Dacia Sandero Stepway - Gap around door. - Bob McGarry

My new Dacia Stepway rear passenger side door has what I consider to be an excessive gap between it an the rear wing and sill.

The gap is noticeably wider than the passenger door on the other side.I took the car back to the dealership and although the salesman admitted there was a noticable difference he said that basically its a budget mass produced car and these kind of things had to be expected and that it must be within Dacias tolerances.

I asked if it could be adjusted at all as I was concerned about water ingress. He said that there was no way to adjust it and close the gap.

Am I being fobbed off ? Are gaps like that really within tolerances and unable to be adjusted ? The car is obviously still under warranty as I only took delivery last week .

Dacia Sandero Stepway - Gap around door. - oldroverboy.

1. Go and check other cars,

2. if you are sure yours is different, take it back to the dealer and reject it, and get dacia uk involved.

Dacia Sandero Stepway - Gap around door. - KB.

You said you spoke to the salesman.

If it actually was the salesman - on the sales floor - then surely that has to be your first mistake. Why in the world would you? They deal in figures (and then, not always very professionally).

At the very least you need to start off with someone in the service department ... someone with at least a hint of technical knowledge.

And even then I wouldn't be expecting much in the way of informed opinion when it comes to something like that. As suggested surely you would compare it to half a dozen others to see if it was par for the course. If it was a long way out then you have cause to ask for someone from Dacia toi inspect. It would make me wonder WHY the gap was so far out .... a can of worms may await you.

Dacia Sandero Stepway - Gap around door. - badbusdriver

First point is, if the gap is so noticeable, why didn't you notice it when you picked the car up?. Presumably you did inspect it?

As for the gap itself, the salesman is correct, up to a point. It is very much a budget car, so you can't expect the kind of panel gaps you will find in something like an Audi or Lexus. Without seeing it, it is difficult to offer any opinion as to whether or not the gap is excessive.

Can it be adjusted?, again, without seeing exactly what you mean, i can't really say.

If you are looking along the length of the car, does the door stick out at the bottom?, if so, then yes, it should be possible to fix it.

But if the gap is 'in line' with the car, i.e., if, while looking along the length of the car, the rear door is flush with the rear panel, then probably not, at least not easily. If this is the case, is the gap between the leading edge of the rear door and the rear edge of the front door very tight?.

With regards to your concern about water getting in, get someone in the car to check while you point the hose at the affected area. If water comes in, take the car back to the dealer and tell them to fix it. If they can't fix it, tell them you want a refund or replacement car.

Dacia Sandero Stepway - Gap around door. - Bob McGarry

Thanks for the replies guys. I did inspect the car but obviously missed the gap. I spoke to the salesman as he was the only person available, I have contacted Dacia complaints dept and someone from Dacia is going to contact me on Monday to start looking into it.

Dacia Sandero Stepway - Gap around door. - Bob McGarry

Its almost 5mm wider than the opposite side door at it worst but is generally 3 or 4mm wider.

Heres links to some pics.

imgbox.com/XWP2unjp

imgbox.com/LATGOabe

imgbox.com/HKhvDo6U

Dacia Sandero Stepway - Gap around door. - Simon

Take some better pictures so we can see on a proper side view of what the car looks like.

Dacia Sandero Stepway - Gap around door. - snufflegrunt

Dacia are the cheapest new car on the market - the reason for that is that things like this are deemed acceptable and parts that would probably be rejects and scrapped by other makers will be used by Dacia. That is their sole USP and raison d'etre. They are not just a bit cheaper either, they are really cheap when you consider 20% is VAT.

Edited by snufflegrunt on 07/04/2019 at 19:08

Dacia Sandero Stepway - Gap around door. - Bob McGarry

These are the best pics I have at the moment. For some reason imgbox put two on their side.

imgbox.com/czWMVGa3

imgbox.com/mERWPElb

imgbox.com/KeiQO3AM

imgbox.com/gXFvJPMJ

Edited by Bob McGarry on 07/04/2019 at 19:24

Dacia Sandero Stepway - Gap around door. - Simon

What is the gap like between the front and rear doors?

To potentially realign the rear passenger door closer to the rear quarter it will open up the gap to the front door.

Dacia Sandero Stepway - Gap around door. - badbusdriver

Don't know if it is my computer or settings, but those pics are coming up at about an inch square!. Can't really make out anything.

Dacia Sandero Stepway - Gap around door. - CHarkin

Your car should never have left the factory like that Bob, its a defect that has been missed. Lots of cars need their doors adjusted on the production line. Robots and lasers are very good but human fettling is still needed at times. My thoughts are its the hinges and maybe the strike plate that need adjusting.

