Front Bumper alignment

[c7scayman]

I will post pictures later.
There is no evidence of a crash and the carfax is clean.
The inner wheel well looks fine and all of the screws are there, but the bumper does not line up with the front fenders or the headlights. Nothing looks bent or broken.

There is a small gap about 1/4" from the bottom of the headlights to the bumper. (It is not very noticeable unless you are up close and pay attention to detail)
Where the tops of the bumpers meet the fender, the bumper sticks out (away from car). The fender and bumper are not flush with each other.

Is this a common or normal thing for these cars?

Also when I start the car and start driving or steering, I hear 1 click sound that does not come back until I turn the car on again and start driving again. Any ideas?

 

[okvol]

The "click" is the immobilizer system. You should hear it if you sit in the car for a while after you turn it off.

And the alignment issue sounds like a minor bumper thump, either with another car or a wall. Doesn't take much. If it bothers you, ask a body shop to fix it off-insurance.

 

[DrWebster]

Is the click really the immobilizer? On both of our 2s there are two clicks, and they happen only after you've driven about 50 feet. I'd heard they had something to do with the power steering.

As for the bumper, pics will help. We have that 1/4" or so gap below the headlights, but no other real alignment/fit problems.

 

[c7scayman]

So from here you can't really tell.

Then here, you can see a gap under the headlights.

And here you can see the bumper stick out against the fender by the tire.

 

[c7scayman]

Is the click really the immobilizer? On both of our 2s there are two clicks, and they happen only after you've driven about 50 feet. I'd heard they had something to do with the power steering.

I also feel like it has something to do with steering. It happens while you are driving, when you first start driving after turning the car on.

 

[DrWebster]

Then here, you can see a gap under the headlights.
...
And here you can see the bumper stick out against the fender by the tire.

Gap under the headlights looks normal. The bumper sticks out by the fender a bit more than it does on our 2s, but not a whole lot. Remember that this is an economy car.

 

[124coupe]

The bumper snaps into a series of clips along that seam. The last clip might not be fully seated leading to that protrusion. You might try loosening the screw and tapping the bumper with your hand and see if it snaps into place.

 

[c7scayman]

Remember that this is an economy car.

Yeah but my other car is a Honda Fit Sport and my step sister has a Toyota Yaris. And I recently rented a Nissan Cube for a long trip. They are all low cost economy cars and they do not have any issues with body panel alignment.

 

[CorkSport]

Make sure the lip which goes under the headlight is not folded down. If the bumper was off and someone wasn't careful it can cause what you are seeing. it kind of looks like it is that way on the last picture.

-Derrick

 

[flatlander937]

The clicking is a self test of the ABS. It happens when you reach like 5-10mph or something. There's a TSB I can reference when at work tomorrow.


For the bumper, it well could have been removed at some point for many reasons(change headlamp, horn, whatever else is up there).

You can undo the bolt on the end then inspect the bracket with retaining tabs. If they're all there you can try bending them up a bit so they bite the bumper harder, on my old Mazda3 I had the same problem, fixed it by pulling the end of the bumper, used a small file to make the bumper "holes" (where the tabs engage) more squared so the tabs don't want to just slide over the bumper and release.

 

[CorkSport]

You can undo the bolt on the end then inspect the bracket with retaining tabs. If they're all there you can try bending them up a bit so they bite the bumper harder, on my old Mazda3 I had the same problem, fixed it by pulling the end of the bumper, used a small file to make the bumper "holes" (where the tabs engage) more squared so the tabs don't want to just slide over the bumper and release.

I may have to try that on the 2. We take the bumper off quite a bit (not by choice lol)

-Derrick

 

[flatlander937]

Just get a new one when you Laguna Seca it again

 

[dRem]

Don't you have to pull the inner fender to aim the headlight? Perhaps that was done and they didn't reattach the bumper very well.