gap between side skirt and wheel arch - Page 4 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

What are people doing about the slight gap on the driver's side on their 718 GTS where the side skirt finishes and the wheel arch begins?

Here is what the OP is talking about. Taken the other night at the Cayenne launch.

Some are worse than others I believe? If you're not happy with your car, complain to your OPC and get it fixed under warranty. That's what it's there for!

I've seen this on every 718 I seem to look for it so..... - Is it a manufacture defect ie the sill has been designed slightly too short therefore nothing can be done or - is it a fitment issue which can be adjusted ? If I was spending c£70k on a car I would expect the panels to line up !

Been looking at the photos over the year that i took on alot of caymans and not one had issues on the panel.

moonigan said: Here is what the OP is talking about. Taken the other night at the Cayenne launch. If you sort the wheelarch out it looks like the crease line in front of it won't line up.

Good point. Looks like it's a tolerance issue with the sill cover, given the variability across cars.

Mine's the same but as I've seen it on lots of others I'm not too bothered. It's not the end of the world.

seen these GTS owner photos on another thread... Matlaw01 said: Rollin sean said: Just noticed mines the same. Not happy about that at all. I’m back at the dealer on Friday morning for my masterclass appointment so I’ll see what they say about it.

Doesn't the plastic side skirt contract in the colder weather and expand in the heat more than steel so come the summer time the side skirt will be longer and overhanging the wheel arch?

I have the same panel gap on my 718 Cayman. Initially it bothered me, but the more 718's I looked at the more I noticed the majority of them have it too. I noticed it when it was initially delivered to the Porsche Centre, I contacted them saying I was concerned about it but they emailed me pictures of all the 718's delivered on the same day as mine and they all had the same gap. Apparently there is a fix for it now, mine went in and had it applied, but to be honest it doesn't look much different. Would be interested to know if others have had theirs fixed.

It's a bit odd, I don't think 981s had the problem. My 981 GTS is absolutely fine. It must be a change in supplier or spec tolerance?

My 718CS was built in April 17. Overall I do not believe that the panel fit and finish quite matches that of the 5 VWs my children have owned, which is a pity. In spite of this and other faults, I believe that the Cayman is a very special car.

OO02ERO said: My 718CS was built in April 17. Overall I do not believe that the panel fit and finish quite matches that of the 5 VWs my children have owned, which is a pity. In spite of this and other faults, I believe that the Cayman is a very special car. Your crease line looks to be a little less out of line than the end of the side skirt is with the wheel arch? If that is the case, the side skirt will never line up with both however it may be manoeuvred. And what's happening at the other end of the side skirt - does it line up with the wheel arch there? Just because "they all do that sir" doesn't make it right. They all need to be recalled for new side skirts which fit. That'll probably mean the paint won't match so the side skirt and the lower body panels both sides will need to be painted to blend in.

Captain James T said: Doesn't the plastic side skirt contract in the colder weather and expand in the heat more than steel so come the summer time the side skirt will be longer and overhanging the wheel arch? I do think you have hit the nail on the head? This panel is pretty long and plastic. I think thats why some are good and some bad , the panel size will be same on all cars. Yes the panel on the 981 is the same size , but the 718 will have more recycled materials that the 981 so at a guess it a different plastic compound? Edited by tedblog on Wednesday 4th April 22:42

I dont really see that as a big issue. Would not spoil the car for me.

tedblog said: I do think you have hit the nail on the head? This panel is pretty long and plastic. I think thats why some are good and some bad , the panel size will be same on all cars. Yes the panel on the 981 is the same size , but the 718 will have more recycled materials that the 981 so at a guess it a different plastic compound? Edited by tedblog on Wednesday 4th April 22:42 Could I just say... absolute rubbish! That sounds like OPC talk to me. Maybe if the car was heading toward the sun you might see some differences in expansion rates, but not due to 20-30C variance in temperature in the UK.

DJMC said: Could I just say... absolute rubbish! That sounds like OPC talk to me. Maybe if the car was heading toward the sun you might see some differences in expansion rates, but not due to 20-30C variance in temperature in the UK. Have you got answer? All panels are the same some cars are good some arent ? Bit colder than 20 C at the moment? Edited by tedblog on Wednesday 4th April 23:37

981 boxsters were also like this at launch, they were sorted eventually

DJMC said: Your crease line looks to be a little less out of line than the end of the side skirt is with the wheel arch? If that is the case, the side skirt will never line up with both however it may be manoeuvred. And what's happening at the other end of the side skirt - does it line up with the wheel arch there? Just because "they all do that sir" doesn't make it right. They all need to be recalled for new side skirts which fit. That'll probably mean the paint won't match so the side skirt and the lower body panels both sides will need to be painted to blend in. DJMC, I think that you have hit the nail on the head. The alignment at the rear of my skirt incidentally is pretty much ideal. I spent several hours at my OPC today and examined numerous 718s. There was huge variability in fit of the skirt, mostly at the front and some at the back with differences comparing right and left on the same car. One Cayman was spot on front and back. One thing that I have noticed regarding my rear luggage compartment door, is a considerable discrepancy in right to left buffer heights to obtain ideal shut lines around the door. I believe that this indicates poor tolerances in construction. This would tie in with the theory that front to back tolerances are also poor. For some the skirt is an ideal length. The skirt is mostly aligned to the door and rear wheel arch, so that discrepancies in car length are then seen at the front wheel arch. I suspect that there is little or no ability to correct this problem. The skirts are probably all identical in length. The cars probably all vary. There will be no one fix for all. My conclusion is that Porsche really to need to look at their quality control.

