Front inner wheel well issues

[Woobar]

Brought home my 2024 from the dealer two weeks ago and they had cindered the roads of Northeastern PA. On the 25 minute drive home I ended up with an unbelievable amount of stones behind the wheel wells as others have experienced. I removed the back portion of the wheel wells and vacuumed up the stones. Then I removed the screws along the black plastic side skirts that hold up the underbelly shields running from the front wheel well toward the rear wheel well. You can drop the shield down far enough to tap out and vacuumed out the stones here without removing the entire shield. I did not remove the belly pan under the engine, but I can hear stones there. I'll wait for an oil change to get to those as there were very few from the sound when tapping the shield. I decided to try to cover the holes after emailing the dealer about it (with pics). He did get right back to me after talking to his shop manager and, of course, they could not do anything other than to pass on the information to Ford...I'm sure that won't happen, but they said it would???

I bought a sheet of 1/8" rubber and then a sheet 1/16" rubber as I felt the 1/8" was going to be harder to form around the opening. The 1/16" worked great and was very flexible. I started with a square piece of the rubber that I cut after measuring the opening. I placed the square piece in more of a diamond shape by connecting a corner using the 9/32" hex screw just under the car and behind the wheel well opening. From there I took the adjacent corner that faced outward in between the black plastic side skirt and the curved bottom of the wheel well shield...and I was amazed how it tucked right in that area. The rest of the rubber sheet just fell in place. I slowly marked, removed, cut and trimmed the square rubber sheet until I got the shape that I felt looked the best and covered the entire opening. Only time will tell if the rubber will hold up. Anyway, I have included pics of the process below. The best part was that I paid under $6.00 for a 12" x 12" x 1/16" rubber sheet that the two covers were cut from. So this is a very inexpensive solution to the wheel well opening problem. I also used 8 push pin fasteners which I had laying around.

Here are a few pics of how it turned out.

Completed Rubber Opening Cover

Driver Side Rubber Cover Installed

Passenger Side Rubber Cover Installed

Attached 9/32" Hex Screw Under Driver Side

Also going to include a template if anyone is interested in giving this a go. It'll save you a bunch of time. You might want to cut the rubber a little bigger than the template and fit it to you liking. Good luck and let me know if this works for anyone else!

Rubber cover pattern template link below:
2024 Mustang Wheel Well Opening Cover.pdf

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[SSuperDave]

That is exactly what I'm planning on doing when I have it up to install the jacking rails.
Thanks!

 

[Woobar]

That is exactly what I'm planning on doing when I have it up to install the jacking rails.
Thanks!

Your welcome! I put on jacking rails too. Be sure to clean out the stones under the shield along the plastic side skirts before installing, because I think the jacking rails cover some of the screws for that shield.

 

[Gr8ful]

I ordered the kit from DIYvan. Very nice design.

 

[rubbertoe]

His website says wheel well hole kits are sold out! I will call him tomorrow. I plan to buy them.

 

[DCS]

To remove the gravel you have to remove a number (at least 6 iirc) of screws (9/32" hex heads) holding the front of the belly pan that extends rearward behind the front tire. Then gently pull it down a bit and bang your palm against it. Most of the gravel will fall out. There will likely also be some gravel inside the pan that is under the engine. It is somewhat open at the back so you can access it there with a shop vac. Ultimately the best way is to lift the vehicle and remove the pans entirely. That might be something to consider doing during an oil change.

All the best,
Hein

So glad you produced this fix. I am getting close to cancelling my order due to this and Ford's lack of response. There are a few other problems I have been reading about, but Ford's lack of response [to me] is very telling.
My order hasn't even been scheduled yet. If I decide to not cancel it, I will definitely order your kit.

 

[heinvs]

His website says wheel well hole kits are sold out! I will call him tomorrow. I plan to buy them.

Thanks for the heads up. They are available now.

