LouS

Do any of you have a "larger than it should be" gap in either of the left/right lower rocker panels just below where the front and rear doors come together? My driver side has a gap of about 3/8" and the passenger side has a nice tight gap of about 1/8". I noticed this when I picked the car up and the dealer said they would replace the panels on the driver side if that's what I wanted to do. What do you think?

PetesTL

I have a little wider-than expected "gap" between the rear bumper and left/right rear fender panels. No big deal to me....just a reminder that this is no Lexus. I wouldn't get to the point of having the dealer replace it though....too risky.

LouS

Those are my thoughts too. I'd rather just leave it as is than take it in and have them screw something up by replacing these panels. It's only noticeable if I'm looking for it. They showed me another car on the lot that had the same problem. It doesn't appear to be an alignment problem either, just the way the pieces were molded.

04SSMTLCanada

The dealer should have inspected and adjusted these kind of things in his pre-delivery inspection, which is usually charged for. There is no reason to replace anything as the panels are not made by hand, but by machine and are made to much tighter tolerances than an 1/8". I had some panels that needed adjustment (which is not abnormal from the factory), and the dealer gladly adjusted them to my satisfaction. Even Lexuses, Bimmers, Benzes need this adjustments. It just depends on the dealer and his thoroughness.

LouS

Well after I discovered this problem and brought it to the dealer's attention, they determined that there were no adjustments that could be made to fix the problem and I would have to agree with that. If you look at the ends of both rocker panels (by the wheel wells), they are perfectly aligned in those areas. There's just a gap in the middle where they come together.

Ron A

Here's my suggestion. Take the calipers you use to find these variations, mail them to someone you know who lives about 500 miles away, then go and get them. You will enjoy driving the car so much that you won't have time to worry about minor differences or look for other things to bother you.

LouS

Well I didn't use a set of calipers to measure this and I get your point. That's why I posted what I did and said that I most likely will leave it as is. Some people are car nuts, car fanatics, perfectionists, whatever and I'm one of them. If I pay $35K for a car, I expect it to be perfect or damn close to it.