Rear Doors Collect a lot of Dirt and Salt on the Jambs

[RC Mike]

I've noticed this both on our new 2016 and a 2015 that we had as a rental. The rear doors collect a lot of dirt and salt on the inside of the jambs. Long term, I'm concerned about rust there. Does anyone have a solution for this?

 

Thanks for any suggestions or ideas!

[Burrcold]

It's terrible. Thankfully this is a lease.

[Nick Halstead]

clean regularly is the solution

[RC Mike]

That's what has to be done to mitigate the problem, but it's not a solution.

[enigma-2]

I'll weigh in with a guess. As the gen 2's underwent a design change, its possible that in order to make the body more aerodynamic they created a faster slipstream one the upper portion of the vehicle than the lower. This would cause the upper area of the doors to be operating at a lower air pressure and causing a partial vacuum to exist (lower pressure at the top or middle of the door in relation to the pressure at the bottom. (I'm thinking only 1 or 2 psi difference).

 

This might then cause a circulation of airflow, entering at the door bottom carrying the debris (dirt, dust, salt) along with it. If this theory is correct, you would need to find a way to interrupt the airflow.

 

I looked on my 09 MKX after we got back running around today (streets covered with snow, slush and salty water) and basically nothing. So my guess is an unintended air flow design change is the (possible) cause.

Edited December 31, 2016 by enigma-2

[2FAST4U]

clean regularly is the solution

 

YES.

 

and

That's what has to be done to mitigate the problem, but it's not a solution.

 

Sorry to say but yes it is THE solution. You got a better idea?

 

Claude.

Edited December 31, 2016 by 2FAST4U

[Burrcold]

It's a design flaw. Add an additional seal around the bottom of the door or just clean regularly as suggested.

[RC Mike]

You got a better idea?

 

 

 

No, which is why I'm here asking. Cleaning it is obvious--I'm looking for a way to prevent the problem. I'm not much on treating symptoms, more about wanting a cure. Put another way, I'm happier with modern plumbing than an outhouse. If some folks prefer the outhouse, that's their choice.

 

The weather striping idea is worth looking into. I don't believe it's a vacuum issue, as the Edge in Hawaii got quite a bit of wet, heavy mud into that area from some dirt roads.

[Nick Halstead]

Because the door meets the wheel well, and creates the wheel well, there is no solution. If there was a body panel behind and below the door we would have this problem but because the door is the lowest and farthest back body panel its gonna happen. Its annoying yes, but if you clean regularly you should be fine. I have to deal with red clay in that area here in hawaii and Ill admit its a pain in the butt and requires special attention but its not a major issue of mine.

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

Ford might issue a TSB who knows LOL. They did for Taurus door sills before!

 

TSB 11-11-20 for reference.

Edited January 1, 2017 by WWWPerfA_ZN0W

[Beezz]

My solution was to put M-D Building Products 1033 & 1025 weather stripping wherever it would still allow the doors to close. 90% of the dirt stays out now. Just cut some drain holes to meet the door drains and you'll be safe. Use whatever thick and thin weatherstripping you can get that has a strong adhesive.

 

Anyone else hate how dirty our rear hatches get? The amount of turbulence the 2nd gen creates is surprising (super visible driving in rain)

Edited January 1, 2017 by Beezz

[Ricktye]

As the OP indicated, it's not so much the dirt that gets in there, but rather the ice, snow and salt. Keeping the area clean is a pain but not a problem in the southern climes, but is a challange when it's -20. So as indicated above, cleaning it is not the solution, but only a temporary measure, especially if you drive in the northern climes everyday..... It is an unfortunate oversight by Ford that the owners are stuck with!

 

 

Because the door meets the wheel well, and creates the wheel well, there is no solution. If there was a body panel behind and below the door we would have this problem but because the door is the lowest and farthest back body panel its gonna happen. Its annoying yes, but if you clean regularly you should be fine. I have to deal with red clay in that area here in hawaii and Ill admit its a pain in the butt and requires special attention but its not a major issue of mine.

[ThunderTruck]

I agree that it's a pain to clean the rear door areas in the cold, we have an indoor self clean car wash that charges a ridiculous amount to use low pressure water and soap to clean. Alternatively it's cheaper than repairing rust, I would trade it in a heart beat to stay in Hawaii and deal with red clay

Edited March 30, 2017 by ThunderTruck

[t0lkman]

 

This is one of my rear doors of Titanium 2016, rear doors collect all dirt... Still no solution to it? Maybe third party weatherstrips

[haedgy]

There is weather striping you can purchase called metro supersoft it's a larger strip but should work. I have had this issue with other cars and brands as well, so don't think this is unique to Ford. Also I think a lot of it has to do with the bottom of the door being a little flatter than most cars.

 

Like others have said when I clean my car I do wipe down the inside of the doors and jams simply to help eliminate dirt getting on the interior. I have/had to do this with my other cars as well. Not the best solution but you can try the weather stripping above hopefully it's not so big it hinders the door closing, I would just hope it doesn't look out of place once you put it on.

 

The other issue with adding weatherstripping is blocking the drain holes at the bottom of the door. In your picture they are covered with the black tab. If those are blocked you could have a bigger issue than just dirt at the bottom of the door so make sure you either cut out a drain or do not cover those holes.

[enigma-2]

As this area is well above the weatherstripping, I doubt adding additional weatherstripping would help.

 

It almost looks like the door is forming a low pressure center in the area of the drain. As an expirment, I would be tempted to clean the door and then apply tape over the drain area, just to see it anything changes; as far as any new accumulation. If it does, changing the size or shape of the drain may be the answer.

[haedgy]

I read a post on the mustang forms where a guy had blocked the drain and the door filled up with enough water to start leaking into the cab.

 

I did look at the doors and they do have weather stripping on the cab at the bottom of the door but it does not seem like it seals much. From posts on this site it seems like not all the weather stripping around the Edge really seals well. I guess my thought would be remove the existing and try a larger size.

 

I have splash guards on my Edge and it seems to help a little. I don't get nearly as much build up as I see in the pic. Then again I am in an area where it just rains, there's no snow or red dirt (HI) either.

 

Hey T0lkman I am about an hour north of you. Anyway looking at what you have on the door maybe you have a bad seal higher up in the door. I haven't noticed any dirt on my Edge along the back door seam just a little at the bottom area near the drain. Do you get a lot of wind noise from the upper part of your doors?

 

I went to Fremont Ford and they realigned my passenger side doors as both were off. I should have taken a pic of it but once they realigned them they line up perfect. Maybe check how well the seams match on the doors if they are off and it's under warranty bring it in and have them fixed. Highly recommend their body shop.

Edited April 10, 2017 by haedgy

[Mgavin1985]

I use plastic dip clear I spray about 5 coats on and it lasted two years so far