General Panel Gaps

[JNAnderson]

Only you can answer that.

It's only cosmetic, after all.

True. It can't do any damage to the car driving with a gap though can it?

 

[rallycinq]

True. It can't do any damage to the car driving with a gap though can it?

I'd still want it right. Pop your head under the wing, there should be a tx27 big head bolt screwing into a bracket. Is it there?

D

 

[JNAnderson]

I'd still want it right. Pop your head under the wing, there should be a tx27 big head bolt screwing into a bracket. Is it there?

D

When the car was up on the ramps and lifted up, he called me over to look and showed me a bolt. It was screwed into something but don't know if it was a bracket. It was screwed in under the wing?

 

[JNAnderson]

Here's what it's like from up above and then also my papas black Fiat 500L. Not sure but they don't look too different.

 

[typecastboy]

They pluttered about unscrewing, shifting and putting back on and moved a screw further down it, but looks the same to me. Will this be right enough? He said the 'lugs' he called them are all clipped in right?

I would suggest that yanking the bumper out of the lugs which is probably how it was removed has bent them so they are holding the bumper fractionally too low.

 

[JNAnderson]

I would suggest that yanking the bumper out of the lugs which is probably how it was removed has bent them so they are holding the bumper fractionally too low.

Is it worth going back again and asking them to change them, or likely ok like this? You need to be at eye level to notice the gap so nobody would even really know except me that it's like that. It's annoying and it'll stress me out that it looks like that, but at the same time if it's just cosmetic and has no impact on the car or how it works, maybe I should just leave it.

 

[JNAnderson]

Ps they didn't remove the bumper yesterday. Just unclipped all the bits, and pushed it up etc.. should they have removed it all?

 

[John202020]

Looking at your new picture (is yours a satin finish?) The gap looks ok

 

[JNAnderson]

Looking at your new picture (is yours a satin finish?) The gap looks ok

This pictures from height so maybe why it doesn't look so bad. If this is what people wil see who won't be at eye level with it (why would they!), it doesn't look too horrendous to passers by? Mine is the matt finish.

 

[JNAnderson]

Last question about this but getting myself in a stress and seriously considering getting rid of the Fiat 500, but tonight when covering up a few chips, I noticed gaps at the side of my lights. A. Would they have removed these at all during mot and removal of bumper? and b. Is this normal? Is this what they're meant to be like from that angle?

 

[typecastboy]

They shouldn't have removed them but they don't look right to me

 

[John202020]

Will look tomorrow, my dad summed up Fiats well, they're great whilst under warranty, then after that you need to be good at fixing things oneself or they become quite expensive(parts are cheap its the fitting of them)
If you want a reliable car, get a Japanese PETROL car

 

[JNAnderson]

I don't understand how they could have moved? I'm so stressed with this car now.

 

[John202020]

I don't understand how they could have moved? I'm so stressed with this car now.

Calm, you stress a bit too much, our car is in bits on the drive as I fix numerous "small/large" issues will take some pictures in the morning.

 

[JCarp16]

Will look tomorrow, my dad summed up Fiats well, they're great whilst under warranty, then after that you need to be good at fixing things oneself or they become quite expensive(parts are cheap its the fitting of them)
If you want a reliable car, get a Japanese PETROL car

If you can afford a decent Japanese car, that is... in my experience the cheaper ones are just as 'disposable' as their European equivalents.

 

[JNAnderson]

Calm, you stress a bit too much, our car is in bits on the drive as I fix numerous "small/large" issues will take some pictures in the morning.

Just been out with the torch on my phone like a mad woman and I think (probably just a guess) from looking at it with the bonnet up and comparing both sides, the passengers side light is totally fine, it's the drivers side which is where the gap in the bumper and wing was. With the bonnet closed, if I feel along the edge, the bonnet is very very slightly overlapping the bumper at that edge. So my guess is that when they've fixed the gap I went in for on Friday and pulled the bumper in and up, it's pushed the bumper in, which obviously would make the light look like it's out more, when in fact it's not moved, the surrounding bumper has. My concern now though is can water/dirt/debris do any damage if it gets in to the gaps around the lights?

Hope your car gets fixed soon.

 

[JNAnderson]

Is it possible for the gaps to come back, without having the bumper taking off again? Cleaning my car yesterday and the gaps look wider again. Haven't touched the bumper or had an accident. Not sure if because I got sealant into it that's maybe just making it look worse, but I can definitely see all clips.

 

[jrkitching]

Is it possible for the gaps to come back, without having the bumper taking off again?

Yes it is.

Plastic expands with temperature much more than metal, so if you park in the sun, the plastic bumper will by design flex on its clips, and it may not go back exactly the same way when it cools down.

Similarly the bumper will shrink slightly on cold nights.

Properly accounting for the changes in shape with temperature is a significant engineering challenge when combining large pieces of plastic with other materials in a structure. It's one of the reasons why so many modern houses end up with leaky guttering.

 

[JNAnderson]

Can this happen even to a car that the bumper hasn't been taken off and had to be realigned?

Not sure if it makes any odds, but the car was washed yesterday in 20c sunshine (stupid, I didn't think). It's been Pretty warmish today too. These are the hottest days we've had so far since last September.

Could it go down again and meet the shape it's meant to be? I get so upset over stupid things but it still don't fall off or anything.

 

[jrkitching]

Could it go down again and meet the shape it's meant to be?

More likely it will find the shape it wants to be. Even if you have it adjusted, there's no guarantee it'll stay the way it looks when you collect the car back.

I get so upset over stupid things but it still don't fall off or anything.

I suspect the level of perfection you'd like to have in your car is greater than the level of perfection that Fiat have engineered into it. I doubt very much that your bumper will fall off.