Rubber door seals

[ORRanger]

I'm wondering whether anyone else has encountered a problem I am having with the rear door seals on my '13 TiHy. If I drive on a dry gravel road, road dust infiltrates so badly that the back seat gets covered with dust. I've had it to the dealer who says that everything is fine, i.e., everything meets specs and I shouldn't expect more.

 

I've had a couple dozen new cars in my lifetime (plus a bunch of used cars) and never seen anything like this. Took the TiHy to a body shop for a consultation and they agreed that the dust is not normal, but that the seals appeared to be in place, and the doors are fitted well--gaps, etc, are all aligned. Its the same on both rear doors, indicating that this may be a design or seal quality issue.

 

The problem appears to be on the bottom of the door seal, as the photo shows. The gray area is actually a thick layer of road dust, where out should be black if the seal were tight. The dust enters here and then collects on the rocker panel between the door and body seals and the C pillar and (to a lesser extent) on the B pillar. When the rear door is opened or closed, the dust is strewn over the rear seat.

 

Any thoughts?

 

[GrySql]

I am forced to drive on a partial dirt road to see one daughter and that area gets very dirty on all four doors, the A, B and C pillar areas.

It doesn't get the inside of the car dirty when the doors are opened though, at least I haven't noticed it doing so.

I make a special effort to keep those out of sight areas clean when I wash the car, including hosing them out and wiping down.

 

The other area that collects an incredibly amount of dust is the back of the car and all around the trunk sill.

The trunk lid seam above the license plate collects dust and water, after washing it's hard to get all the water out of it without slamming the trunk lid a few times, it's annoying.

I wash this car a lot.

[hybridbear]

I found the exact same thing as GrySql when we drove on dirt roads during our Canadian road trip in June. We got tons of dirt on the inside door frame and around the trunk lid but none on our luggage inside the trunk or inside the car in the back seat area. I hope you can get this issue solved as something isn't right. Perhaps your car is missing a door seal or one is incorrectly installed. Sadly, some dealers are not very eager to make their customers happy.

 

You may want to go to a dealer and compare the door seals on your HyTi with another Fusion on the lot to see if there's a difference since the dealer isn't helping. You can also try taking your car to a different dealer for a fix. If you go to a second dealer you shouldn't mention that you asked someone else about this problem but should just present it as new.

[ORRanger]

Thanks for the feedback. Last summer, we went to a wedding at a wedding venue that had several miles of gravel road at the end. Fortunately, we had no one in the rear seats. If we had, they would have not been able to exit the car without getting their fancy duds dirty especially from dust build-up on the C pillar.

 

I did note an article in Automotive News this week that Ford is having trouble with quality from parts suppliers. This is a problem serious enough that Ford acknowledges it and it merits a write-up in AN. This seal does seem especially "soft" to me. With door closed, I can easily slide a slip of common printer paper between the door seal and the body. Could be a case in point for the issued in the AN article.

 

I think I will try another dealer.

[GrySql]

In the interim, when driving on dusty roads try pressurizing the cabin by using the A/C or Vent, not Recirculate. It might help keep the dust out a little better.

Aye, find a Dealer who cares.

[acdii]

 

With door closed, I can easily slide a slip of common printer paper between the door seal and the body.

 

Also ask if this is normal, and have them prove it on other cars on the lot. If you can slip a piece of paper between the seal, then it isn't a seal. AFAIK dust is smaller than paper.

[GrySql]

I am assuming that you have a molded rubber strip attached to the chassis that also seals the bottom of both doors, yes?

[ORRanger]

Yes. The dust build-up is between the seals.

[ORRanger]

 

Also ask if this is normal, and have them prove it on other cars on the lot. If you can slip a piece of paper between the seal, then it isn't a seal. AFAIK dust is smaller than paper.

Did you mean it is (or could be) the seal if paper can be slipped past it because dust is smaller than paper?

[acdii]

Did you mean it is (or could be) the seal if paper can be slipped past it because dust is smaller than paper?

yes. If you can pass a sheet of paper between the seal and the frame without binding up, then dust can easily get past it. If you were to put the sheet of paper in place and close the door, you can still pull it out with a good seal, but with the door closed, if you can insert the paper between the seal, then that is not good.

[acdii]

One other thing I just thought about. Get a baby snot bottle and some talc powder, and from the front door where you can see the rear door seals, puff the talc onto the seals, give it a good puffing and then look around with the door still closed and see of any got past the seal.