OO02ERO said: The skirts are probably all identical in length. The cars probably all vary. There will be no one fix for all. My conclusion is that Porsche really to need to look at their quality control. Speaking to Porsche GB today I mentioned this and it is now under control at the factory. All cars already delivered with a misalignment of more than 0.3mm between skirt and arch, whether at the edge or at the crease, will be recalled and an identical spec car delivered to the owner, BUT this will be the next model up so if you have a base you'll get an S, if you have a GTS you'll be offered a GT4 at a discount. The problem was due to paint believe it or not. The factory found that light colours were drying more slowly as they reflected more light/heat whereas the dark colours were drying more quickly due to heat retention in the metal structure. It's the light coloured cars which have the bigger gaps as the slowly drying metal wasn't shrinking as much as had been designed into the oven baking process whereas the dark colours shrank to the anticipated tolerances and matched the side skirts more regularly. They tried double baking the lighter coloured cars but this still didn't shrink the metal structure and so the side skirts still fell short of the body's side length. The mother company, VAG, had instructed the factory to ignore the gap thinking it would go unnoticed but having had so many complaints and fearing another law suit that have decided to go the other way and over compensate with an upgraded replacement. You can decline the upgraded car if you wish and VAG will instead give you a 2 week holiday for two in the Caribbean, or for 4 people if you decline the GT4 offer. Hope that helps?

anonymous said: [redacted] Ah... just noticed my watch must have stopped four days ago... ...would have been nice, eh?

LOL. My initial thought was Aprils Fools, but with DJMC's erudite ability to make a claim and get it fixed I ended up second guessing myself

Don’t worry your Gap insurance will cover it

Guessing I got lucky with this as mine don’t seem too bad on my 718 CS?

Si-3PO said: Guessing I got lucky with this as mine don’t seem too bad on my 718 CS? That's more than acceptable. You can sleep easily!

Cheib said: That's more than acceptable. You can sleep easily! I was dreading checking as I’ve started to really enjoy the car lately lol

Si-3PO said: Guessing I got lucky with this as mine don’t seem too bad on my 718 CS? What colour is that? Pale salmon PTS?

718 Cayman S

Maxym said: What colour is that? Pale salmon PTS? It’s GT Silver, parked next to a brick wall.

Red 5 said: It’s GT Silver, parked next to a brick wall. Or Crayon And don’t call my Mini a brick wall

Si-3PO said: Or Crayon And don’t call my Mini a brick wall GRRR!

Maxym said: GRRR! Well it’s certainly more Grrrr than the 718, has the JCW Pro exhaust kit on lol.

My car arrived early and I’m away so asked them to email me a walkaround to check the gap: https://youtu.be/b851PSN9VJ0 Looks okay I think 🤔 hard to tell off a video I guess?

Tim718 said: My car arrived early and I’m away so asked them to email me a walkaround to check the gap: https://youtu.be/b851PSN9VJ0 Looks okay I think ?? hard to tell off a video I guess? There is a gap.

moonigan said: Tim718 said: My car arrived early and I’m away so asked them to email me a walkaround to check the gap: https://youtu.be/b851PSN9VJ0 Looks okay I think ?? hard to tell off a video I guess? There is a gap. Should I reject?

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no way I'd reject for that personally

I genuinely can't believe that there is a whole thread about a 3mm panel alignment. Wait until it's hot next week and it'll be perfectly aligned

If you are buying it on a pcp with a view to handing it back at the end then I’d take the car and enjoy it with the proviso that the misalignment is noted on handover. If you plan to keep and cherish the car then I’d consider rejecting it. The fact that it’s been accepted as a problem and will most likely be rectified on later builds is why I would reject.

moonigan said: If you are buying it on a pcp with a view to handing it back at the end then I’d take the car and enjoy it with the proviso that the misalignment is noted on handover. If you plan to keep and cherish the car then I’d consider rejecting it. The fact that it’s been accepted as a problem and will most likely be rectified on later builds is why I would reject. I’m just buying it outright not on PCP. This is my first Porsche.

Tim718 said: moonigan said: Tim718 said: My car arrived early and I’m away so asked them to email me a walkaround to check the gap: https://youtu.be/b851PSN9VJ0 Looks okay I think ?? hard to tell off a video I guess? There is a gap. Should I reject? Not sure if serious......... You're not are you? World has gone mad......!

