car off to the body shop yesterday, 10-1. They stated they would need it for 2-3 days. I have 2017 Focus sedan loaner, meh.
UPDATE 3: I picked up the car. It looks pretty good from far but I have found some issues: https://www.fiestastforum.com/forum/threads/18540-Roof-issue?p=321611&viewfull=1#post321611
UPDATE 4: I dropped the car off again to address the blend door actuator (part ordered, set to be delivered at noon, tech to instal.l in the afternoon) and address additional paint issues. Body shop manager assured me that the spoiler was masked off during roof repair and this was another paint issue. Also stated that he may expect to see it on a car with 60k miles on the road but not 18k as mine sits. I also pointed out that I had the two spots down near the license plate where paint flakes off (https://www.fiestastforum.com/forum...2017-Fiesta-ST?p=261199&viewfull=1#post261199). He took pictures off all defects and sent on to Ford for warranty work. He is also having his crew address the small imperfections of the roof repaint. He explained they do not have a paint booth but do curtain off the area but some imperfections can be introduced. They are going to do what they can to work the spots out.
UPDATE 5: I did not hear from the body shop manager today so I went over to look around after hours and the car is in a bay with the hatch removed, so it looks like they are respraying the whole hatch. I thought this would be the case as I had a brief phone conversation with the manager on Wednesday and said he was waiting on new emblems (not sure why they wouldn't just re-use the old ones).
 


Last edited:

CSM

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,528
Likes
1,621
Location
Cleveland, OH, USA
#2
So starting this past winter I noticed the two rubber moldings that run along the roof and cover the seam weld were starting to pull up. Also during heavy rain or snow I was getting a lot of condensation on all windows, so much that I would have to keep a towel in the car to wipe them all down before driving. I thought maybe precipitation may be making it into the car through this area somehow.



I finally decided it was time to take the car into a dealership and look into getting the moldings replaced and fix the infernal blend door actuator.

One final inspection of my roof however revealed what was likely causing the water impregnation:





I took it into Paoli Ford and had the body shop manager have a look and he said the molding issue was a common issue but was flabbergasted when he saw the paint/corrosion issue evident around the antenna. He took many pictures and sent them over to Ford with assurance that this would be covered under warranty (which was approved yesterday). They were not prepared to offer a loaner car which the manager is looking into for me as they need the car for two to three days.

I just wanted to start a thread to document the process and final outcome. I never had to deal with a warranty issue before, but so-far-so-good (knocks on wood).

Wish me luck!
I think others have seen this issue before (around the antenna). I vaguely recall seeing a user having a similar issue (That ford fixed under warranty). I'll see if I can dig it up.

I was able to fix my molding myself using super sticky 3M double sided tape that I keep lying around the house
 


XanRules

Active member
Messages
527
Likes
239
Location
Portland
#3
I had a similar issue, but mine was caused from the sunroof seals not being installed at the factory. The dealership tried to fuck me on the repair, but when I called two weeks later for an update I learned that that service manager was "no longer with the company" and it was a totally hassle-free experience, Ford and the dealership made sure to do right by me. Best of luck, I'm sure you'll be fine!
 


OP
Nitelife
Messages
364
Likes
357
Location
SE, PA
Thread Starter #4
I was able to fix my molding myself using super sticky 3M double sided tape that I keep lying around the house
I contemplated this but the leading edge on the passenger side is warped up and has cut a passenger before, also the molding on the passenger side is pushed forward in the channel towards the front of the car.
I am hoping they will pull both moldings (these seem like they would deform when removed due to the metal inside) and replace them while also applying liberal adhesive.
 


DangerMouse

Senior Member
Messages
812
Likes
334
Location
Rockford
#5
Dealer replaced both roof moldings and window vinyl. Unfortunately the roof moldings are coming up again and the vinyl trim is wrinkled to all hell already.
 


OP
Nitelife
Messages
364
Likes
357
Location
SE, PA
Thread Starter #6
Dealer replaced both roof moldings and window vinyl. Unfortunately the roof moldings are coming up again and the vinyl trim is wrinkled to all hell already.
Were yours the same or worse than mine? I know I only supplied one picture but all four ends are coming detached but the pass front shows, the others lay flat.
 


DangerMouse

Senior Member
Messages
812
Likes
334
Location
Rockford
#7
Were yours the same or worse than mine? I know I only supplied one picture but all four ends are coming detached but the pass front shows, the others lay flat.
Mine looked exactly like yours but on both sides, they didn't lay flat. I wish the trim clipped in like on most cars.
 


OP
Nitelife
Messages
364
Likes
357
Location
SE, PA
Thread Starter #8
Poked around the body shop after hours (like a kook), checking in on my FiST. I was concerned by what I saw by the front tires. At first I thought the wheel liners were pulled (low-light) but I got around to a side window and it was a wrapped bumper cover (hopefully for another vehicle!!!). It appeared that the moldings were pulled and the antenna was off with some sanding done.