I had a tour round a car factory years ago and watched a worker align doors which he did with wooden levers placed one end on the door cill and with the lever running under the door he gave a couple of good pulls upwards to raise the door. Skill and brute force combined.

Dacia Sandero Stepway - Gap around door. - Bob McGarry

Thanks CHarkin. When you say its a defect do you mean an unfixable one ? Or something the dealership could rectify ?

Dacia Sandero Stepway - Gap around door. - KB.

Thanks to the OP for coming back. Please report what Dacia say (and how quickly they say it).

I'd be peeved if some snotty oik in a suit and pointy toe shoes - who sold me the car in the first place - told me it was a budget car and suggested that poor alignment of panels was the price you pay. I would actually want to escalate that comment to his manager and also to Head Office.

Dacia Sandero Stepway - Gap around door. - CHarkin

I don't think a dealership can do it but if Dacia are involve they will know a body specialist they trust, thay may even be able to do it at their UK HQ. Its very likely that the final quality control inspection is done at their HQ and they will have the ability to do rectification work. I would say that if any rectification work requires painting afterwards don't accept it and insist on a replacement car.

Dacia Sandero Stepway - Gap around door. - Bob McGarry

Thanks agan CHarkin. Need to wait and see what Dacia say now.

Apert from the door looking different from the other doors are there any other implications with a door needing adjustment other than cosmetic ? In other words is it a disaster if it didnt get adjusted ? Just trying to get an idea if its something I could live with if Dacia get difficult about it.

Dacia Sandero Stepway - Gap around door. - elekie&a/c doctor

How bad is it? I feel that trying to make it a better fit could make matters worse. You could end up with chipped/damaged paintwork . If the door opens and closes ok, and is water and airtight, I would be inclined to leave it alone.

Dacia Sandero Stepway - Gap around door. - Simon

Any bodyshop should be able to make a reasonable adjustment to the fit of the door, when they fit a new door during an accident repair they don't come perfectly aligned out of the box.

Dacia Sandero Stepway - Gap around door. - CHarkin

Its hard to say without seeing the car in the metal but from your photos it does not look that bad and would guess the door will function OK but its still not what you would expect from a brand new car. Are the hinges welded or bolted onto the pillar between the front and rear doors ?

Put yourself it the position of someone thinking of buying your car in thee years time, will they notice it, will they think it has been in a bump and not repiared very well? If the answer is yes then it needs fixed.

Edited by CHarkin on 08/04/2019 at 00:10

Dacia Sandero Stepway - Gap around door. - retgwte

Quite a surprising number of cars get damaged in transit between the factory and the dealer, get repaired before the customer sees them, and quite a high percentage of those repairs are substandard.

So not necessarily the factory at fault.

Dacia Sandero Stepway - Gap around door. - Bolt

Quite a surprising number of cars get damaged in transit between the factory and the dealer, get repaired before the customer sees them, and quite a high percentage of those repairs are substandard.

So not necessarily the factory at fault.

Unless Im mistaken the door looks like its been badly pressed so will probably need a new door, I would be surprised if that can be realigned, thats the impression the photo gives

Dacia Sandero Stepway - Gap around door. - catsdad
Ah CHarkin you have solved a mystery. My J reg Rover214 was delivered with marks on the sill that the dealer missed at PDI that were clearly caused by this "adjustment" method and needed repray work. They denied any knowledge of how it occurred.

I thought that sort of practice went out with the original Defender and Mini. Clearly not.
Dacia Sandero Stepway - Gap around door. - sammy1

Beware I just tried to open one of the photos links and had a Windows message of a bad site

Dacia Sandero Stepway - Gap around door. - Bob McGarry

Beware I just tried to open one of the photos links and had a Windows message of a bad site

The links are just to an image hosting site. Dont open them if you're in any doubt.

Dacia Sandero Stepway - Gap around door. - kiss (keep it simple)

Yes that link is dodgy. Had to crash my W10 machine to get out of it. Did virus check but nothing found.

Dacia Sandero Stepway - Gap around door. - badbusdriver

I had a tour round a car factory years ago and watched a worker align doors which he did with wooden levers placed one end on the door cill and with the lever running under the door he gave a couple of good pulls upwards to raise the door. Skill and brute force combined.

I thought that sort of practice went out with the original Defender and Mini. Clearly not.

I worked at a VW dealer in the noughties, and that method was still very much being used then!.

As for cars being damaged in transit, or even in the dealership, seen that plenty of times. Actually remember swapping a customers door for one off a car in the showroom after the customers car got scratched before it was picked up!.