[jsvette]

GM the most awarded car company of 2014. Wow.

Did you post on the wrong thread?

 

[purpleRac3r]

Hmm, something seems amiss here. I have 31600 miles on my '14, and it has seen temperatures below zero to over 110 degrees for extended times. I have never seem the rear fascia bow out in the heat in the way some of you are experiencing. As far as my car is concerned, the engineering & design are virtually flawless.

That said, there obviously is a problem, verified by several of you. Having recently removed my rear fascia to change my Z51 spoiler to a carbon fiber piece, I may have some ideas. I noticed on my fascia there are not only the 6 bkg orange clips for alignment, but also 2 thin black tabs on each side. The orange clips are attached to a bracket on the fender and snap into slots on the fascia. The black tabs are part of the fascia's internal structure and slip into slots in the fender brackets. If one or both of the black tabs breaks off or is not correctly inserted, a bulging can occur down the side of the fascia, exactly like shown in the photos in earlier posts. I actually missed getting one tab in place when reinstalling the fascia, and ad the same bulge. I pulled the fascia loose again, looked close and that's when I actually saw the tab and realized what it did. I have to wonder if these tabs are either missing or not in their slots on some of your cars, and have been that way since assembly. It would be worth looking into.

 

[ICU LQQKIN]

Excellent info purpleRac3r!

 

[Z06 Owned]

Hmm, something seems amiss here. I have 31600 miles on my '14, and it has seen temperatures below zero to over 110 degrees for extended times. I have never seem the rear fascia bow out in the heat in the way some of you are experiencing. As far as my car is concerned, the engineering & design are virtually flawless.

That said, there obviously is a problem, verified by several of you. Having recently removed my rear fascia to change my Z51 spoiler to a carbon fiber piece, I may have some ideas. I noticed on my fascia there are not only the 6 bkg orange clips for alignment, but also 2 thin black tabs on each side. The orange clips are attached to a bracket on the fender and snap into slots on the fascia. The black tabs are part of the fascia's internal structure and slip into slots in the fender brackets. If one or both of the black tabs breaks off or is not correctly inserted, a bulging can occur down the side of the fascia, exactly like shown in the photos in earlier posts. I actually missed getting one tab in place when reinstalling the fascia, and ad the same bulge. I pulled the fascia loose again, looked close and that's when I actually saw the tab and realized what it did. I have to wonder if these tabs are either missing or not in their slots on some of your cars, and have been that way since assembly. It would be worth looking into.

Can you post some photos of what we should be looking for, internally?

Better yet, wanna fly down to TX and take my Z's rear bumper off? Ha!

 

[Mobius]

I have 31600 miles on my '14...

Rock on.

 

[TNSQUIRE]

Hmm, something seems amiss here. I have 31600 miles on my '14, and it has seen temperatures below zero to over 110 degrees for extended times. I have never seem the rear fascia bow out in the heat in the way some of you are experiencing. As far as my car is concerned, the engineering & design are virtually flawless.

That said, there obviously is a problem, verified by several of you. Having recently removed my rear fascia to change my Z51 spoiler to a carbon fiber piece, I may have some ideas. I noticed on my fascia there are not only the 6 bkg orange clips for alignment, but also 2 thin black tabs on each side. The orange clips are attached to a bracket on the fender and snap into slots on the fascia. The black tabs are part of the fascia's internal structure and slip into slots in the fender brackets. If one or both of the black tabs breaks off or is not correctly inserted, a bulging can occur down the side of the fascia, exactly like shown in the photos in earlier posts. I actually missed getting one tab in place when reinstalling the fascia, and ad the same bulge. I pulled the fascia loose again, looked close and that's when I actually saw the tab and realized what it did. I have to wonder if these tabs are either missing or not in their slots on some of your cars, and have been that way since assembly. It would be worth looking into.

That is exactly what the problem was on mine. They finally pulled the rear fascia and replaced the entire bracket assembly. Bulge is gone.

 

[cjenkinsC7]

The bulge is definitely a problem that I see on 9 out of 10 cars on the Chevy lot. The rear fascia almost always bulges out on one side. Supposedly there are two clips on each side that hold the rear quarter and rear fascia together

 

[krauty]

I've been doing heavy collision work for over 40 years and this appears to be a very easy adjustment.calm down it is a very easy fix and you will be smiling before you know it !!!!!!

 

[Z06 Owned]

Ok krauty...my car will be available after 7P...come on over!

 

[purpleRac3r]

Here's a couple of photos of the tabs I referred to that may be the culprit here. Sorry for not having better examples, the pix were for the spoiler install, not the bulge issue, so I was focusing on a different aspect. These should be decent enough to give the body shops something to consider. And upon a closer look in the photos, there may actually be 3 tabs on each side, not 2.