 


OP
Nitelife
Messages
364
Likes
357
Location
SE, PA
Thread Starter #9
Moldings were replaced with new trim and new adhesive much better. [like]

The roof looks pretty good except for some minor imperfections (see pics). The manager showed me a picture after the antenna assembly was removed and large amounts of paint came off with the assembly. He believes there may have been damage to the antenna area during the delivery process and some repair/correction was attempted. There was surface corrosion underneath some the roof was sanded to remove corrosion and then prepped and painted.





Of more concern is that paint has been scoured from the leading edge of the hatch lid adjacent to the rear roof edge (all of these pictures are taken pointing towards the hatch wing for reference)!

Passenger side:


Center area (the worst affected):


Driver side:


They never did address my blend door actuator issue so I have an appointment to start that process and will speak with the body shop manager about paint issues.
 


Last edited:

CSM

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,528
Likes
1,621
Location
Cleveland, OH, USA
#10
Just a heads up. Save your receipts if you have anything out of pocket! There's a message on our local ST club's FB page about a law office potentially doing a class action lawsuit. Turns out this is more common than initially thought and affects other models too. I'll see if I can dig up the info
 


OP
Nitelife
Messages
364
Likes
357
Location
SE, PA
Thread Starter #11
So far Ford has been footing the bill. I have the receipt for work done so far saved in my folder for this vehicle. I'd be interested to see what information you have regarding the class action lawsuit.
 


Last edited:
OP
Nitelife
Messages
364
Likes
357
Location
SE, PA
Thread Starter #12
I dropped the car off again to address the blend door actuator (part ordered, set to be delivered at noon, tech to install in the afternoon) and address additional paint issues. Body shop manager assured me that the spoiler was masked off during roof repair and this was another paint issue. Also stated that he may expect to see it on a car with 60k miles on the road but not 18k as mine sits. I also pointed out that I had the two spots down near the license plate/hatch release where paint flakes off (https://www.fiestastforum.com/forum...2017-Fiesta-ST?p=261199&viewfull=1#post261199). He took pictures off all defects and sent on to Ford for warranty work. He is also having his crew address the small imperfections of the roof repaint. He explained they do not have a paint booth but do curtain off the area but some imperfections can be introduced. They are going to do what they can to work the spots out.
 


Messages
89
Likes
27
Location
Morley
#13
I dropped the car off again to address the blend door actuator (part ordered, set to be delivered at noon, tech to install in the afternoon) and address additional paint issues. Body shop manager assured me that the spoiler was masked off during roof repair and this was another paint issue. Also stated that he may expect to see it on a car with 60k miles on the road but not 18k as mine sits. I also pointed out that I had the two spots down near the license plate/hatch release where paint flakes off (https://www.fiestastforum.com/forum...2017-Fiesta-ST?p=261199&viewfull=1#post261199). He took pictures off all defects and sent on to Ford for warranty work. He is also having his crew address the small imperfections of the roof repaint. He explained they do not have a paint booth but do curtain off the area but some imperfections can be introduced. They are going to do what they can to work the spots out.
Talk to your service manager about a 3M adhesive to put in the gaps on the hatch. Ford has been doing it for the new STā€™s (to the last year for our cars and they are just coming up with this solution now) lol. Mine went in again for a bunch of bubbling, peeling, and corroding and my service manager told me about the 3M fix. Also another member told me about it and he says it has been working for him. That should fix that issue but the others are still going to need some work as paint problems seem to be a common occurrence lately.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 


OP
Nitelife
Messages
364
Likes
357
Location
SE, PA
Thread Starter #14
I did not hear from the body shop manager today so I went over to look around after hours and the car is in a bay with the hatch removed, so it looks like they are respraying the whole hatch. I thought this would be the case as I had a brief phone conversation with the manager on Wednesday and said he was waiting on new emblems (not sure why they wouldn't just re-use the old ones).
 


OP
Nitelife
Messages
364
Likes
357
Location
SE, PA
Thread Starter #15
I picked up the car last Thursday and am fairly satisfied with the paint work done. All spots on the roof were corrected, and the rear hatch was removed and repainted. The part that has the rear hatch lift handle and Ford logo doesn't appear to have been bolted down correctly as the drivers side is poking out some. I think I am going to address that on my own.

