Paint and Structural Integrity Warning!

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navywolf

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Never thought I’d be writing anything bad about a Raptor, but current owners and those considering one need to be aware of a serious short coming in the structural integrity of your truck and it is NOT COVERED by your warranty (neither the factory paint warranty nor the Premium Care Extended warranty). For the record I’ve owned 2 Raptors (2010 and 2014) and a total of 6 F150s as an adult. I’m about as Ford Blue as they come.

So, the F150 platform has a known issue of water getting into the wall of the cab. Usually through the third brake light, but it can also be caused by faulty seals around the sun roof or back window. This is the first area where a potential claim will be denied. Your warranty does not cover water intrusion caused by a faulty seal. Those are considered wear items and not covered.

I had this issue in a 2010 and it was thankfully obvious as water intruded into the cab and would run down the rear window. Both my third brake light and rear window were removed and new gaskets were installed.

I mistakenly believed Ford would have resolved this issue by 2014.

This water eventually pools in the bottom of the cab between the cab walls where it rusts the metal. These walls are structural and their integrity is important to you!

Here is the second place your claim will be denied. If you see rust and bubbling paint, it is not covered by the 5 year, unlimited mile paint warranty because Ford changed the wording of that coverage to say it must perforate the metal. In this case that means you must have holes through the cab sheet metal. For me, there are no holes through the metal and won’t be before I hit my 5 year time limit in July.

To fix this, Ford will want to remove the bed and replace the rear of the cab to forward of the door. This is their definition of a panel. My local dealership wouldn’t even give me a quote on doing that for both sides. Instead they recommended I visit a locally body shop and have them fix it.

I’m pulling a second quote tomorrow, but my first one today is $3230.00. Yep, over $3000 of structural repairs needed to a vehicle less than 5 years old with 60K miles. The repair requires removal of the bed. The corners to be cut out and new pieces rewelded in. Then paint.

I’ve attached pictures of what you should be looking for and would strongly caution you to replace the seals around your windows and third brake light before you encounter this.

On a side note, my truck is up for sale for a good price and comes with an extended warranty that probably isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on…

passenger paint.jpg drivers side paint.jpg
 

EricM

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Cab corners rusting? No way! Just you and 10 thousand others...

The aluminum sheet metal is the only thing I'm jelly of the Jennifers having.
 

xrocket21

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Cab corners rusting? No way! Just you and 10 thousand others...

The aluminum sheet metal is the only thing I'm jelly of the Jennifers having.

Im glad my ***** all plastic and aluminum with the amount of salt thats on it daily.
 
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navywolf

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Cab corners rusting? No way! Just you and 10 thousand others...

The aluminum sheet metal is the only thing I'm jelly of the Jennifers having.

I knew there was a chance they'd start to rust over time, just didn't expect it so soon into owning this one. 4 1/2 years into a trucks life seems early.
 

WRCRaptor

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Both sides of my 2011 Screw are about to to replaced at about $3,500 a side. I am out of the factory body warranty currently at 7+ years and 123,000 miles. Lots of body shops won’t work on it because they don’t do rust repair, even though it’s pannel replacement.

This is a normal issue for northern climate truck.
 

FORZDA 1

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If this is rusting from the inside out and you can actually see the rusty water coming through, that means it is PERFORATED, which also means Ford better step up and fix it. If it is rust from the outside only, then it is not perforated and is surface rust. Please do a thorough evaluation with logic before accepting what the Ford Service bozo tells you.
 
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navywolf

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If this is rusting from the inside out and you can actually see the rusty water coming through, that means it is PERFORATED, which also means Ford better step up and fix it. If it is rust from the outside only, then it is not perforated and is surface rust. Please do a thorough evaluation with logic before accepting what the Ford Service bozo tells you.

Yes from the inside out. Trust me I spent a lot of time on the line with "Ford Customer Service" (I'm well beyond the dealership) going round and round about how the rust has bubbled from the inside out through the paint and is now running down the truck. Their response ultimately is, if you can't put a finger through it, it isn't perforated and what I was seeing is not covered by the paint perforation warranty.

I absolutely agree with your assessment that they should be fixing this.

I'd love to spend more time fighting it, and arbitration is the next step up with Ford warranty. The reality for me is two fold. One, I travel a lot for my job and do not have the time to deal with this more formally. My work is frequently short notice. Secondly, I make decent money and while I'm paying for the repair, ultimately the lost hours from work cover the cost.

If we hit another shutdown, maybe I'll have the time to pursue this more. Short of some down time, I'm just sucking it up and living with it. Supposed to have the truck back this week from a local body shop.
 
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