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Doors design flaw..

57K views 201 replies 69 participants last post by  denissh 
#1 ·
If the rear door is open 30-45 degrees, the front door does not have enough clearance to open and close, the rubber seal on front door hits edge of the rear door... making loud popping noise

All my other cars including other model Subaru have almost 1/2 inch clearance.. Ascent is 1/4 inch short ...
 
#59 ·
I had a second today to look at it more closely. There is slack in the weather seal. If it was seated perfectly then there would be no interference with the door at all. But pulling the seal more taut doesn't necessarily make it hug the door more. There are little orange fasteners that kind of make it stick out more than it should. Keeping the seal down with an adhesive such as silicone* would fix it.

*I have not vetted whether or nor silicone is the proper adhesive for this. It's a non-issue to me and if the dealer doesn't have a good solution I know I can take care of it myself at some point.
 
#12 ·
The “popping” sound some have described is very muted, but after 30 years in the Field Artillery my hearing is not what it use to be. Since I never have a rear door open, at least partially open, when I’m opening a front door, it’s not an issue for me. I’m sure this issue is found on every 2019 Ascent regardless of trim level. I had to visually verify the rubbing as the sound it makes wasn’t very noticeable.
 
#17 ·
I wonder what Subaru's fix will be and how extensive the issue is. If Subaru does not address this issue right away, they could scare off future purchasers. I plan on ordering my Ascent on Monday and take possession in February. If upon my inspection I notice this issue, I will have to have it in writing that it will be repaired at no cost to me.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Is this really “a door design flaw” ? Or something else ?

Door design flaw or assembly error ? :tango_face_surprise
Sounds like people should take it to their dealer and have it looked at/ fixed under their warranty......Mine does not have this problem so I assume it can be corrected, if taken to a dealer so they can correct it.....
“Door design flaw “ does sound so dramatic though, doesn’t it...:nerd:
 
#25 ·
It means that when I get out I have to leave my door open while I help my kids get out and then wait till their door is closed before I close mine

If nothing else it makes me look dumb


And I can’t always expect passengers to follow protocol. And having to explain it to them every time makes it sound like I bought a crappy car
 
#23 ·
For me this is not an issue nor even a nuisance, but something I’d call more of a quirk. Kind of like my ‘97 Jeep Wrangler rear glass lift gate not being able to fully open without first swinging out the rear gate with the spare mounted on it. As the previous poster said, just don’t open a front door until the rear doors are fully opened, or open the front doors first before the rear doors are open. Having said that, I’m not carrying anyone who is getting in and out at exactly the same moment I am as I’m generally opening the rear doors for my grandkids and elderly parents so I don’t experience this rubbing.
 
#24 ·
The build should never have this on a $40,000 vehicle period. It goes to quality design and control. Mistakes occur, yes, but they should be fixed. While in most instances for me this will never result in damage to the door, I do not want this in the future to ever be an issue on resale or rust ( I do not want to have to remember to tell guest in my vehicle the sequence of opening doors). Subaru will need to step up and hopefully the fix is simple. Customers in any industry should not have to accommodate the manufacturer for a manufacturing error. It falls to the warranty and I am not particularly worried about it now as I expect Subaru to step up.
 
#27 · (Edited)
Heck of a find. On my car if the driver and rear door is opened at the same time the rear has be shut first no matter how wide the rear is opened or the front will hit the rear doors lower plastic body cladding if closed first. If you look closely the cladding has a little extension or lip on it. My question is- Is this the way it was designed? or if not, how do they fix it?
 
#33 ·
Update- After taking mine out of the garage and having more room to exam I don't think I have the problem. It's close but the noise I hear is the door latching close. I will test it again tomorrow at different angles. I assume if there is a problem with some peoples car and it causes some kind of damage Subaru will have to fix it
 
#34 ·
Im wondering if there is a way to adjust the doors. On my 2018 durango, my door gaps were all off and the front and rear doors didn't align - the front doors stuck out 1/4 inch further then the rears. A body shop adjusted them under warranty and am curious if these could also be adjusted somehow
 
#40 ·
I looked closely at the door seal on the front doors today as the sun finally appeared in the north Puget Sound. The hard plastic clips/push pins that hold the rubber seal to the door do so very loosely, resulting in the rubber seal not being tightly affixed to the door. When pushed firmly, but not compressed, against the door's mounting surface that easily frees up another 1/8 of an inch. Whether or not it's sufficient to resolve this clearance problem is hard to tell, but is something I plan on making my dealership aware of when I take it in for the 6,000 mile service.
 
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