All the best,
Hein

 

[Sf22giants]

Brought home my 2024 from the dealer two weeks ago and they had cindered the roads of Northeastern PA. On the 25 minute drive home I ended up with an unbelievable amount of stones behind the wheel wells as others have experienced. I removed the back portion of the wheel wells and vacuumed up the stones. Then I removed the screws along the black plastic side skirts that hold up the underbelly shields running from the front wheel well toward the rear wheel well. You can drop the shield down far enough to tap out and vacuumed out the stones here without removing the entire shield. I did not remove the belly pan under the engine, but I can hear stones there. I'll wait for an oil change to get to those as there were very few from the sound when tapping the shield. I decided to try to cover the holes after emailing the dealer about it (with pics). He did get right back to me after talking to his shop manager and, of course, they could not do anything other than to pass on the information to Ford...I'm sure that won't happen, but they said it would???

I bought a sheet of 1/8" rubber and then a sheet 1/16" rubber as I felt the 1/8" was going to be harder to form around the opening. The 1/16" worked great and was very flexible. I started with a square piece of the rubber that I cut after measuring the opening. I placed the square piece in more of a diamond shape by connecting a corner using the 9/32" hex screw just under the car and behind the wheel well opening. From there I took the adjacent corner that faced outward in between the black plastic side skirt and the curved bottom of the wheel well shield...and I was amazed how it tucked right in that area. The rest of the rubber sheet just fell in place. I slowly marked, removed, cut and trimmed the square rubber sheet until I got the shape that I felt looked the best and covered the entire opening. Only time will tell if the rubber will hold up. Anyway, I have included pics of the process below. The best part was that I paid under $6.00 for a 12" x 12" x 1/16" rubber sheet that the two covers were cut from. So this is a very inexpensive solution to the wheel well opening problem. I also used 8 push pin fasteners which I had laying around.

Here are a few pics of how it turned out.

Completed Rubber Opening Cover

Driver Side Rubber Cover Installed

Passenger Side Rubber Cover Installed

Attached 9/32" Hex Screw Under Driver Side

Also going to include a template if anyone is interested in giving this a go. It'll save you a bunch of time. You might want to cut the rubber a little bigger than the template and fit it to you liking. Good luck and let me know if this works for anyone else!

Thank you for this.

 

[Woobar]

Thank you for this.

You're welcome!

 

[ListedGuru]

So when my Mustang comes in should I bring a roll of tape with me to the dealer and do a quick fix before I drive it home? Might save some aggravation of all those pesky stones getting in there...

 

[DCS]

That’s my plan when I pick up my new ride.

 

[dollybud]

So when my Mustang comes in should I bring a roll of tape with me to the dealer and do a quick fix before I drive it home? Might save some aggravation of all those pesky stones getting in there...

 

[dollybud]

Tell the dealer to fix it properly and let him by the kit. He can charge it back to Ford saying it was necessary or the deal was off. Maybe Ford will do something if enough pressure is put to them.
Years back wife had a new FordTaurus. Phoned me at work and said wipers weren’t working real light rain. Exchanged vehicles. Phoned dealership said bring it in take a new one from his lot and charge it to Ford. That was 40 years ago when a customer meant something.

 

[dusman59]

I used black duct tape. It wasn't pretty but worked as I had to get tint at one place and ppf at another. It will save you from vacuuming.

 

[Eurasianman]

Tell the dealer to fix it properly and let him by the kit. He can charge it back to Ford saying it was necessary or the deal was off. Maybe Ford will do something if enough pressure is put to them.
Years back wife had a new FordTaurus. Phoned me at work and said wipers weren’t working real light rain. Exchanged vehicles. Phoned dealership said bring it in take a new one from his lot and charge it to Ford. That was 40 years ago when a customer meant something.

This will vary per dealership. Some dealerships are willing to listen to their customers and reach out to Ford Motor Company. Others, if you don't buy the vehicle because of said flaw, they'll just move on because someone else who doesn't know about it will buy the vehicle.

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