The first photo shows one of the tabs on the back of the fascia itself. They are very thin, fairly flexible and my guess is many shops don't even notice them. I didn't at first either. The second photo shows where the tab should insert into the fender bracket. If the tab misses the slot, it will bulge the fascia out. If the tab is missing entirely, it may align at installation, but allow more movement/change depending on ambient conditions. And please keep in mind, what I present may or may not contribute to the bulging fascia issue, but is one thing to consider mentioning to your dealer's body shop. Having directly experienced a bulge at my own hand, and seeing the cause on the spot, I can't help but think there's something to this. I sincerely hope this helps some of you guys and gals out!

 

[Z06 Owned]

PurpleRac3r...thanks for the photos. Those are pretty revealing. Where you have the yellow arrow in the 1st picture corresponds with the location of my cover buldge!

I found this thread on rear bumper removal:
http://www.stingrayforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2937

Looks like I can investigate that top clip by simply removing the tail light bezel! Edit: Incorrect...the top clip is not visible without further disassembly.

If the tab is missing/broken off, you'd need a new bumper cover, right? The bracket on the quarter panel looks like a pretty straightforward piece...not sure what could go wrong with it.

 

[purpleRac3r]

My thinking is yes, a new bumper cover would be needed. The tabs are actually on an inner reinforcement that is sonic welded to the outer fascia. I see no easy way to replace just the inner portion. I suspect in most cases it will be a matter of correctly positioning those tabs during install as opposed to actually needing a new fascia.

 

[Z06 Owned]

Well, I got the bumper apart enough to feel the top tab and it is intact and inserted properly into the hole on the bracket. Also got a photo...see below.

Boy, pulling that tail light bezel off was scary. The rest was pretty easy.

In researching, someone claims the molds on C7 covers are long and either extend below the quarter panels, or "bunch up" and cause the buldge, or both.

Well, PurpleRac3r, thanks for bringing your potential solution to my attention. Your photos were a perfect guide, along with some photos Jeremy posted of his car with the rear fascia off.

Guess it's gonna take some heat and shrinking to tackle this issue...the cover is definitely distorted. Not in my area of expertise. Guessing the dealer won't want to do it, either. Plus, it may damage the paint. I'll leave well enough alone....

Photo of top tab in bracket:

 

[Z06 Owned]

Quick update:

I was able to improve the bulge...maybe 50% improvement by loosening the bracket bolt behind the tail light bezel, then pushing in on the bulge and re-tightening the bracket bolt simultaneously. Not perfect, but better. Guessing a body tech could get it closer.

Wonder if the top of the bracket that is attached at the quarter panel side could be moved inward? That might bring further improvement.

Or, maybe elongate the hole in the bumper cover where the bracket bolt behind the tail lamp bezel goes through the bumper cover material, allowing more adjustment? See photo below (not my car):

 

[purpleRac3r]

Wow, you were on it quick! Sorry this didn't help as much in your case as I'd hoped, but at least that's one possibility ruled out. I just looked up the guide bracket in my factory service manual. It doesn't look like its position can be adjusted in since it bolts to the outside of the fender. If your problem was the fascia was "lower" than the fender you could shim to help. That said, keep in mind the bracket is a thermoplastic. Perhaps with the fascia removed, careful application of a heat gun and hanx presssure could reshape the bracket enough in some cases to improve fascia fit. Again, just trying to brainstorm some ideas here to help you guys out. Also, checked a couple cars in stock at my dealer, and neither show a bulge worth mentioning. Perhaps there was just a bad batch of fascias by the vendor.

 

[Z06 Owned]

Thanks, PurpleRac3r for all your help!

The cover bulge is pretty minimal now. If it bothers me in the future, at least I know how to attack & what everything looks like under there.

 

[C7 Zo6]

My bulge is bigger than your bulge!!

 

[fast eddie]

Just some thoughts. 1, my dealer told me to wate thru the summer months or towards the end of the real hot months and then come in for body alignment issues. My dealer sells lots of Corvettes, is #1 in Ca. 2, make DAM sure you go to dealer with CERTIFIED C7 Stingray Tech, not a tech who maybe was certified on previously iterations. 3,Find another dealer if you get dumb, stupid responses, " your too picky" etc. I noticed some of you were from major metro area where you would have many dealer choices! I drive 180 miles to have my Vette serviced because I found a dealer who really knows there S__T, am I picky, hell yes! I think my Z is a Grand Piano and fit and trim should be Supper Car worthy.

Eddie

 

[Z06 Owned]

Hey...I'm 99% sure I can resolve this issue (rear cover bulge) for 90% of C7 owners...and, I will super document every step...it's not rocket science, I promise...but, my work schedule is ridiculous for the next 10-12 days.

Soooo...I will get it done, but need some time!

 

[TNSQUIRE]

I'm trying to get these two panels a little closer to one another. Anyone know the secret?