2012 Ford Explorer: A Question of Tolerance

I wonder how many comments this will get.
This is not my comment.

Oh! The Horror!!!!

While the driver's side may be flush in one axis, it appears to be misaligned in another.

Here we go again.....The Explorer the "whipping post" for 2012.

Tiresome in Seattle,
Stephen

Wow, how much is this truck?

That is just unacceptable.

I can't say I wouldn't be annoyed with it, but all things considered I guess I wouldn't really consider it a big deal. If the 'truck' performs well for everything else i'd need it for without resembling the cheap looking and terrible interiors from the domestic automakers of the 1990's... I wouldn't mind.

Although not in perfect symmetry, the materials look good.

That strikes me as a big enough blemish that I would have them realign both sides at the next service visit...that would annoy the heck out of me because every time I get in I'd look at that exact same place now that I was aware of it.

Could be better, but not a deal breaker.
Just checked out the Ford Explorer in person. Really like it.
Bext CUV on the market, until possibly the Pathfinder pwns it.

This would bother me a bit. My CX-9 doesn't do a great job in this area either but the design has a distinct "break" between the dash and door panel so you don't notice if the alignment isn't perfect. In the Explorer they committed to a "wrap around" look but they didn't quite pull it off.

To those who are jumping on the editors for picking on the Explorer, it's time to lay off. This type of observation (misaligned panels, uneven gaps, etc.) appears all over the long term test blog for all types of cars. Not for every car. But not every car has interior trim this far out of alignment.

Isn't this post a rerun?

http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2011/09/2012-ford-explorer-xlt-ecoboost-does-the-panel-fit.html

I'm pretty forgiving on dash-door alignments, but that's bad enough to bother me.

This is silly, and not news.

@greenpony: I think that last post was showing the "good" side.
I actually wonder if this has gotten worse because the passenger now looks much worse yet the earlier post focused on the drivers side.

"That strikes me as a big enough blemish that I would have them realign both sides at the next service visit"

I don't think this is something the dealer can fix, this is a design to manufacturing issue.

This feels like a rehash of an old topic, as pointed out by greenpony.
My '11 Explorer has somewhat of a similar condition, but it doesn't leak, squeak, or rattle, so I'm letting it go.
When the gen 2 RX's came out, some of them had a dash alignment issue.
I know someone who had one. They wanted it fixed, the dealer kept it for a month, and it was only marginally better when they got it back. Not worth the potential trouble for me.