CastroSays said: Not sure if serious......... You're not are you? World has gone mad......! plus 1

tedblog said: plus 1 I can completely see this point of view but if Armani produced a batch of jeans with a slightly wonky badge or misaligned stitching then they would be in TK Maxx being sold at half the price. Yet everyone thinks a manufacturing defect, no matter how small, on a £65K car is fine.

Captain James T said: I genuinely can't believe that there is a whole thread about a 3mm panel alignment. Wait until it's hot next week and it'll be perfectly aligned It's going to be hot today, so the next post will be 'My sill trim cover has expanded and now it's too long' Let's go to The Winchester and wait for it to all blow over

Seems like the issue is nearly always on the driver’s side. I mentioned this to my Porsche dealer because I was moaning about a separate issue - they hadn’t attached my front number plate properly so there were screws visible between the plate plynth and the front bumper. Anyway, they said they’d have it sorted either by an engineer realigning it or through warranty. When I suggested that if they replaced the part it would need respraying and there was no way I would accept that they quickly changed their tune and said it just needs to be realigned. No way in hell they would accept the car back for this. Absolutely agree, no way this is good enough but in terms of what can or would actually be done about it, I have no idea....? Anyway. I effing love this car. AWESOME AWESOME CAR Edited by BE57JAM on Wednesday 18th April 07:58

I found this thread while searching for this very issue. I picked up my 718 last week. Love the car, but disappointed by the build quality. By far the worst fit and finish of any car I've bought, and also by far the most expensive new car I've ever bought. I have the exact same issue present on my drivers side (only). As already discussed it aligns up on all the other edges, so it can't be adjusted without throwing off another side. My car was built late March (2018) so this issue obviously hasn't been fixed at the factory. Here's my gap for comparison. Unfortunately the most annoying gap I have is on the passenger side front indicator housing. From what I can tell this is not a common one on other 718's. Again the panel aligns up on all the other edges so I fear it can't be adjusted. Good Side Passenger Side with gap at the top Gap highlighted Edited by bus_ter on Saturday 5th May 17:30

Sorry to resurrect this thread, but my car has just gone in for its first service. I pointed the panel gap issue out to the service advisor who is going to look into it. Not sure he had this mentioned before as he was quote surprised.

anonymous said: [redacted] The factory code from the VIN might be useful to see if factory a quality variable.

anonymous said: [redacted] The factory code from the VIN might be useful to see if factory a quality variable.

anonymous said: [redacted] Caysters are all built at Zuffenhausen - that's what I was told when on a factory tour in May. I saw them coming off the same line as every 911 variant.

Maxym said: Caysters are all built at Zuffenhausen - that's what I was told when on a factory tour in May. I saw them coming off the same line as every 911 variant. Some are, some aren't, VIN numbers on Porsche Used site WP0ZZZ98ZJK271085 = Osnabrück WP0ZZZ98ZHS281498 = Stuttgart

Sorry to resurrect an old thread. Was there any resolution of this issue. Noticed my 2025 GTS suffers from this issue on the drivers side

They all got new cars………the should I reject one is the post of the thread.

Yeah right

From reading that old thread, I am amazed people put up with that gap and didn't take their cars back for a fix or refund. Is it still an issue with what is coming out of the factory?

This is peak porsche anality. Lol, get out and just use the dam thing.

ImbackYo said: This is peak porsche anality. Lol, get out and just use the dam thing. And miss out on an afternoon with one of these….are you mad

Youforreal. said: And miss out on an afternoon with one of these….are you mad This really made me chuckle lol! I didn't even know such things existed.

I always reach for my universal adjustment tool:

Thought I'd update on my experience with this. Recap - So a few weeks after purchase noticed the drivers side skirt not meeting at the wheel arch like the passenger side did. At my Porsche professional session I mentioned it to the guy and he said to get the car checked in to be looked at. We also looked at some other 718's in the showroom, 1 was same as mine, and 1 was perfect. Took the car to be looked over a month or so later. The customer service rep still thought it was misaligned. I thought it was better than when it went in. A service technician said they'd moved the skirt as much as they could and there was nothing else they could do - it would need to go to a body shop if I wanted to pursue it. I decided not to - as I said I think it's improved to be reasonable now. The more they move a panel around - a gap or something will open up elsewhere so it could be a right can of worms! Anyhow since nobody else had provided any closure on their issue with this - thought I would - worth mentioning it to your dealer!

Before After Hope that helps someone else

Don't know if this adds much that's not already been covered, but this is a topic close to my heart. Bought a MY2022 718 earlier this year, and after owning it for a few months did a road trip that was the first time the passenger side door had regular use, and I started noticing a little squeak when it opened and closed. Took a while to locate, but realised the panel gap between the door and wing was far too tight, and they were rubbing. I'd already bought an extended warranty by this point, but that turned out to not cover it, so I begrudgingly paid a bodyshop to sort it out, and basically had to ask them to cause that misalignment by the wheel, so that there was room for the door to breathe. The driver's side was already like this. It seemed a bit silly, but is sorted out now, and I'm much happier, and I now obsessively look around at other 718s looking for it. It did feel a bit disappointing from Porsche, tbh. Before After (Excuse the filth, but in my defence, the car's being used )