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door panel "leather" coming loose

42K views 66 replies 44 participants last post by  huberoy123 
#1 ·
the "leather" (i say quote b/c im sure its not leather but dont know what else to call it and dont want to say the "V" word) is coming loose on the center of both the door panels.

other than popping off both panels and heading to the upholstery shop, anyone know of a fix?

b/c if i go to the upholstery shop ill will probably spend the money to have actual leather or at least something a little nicer put on.... but for now the other half of me wants a cheap fix due to the fact i am considering later on doing away with the red leather and having everything redone in charcoal and silver (think 35th anniversary) and i dont want to pay for a job twice.
 
#2 ·
If it is the perforated type material, then maybe a bit of super glue through the holes to get it to stick again. I had my door panels off and, if I remember correctly, the trim panel is plasti-welded to the door panel and doesn't just pop right off like other parts of the car do. That would make it a little harder to fix.
 
#4 ·
the trim panel is plasti-welded to the door panel and doesn't just pop right off like other parts of the car do
#@#$%@!!! :madas: i hope not. that will make it more expensive at the upholstery shop too. and from my experience, when something is plasti-welded, you usually will screw it all up trying to undo it. door panels arent cheap. dang it ford.....:sterb:
 
#5 ·
depends on if that trim is one piece with the door panel or not. if ford plasti-welded it, i fear that you would tear the crap out of it trying to get the trim piece off to re-upholster. and im not too sure about gluing through the perforations....i dont have the best track record with using glues and that sounds like it would take some skill to not get the glue everywhere.
 
#6 ·
wonder if 2011+panels will fit our 05-09s. i like the design better anyway....and if i had to plop down $$ for a new panel....it would be a nice upgrade.

anyone know?:scratchchin
 
#8 ·
only place to get them is from ford, so not cheap.... may have to wait until some poor sob wrecks his 11+.....

i have seen 05-09 panels from $100 to $150 on ebay from time to time. that wont work for me though, as none of them are red..... but i could probably get away with black ones i guess...


EDIT: here is a 2012 shelby one on ebay for $150, but only one... that isnt worth a crap. and see how the end of the panel curves up to a point.... that may be a problem with my idea. our panels dont have that curve. ford changed the door styles in the later cars. got that "corvette curve" thing going on.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2012-Ford-Mustang-Shelby-GT500-OEM-LH-Front-Door-Panel-/250944322172?hash=item3a6d727a7c&item=250944322172&pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr
 
#9 ·
from just studying the photos, i think this may be possible. the handle, speakers, lock pin, everything is in same spot. tabs by mirror triangle are identical. then only hangup is that little curve at the end, but it is so slight that it may not matter. now the new one also has a side window defrost that basically wouldnt work.... but who gives a ____ about that anyway. if you could find both panels used in good cond, id say this could probably be done for under $400.00.

i would like to see the new one in person to verify that curve and placement of the hold down tabs and screws though. only other thing would be making sure ford didnt change the colors after 2010. that would suck if it didnt match.:nono:




Vehicle door Vehicle Car Bumper Automotive exterior
 
#11 ·
I've had this happen to my '06 already. In fact, the driver's side was nearly detached and the passenger side is getting close. I bought some general purpose spray adhesive from Advance Auto and some blue painters tape. I taped off the door trim surrounding the vinyl to protect from over-spray and made sure the surfaces were free from dirt. Before I sprayed the glue I did a test run of placing the vinyl where I wanted it to go to check for fit. Spray some glue on each side (doesn't take a lot) and press back into place. You should have a few minutes to work with it before it sets. It's held like a champ so far.
 
#12 ·
Happened to my girlfriend's dad a couple of weeks ago, but he just glued it back into place. Havent heard him talk about any problems with it yet.

Who knows, you could already have some strong glue somewhere in your house. Save yourself those hundreds of bucks if the door panel leather is still hanging on!
 
#13 ·
Mine did it too. Spray adhesive, just as the other guy said. Works like a champ. A little on both sides, and you're good to go. :bigthumbsup
 
#14 ·
use the search fuction on here. A year ago or so, someone actually installed 2010 door panels on their 2005-2009 Mustang. He made a thread on how he did it. They aren't direct 1 to 1 replacements, but they do work. I'm thinking about doing it someday to mine.
 
