Extremely weak cabin roof

[moonstorm]

I'm gonna be honest I'm a bit surprised I haven't found this topic in these forums.

I normally go to my usual touchless car washes around where I live, in the same places I've been taking my SUV for years (WITHOUT a moonroof - a detail that I'm sure will become important later). Every time I take this new 2024 Ranger Raptor in these car washes I hear two loud popping noises. It took me a while to understand where they were coming from. It turns out the first one is when the roof first collapses whenever I drive under the drying air blowers, pushing the auxiliary controls down into the cabin. As soon as I get out, it pops back out.

This is a very big quality and safety issue in my mind, way beyond the rest of them I had to deal with: rattling dashboard, bed sides not supporting weight, etc.
The dealer brushed this particular issue off, saying "no concern found, normal characteristics due to design of vehicle". Sure, but I feel that this needs to be escalated and Ford should step up and reinforce these roofs, irrespective whether the truck has a moonroof or not.

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[Daweism]

Yeah that doesn't seem right, I just took mine through a touchless wash yesterday without such issue.

 

[moonstorm]

Yeah that doesn't seem right, I just took mine through a touchless wash yesterday without such issue.

Yup, not saying that there aren't car washes with weak blowers. Found one too that does almost nothing when it comes to drying, not that many of them do. But that's not really the point. Anything that falls or any kind of pressure applied in between the pillars will squash people like a bug in these tin cans. And if that's not important to some people, just think what that kind of flex does to the paint.

 

[Ultra45]

I washed my Raptor for the first time last weekend. The roof is paper thin. Just running the wash over it made the roof flex and pop like crazy. I was worried I dented my roof at first.

 

[stemplar]

There was a lot of noise in Colorado/Canyon forums last year about their roofs getting dented from car wash dryers. I didn't know that GM reacted with a fix, but apparently they have one:

https://www.gm-trucks.com/car-washe...lorado-and-gmc-canyon-roofs-now-theres-a-fix/

 

[NickyFlippers]

These trucks are made out of tin cans. Actually, I think tin is more robust than whatever this is. The doors are super thin and rarely ever close on the first attempt. And when it's raining it sounds like I'm in a Sao Paolo favela.

The car wash dryer always appears as if it's about to rip my hood off when I go through it. I can see it wobbling like a piece of cheap sheet metal.

 

[hand-filer]

I didn't notice any movement when I buffed the roof with an 8" orbital after I purchased the truck.
I was actually semi impressed with the ample corrugation on the roof panel.
Having said that, I hand wash in the summer and use self serve car washes in the winter.
I've never trusted automatic car washes, even for my winter beaters.

 

[Muffin1]

There was a lot of noise in Colorado/Canyon forums last year about their roofs getting dented from car wash dryers. I didn't know that GM reacted with a fix, but apparently they have one:

https://www.gm-trucks.com/car-washe...lorado-and-gmc-canyon-roofs-now-theres-a-fix/

I remember when this commercial came out Ford bragging on their toughness, they now must be using reformulated aluminum or thinner gauge.
I gotta say Ford is the Master at cost cutting and chinsing out on their products, somewhere over on the 5G forum there was a thread listing all the decontented items over the years of Ranger

 

[superj]

Its all of the manufacturers. I came from nissan trucks for the last 5 years. Same issues you are complaining about happen over there. Its not ford specific and actually my ranger is better then my titan was. Within 3 months my titan got a new engine, and i am not alone. At least i didnt also get a transmission but i did get a new fuel system and throttle body (twice on the tb). Some people got three engines in the time i was on the titan forum and had my beautiful titan. I liked it alot but didnt trust it would stay running for another year or two so my wife wanted a new wrangler and we traded it.

Alot of people had leaky sunroofs and windshields.thay weren't fully sealed. Lots of people had rear windows that were not properly installed. All the titans had a vibration between 62 and 70 mph and the dealer said it was acceptable. Some people paid to have vibe shops pin point the issue and it was in the rear diff. The bearings and gears resonated at the same frequency and it was felt as a vibe in the floor of the truck. People lost diffs, people had steering issues, ac issues, cranks breaking on the diesel trucks, etc.

And i still loved the truck. I am still on the forum and talk to the guys almost daily.

Here is a picture of it pulling my 04 ranger home from colorado springs to the bottom of texas in february on last year. Its a 4x4 texas titan. A special edition model in 2017

 

[TwoTone]

I'm gonna be honest I'm a bit surprised I haven't found this topic in these forums.

I normally go to my usual touchless car washes around where I live, in the same places I've been taking my SUV for years (WITHOUT a moonroof - a detail that I'm sure will become important later). Every time I take this new 2024 Ranger Raptor in these car washes I hear two loud popping noises. It took me a while to understand where they were coming from. It turns out the first one is when the roof first collapses whenever I drive under the drying air blowers, pushing the auxiliary controls down into the cabin. As soon as I get out, it pops back out.

This is a very big quality and safety issue in my mind, way beyond the rest of them I had to deal with: rattling dashboard, bed sides not supporting weight, etc.
The dealer brushed this particular issue off, saying "no concern found, normal characteristics due to design of vehicle". Sure, but I feel that this needs to be escalated and Ford should step up and reinforce these roofs, irrespective whether the truck has a moonroof or not.

LOL

 

[AlpineBike]

Sounds like you haven’t driven any other vehicle that was produced in the last 10 years.

They all do that now.
All built as cheap as possible.

 

[maus92]

Perhaps it's cheaper, but the reason is to save weight wherever they can.

 

[Atom!]

I deal with a similar condition in my career.

This sounds like “oil-canning”.

Oil-canning typically occurs (in my business) with cold rolled steel in areas where both ends of the panel are “pinned” and cannot allow for thermal expansion and contraction of the steel. If the heat of the dryers and the drastic temperature change is causing the oil canning then the subsequent temperature change leaving the car wash lets the panel “pop” back into place. To relieve this, steel will often be formed with a slight bend, ridges, or perforations in the panel to allow the panel to flex during temperature changes.

Fortunately, oil canning does NOT affect the structural integrity of the steel. It’s just “physics”.

I will concede that Ford should’ve taken more preventative measures to reduce the oil-canning, but the fact that it’s popping back into place likely mitigated the need for a change. I could be wrong but my understanding with the Colorado/Canyon service bulletin was that it wasn’t going back to its original shape after leaving the car wash.

Regarding structural integrity of the roof. Everything that keeps the roof from collapsing during a roll is hidden under the steel. I wouldn’t concern myself with the oil-canning unless it damages the roof or paint in some fashion.

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