Half way home I noticed the wrench light was on. [???:)] My odometer is at around 18,600 so I thought maybe it was the oil change warning light. I performed many iterations of the reset sequence but it always came back. I hooked up my unmarried AP to pull codes and found P0504, Brake switch correlation. I looked under the dash to make sure the switch was plugged in as I remember reading this sensor was in the way when the blend door actuator was replaced. Everything was hooked up so I guess the technician messed up the brake sensor during their work. [thumbdown]

I have been trying to be pretty patient about this whole process but this is starting to get ridiculous. I will schedule to get this fixed next week but this will be the fourth time Ford will be working on the car!!! Arggh!
 


Last edited:
OP
Nitelife
Messages
364
Likes
357
Location
SE, PA
Thread Starter #16
I had the car back at the dealership to diagnose the brake switch engine light. They did back probe the switch to check function and all the shop manual tests indicated the sensor is working. They believe a brake light wire may have been pinched during the re-paint of the hatch (which was removed from the car) or possibly some wire when the roof liner was pulled down. They didn't have a loaner available going into the weekend so I will be dropping off on Tuesday and leaving the car for a couple days so they can properly trace down the electrical gremlin that is causing the fault. I hate chasing electrical issues so am glad they are on-board to track down and correct the issue.

I just have to be patient.
 


DangerMouse

Senior Member
Messages
812
Likes
334
Location
Rockford
#17
I had the car back at the dealership to diagnose the brake switch engine light. They did back probe the switch to check function and all the shop manual tests indicated the sensor is working. They believe a brake light wire may have been pinched during the re-paint of the hatch (which was removed from the car) or possibly some wire when the roof liner was pulled down. They didn't have a loaner available going into the weekend so I will be dropping off on Tuesday and leaving the car for a couple days so they can properly trace down the electrical gremlin that is causing the fault. I hate chasing electrical issues so am glad they are on-board to track down and correct the issue.

I just have to be patient.

Hopefully it's nothing major. They sure don't take much care putting them back together.

My rear washer squirter didn't work after having my hatch repainted under warranty.

I decidedly to take a peek and sure enough the washer hose was kinked, luckily it was connected and not raining down in the back somewhere.
 


OP
Nitelife
Messages
364
Likes
357
Location
SE, PA
Thread Starter #18
I forgot to update this after the last trip to the dealership. After tracing the wires in the rear hatch area they have come to the conclusion that the PCM (ECU) is the culprit and have ordered a replacement. PCM's are on back order until mid-December (I believe they quoted 5 other units were on back-order before mine). They will call when the replacement is in.

Also the rubber moldings that run along the roof seam are peeling up again. I talked to the body shop manager and he was PO-ed as he complained about them not being clip in moldings before. I joked that we should use windshield adhesive on them and he said he agreed, so hopefully that will be addressed finally.
 


TyphoonFiST

9000 Post Club
Premium Account
Messages
11,495
Likes
7,986
Location
Rich-fizzield
#19
I forgot to update this after the last trip to the dealership. After tracing the wires in the rear hatch area they have come to the conclusion that the PCM (ECU) is the culprit and have ordered a replacement. PCM's are on back order until mid-December (I believe they quoted 5 other units were on back-order before mine). They will call when the replacement is in.

Also the rubber moldings that run along the roof seam are peeling up again. I talked to the body shop manager and he was PO-ed as he complained about them not being clip in moldings before. I joked that we should use windshield adhesive on them and he said he agreed, so hopefully that will be addressed finally.
What mileage are you at? Can it wait till summer? I had the roof molding issue also.....Fixed it once in the winter and they peeled again...my conclusion is the adhesive didn't have time to really cling to t he paint due to the cold. Waited till summer...went back got them done again and made sure it was a hot ass day so that they adhesive would sit in the sun and heat up and cure better on the two sided tape and so far so good I'm at 47k....[rockon]
 


OP
Nitelife
Messages
364
Likes
357
Location
SE, PA
Thread Starter #20
What mileage are you at? Can it wait till summer? I had the roof molding issue also.....Fixed it once in the winter and they peeled again...my conclusion is the adhesive didn't have time to really cling to t he paint due to the cold. Waited till summer...went back got them done again and made sure it was a hot ass day so that they adhesive would sit in the sun and heat up and cure better on the two sided tape and so far so good I'm at 47k....[rockon]
Car is currently around 19400 mileage.
,
It certainly makes sense that doing this during summer heat will help adhesion and cure time of the adhesive. The replacement was done here in PA in October and it was probably in the 70's still here, although we have been getting a lot of rain which introduces another element to cause adhesion issues.

If I was doing the replacement on my own and had attempted it with factory adhesive more than once I would go overboard and use the windshield adhesive that I joked about with the manager; just to be done with it for good. If the body shop manager is on board to use that adhesive I will probably give them the okay to proceed.

I cannot think of any reason the moldings would need to be removed, short of a roof replacement (access to the seam weld). Am I missing some other scenario that may detract from taking a more permanent path to resolve this?
 


Similar threads



Top