#15 ·
I've had to glue the vinyl/leather back on both of the door panels on my 2005 GT. The first time one came loose I cleaned off all the old backing under the panel and used 3M heavy duty trim adhesive to glue it back on. The adhesive only lasted a few weeks before it started popping loose. I found out later that the 3M trim adhesive has a very bad reputation for this type of repair.

The 2nd time I put the panels back on I used Weldwood Contact Cement that I got at Lowes. Its a little harder to work with (it sets up fast), but holds much better than the 3M cement. The adhesive comes in a can. You brush it on fairly thick on both the plastic panel and the vinyl piece, and let it set up before you put them together . I've noticed a couple places where I will have to go back and try to touch up where it didn't stick as well, but the rest of the panel looks very good.

My car's interior probably takes more of a beating than average, since it's a black car (with tan convertible top) and I live in San Antonio. It sits out all day at work in the sun, and during the summer the interior really sees some brutal temperatures in the late afternoon.

Bruce
 
#17 ·
try autozone , buy a can of Upholstery Adhesive ,it's about $ 10.00 , peel off the the trim all the way to the bottom , not completely off , Spray adhesive on the trim , and slowly press the trim back on the door , going from the bottom upwards , get used to this , because 05-09 S197 do this about every 6 months , due to heat and humidity .
 
#18 ·
What Reeveman & Mustang78248 describe is right on the money. I live in Puerto Rico and the weather constantly changes, hot then humidity set in and in just a year mine started to come off. took it to the dealer (still in warranty) and said I had to wait for an upholstery guy to come by. Waited for 3 months & went to my nearest Home Depot and bought a can of contact cement and fixed it in a hour. Haven't had a problem with it since.
 
#19 ·
I had the same issue with my drivers side door panel. As the previous poster mentioned, I used Weldwood Contact Cement from Walmart and the repair looked great. It held up for over a year and looked great until I recently sold it.

The key is to not let it fall all the way off before attemepting repair and removing the factory glue from the back of the pleather piece and from the door panel before re-gluing. I let the glue set before attempting to reapply and then I rolled it out with a wallpaper roller to get it smooth. Mine smoothed out overnight as the glue set.

Here is a link to the fix on another forum --> Sagging Door Panel - Fix

Thanks to original poster for the detail instructions.

Scratch
 
#20 ·
cool, thanks. when i gets warmer, thats how ill fix it.:bigthumbsup
 
#22 ·
My 07 has the same door panel issue on the right door. MY dealer agreed to cover it under warranty since it was there when I bought it from him. He uses an outside shop for interior work. The guy who owns the shop called this morning and explained what he had to do to make it work. The perf panel backing breaks down with the heat and humidity which causes separation. He sanded the area down and applied a fiberglass based resin for a better grip then replaced the perforated part. Hes coming to the house Monday AM to install, rather then me driving 50 miles to the dealer. Ill see how it looks then. He did say that he gets about 5-6 panels from Mustangs each month so its a fairly common problem.
 
#23 ·
I think it is ridiculous that Ford has not owned up to this problem.. it is not a matter of if it is a matter of when... the other major issue is the instrument cluster using bad stepper motors... I hate that Ford acts like I am the only person with these problems. If you google these two issues you will see many people complaining. Ford should offer discounts on new door panels and instrument clusters.....
 
#25 ·
#26 ·
Tried to glue mine back on with 3M adhesive. Held for about 6 months then came loose again. I took my panels off and took them to a upholstery shop. Had him take that old crappy material off and put on some better looking stuff. Cost me $150 for both panels and looks a lot better than that old perforated looking crap.

I suggest biting the bullet and take it to an upholstery shop.
 
#30 ·
I read the post on this subject and thought whew not me. Then I went and got in the car and, of course, glanced at my door. Oh CRAP! that was 2 days ago. I went to get in this morning and the drivers side was drapped over the arm rest. Anyway, I had read here somewhere that Ford wants $700 apiece for these panels so I stopped at a local auto apolstery shop and he said I was the 3rd Mustang in the last hour with the same problem. Anyway he showed me some material in his shop that matched the OEM panels and said he could do both doors for $300. I'm having it done on Monday and will post the finished pics.
 
#33 ·
Man..go get some pop rivets and tack that sucker back up:bounce2:. Seriously though mine did it, had the dealership warranty it, it started coming apart a week later. Bought some Gorilla glue and it held up great in this Texas heat. My current GT is suffering from it a little also, but I am gonna wait and do faux suede or microfiber.
 
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