hood/front bumper gap... does everyone have one?

[Brick]

Is my OCD getting to me? It looks like some people have them, and others dont out here.

Is there anyway to adjust the gap? Everything looks to be attached to plastic, not sure where the adjustments would be other than loosening some bolts on the bottom of the bumper and up under the hood.

My car looks more similar to the pic above.

Of course the only pictures I have of my car are from afar, like my avatar, and it doesnt look like a huge gap.... but from 5 feet away it looks like it could swallow me... or to be less dramatic... i can almost fit my pinkie in the gap.

 

[dyn085]

A lot of the emphasis on that picture comes from the angle-not from an actual gap. To check for actual gap you would want to be viewing it from the plane that it mates-the angle of the hood/bumper. I haven't looked to see if/what adjustment there is, but usually it comes in the form of rubber bumpers on the two front corners that can be screwed up or down.

Here's a pic of my FoST to make you feel better about the gap-

As you can see, it needs to come down. Conversely, here's my FiST-

It should come up.

 

[me32]

Its the rubber seal. Its not a gap but just seals the hood from water

 

[Brick]

A lot of the emphasis on that picture comes from the angle-not from an actual gap. To check for actual gap you would want to be viewing it from the plane that it mates-the angle of the hood/bumper. I haven't looked to see if/what adjustment there is, but usually it comes in the form of rubber bumpers on the two front corners that can be screwed up or down.

Here's a pic of my FoST to make you feel better about the gap-

As you can see, it needs to come down. Conversely, here's my FiST-

It should come up.

Your pictures help. Thanks for taking the time to link them. I was so hung up on how huge the panel gap was between the hood and front bumper. My "gap" may be SLIGHTLY larger than yours, but for the most part it looks like the hood and bumper line up. My rubber bump stops are as low as I can go.

Its the rubber seal. Its not a gap but just seals the hood from water

Ya, it's just ugly.... It's a gap that has a rubber seal Some of the panel gaps are just so much larger than others. At least on my previous car, even if they were large, they were consistent.

Thanks for the posts guys.

 

[rexdriver85]

Just went to a FoST meet, at the end they raffled off a few items. One of the categories actually was who has the most hood gap?

Apparently it's very common in that community. In fact, the winners hood gap was so bad it looked like his hood was popped. They all had it to some degree.

One guy said he talked to Ford and they said its for "airflow." lol.

I was glad I didn't get to participate in that contest, although I did win a prize for having the cleanest rear hatch. [emoji106][emoji106]

So, don't worry too much, and if it bothers you too badly you can have them realign the hood and bumper under warranty. I had them do just that on mine, it wasn't for a hood gap though, the hood was just misaligned. They called it a factory fit and finish issue and covered it under warranty.

Good luck!

 

[dyn085]

Yeah, it's a pretty big complaint in the FoST community. I think the 'airflow' response is just how people are resolving their mental anguish over it. I don't pay attention to mine unless the sun is hitting it just right, which leaves a shadow on the bumper.

 

[Hypntick]

As you can see, it needs to come down. Conversely, here's my FiST-

It should come up.

I see we share the same gap in the bumper cover and headlight housing, that's been driving me a little nutty in the last couple of weeks.

 

[rexdriver85]

Yeah, it's a pretty big complaint in the FoST community. I think the 'airflow' response is just how people are resolving their mental anguish over it. I don't pay attention to mine unless the sun is hitting it just right, which leaves a shadow on the bumper.

A guy with a brand new 15 FoST was there, his front end was a lot more similar to ours. No hood gap issues there with the restyled front end.

And just a funny note, there was also a guy with a Tangerine Scream FoST with a build date of 5/2012 and he didn't even have the hood spacers like everyone else. He thinks he has one of the very earliest builds and they made some silent changes during production lol.

Anyhow, off topic but since you have a FoST also figured I'd share.

 

[Brick]

 

[HaveBlue83]

mine USED to smush up and meet the hood and close the gap but it doesnt anymore! i gotta show the dealer this and get a new one.

 

[add_lightness]

I have a question for people who have removed and mounted the front bumper. I was in an accident that required a full replacement front bumper/bodywork. The body shop was not great at lining things up on the front but after 30 days and them having to redo the back bumper's shit paint job and assembly I just wanted my car back.

So, now there is less of a gap between the hood and top of the bumper (almost rubbing near the middle) to the point that I'm worried about causing damage to the edge of the hood's paint when I close it.

Is there a way to adjust the bumper so it sits lower and you can see the rubber piece and have that roughly 1/4" gap all the way across? Or is it possible there were bent mounting brackets that the body shop neglected to replace?

 

[TDavis]

Here's my 2017 FiST.

I've also taken the bumper off numerous times. The first picture is actually right after the intercooler install.

 

[jeff]

It's a fit and finish issue. Mods like FMIC exacerbate the problem. I used some black zip ties under the hood to pull mine up closer so it looks right.