[VUETH1S]

Help. One of the round silver plate assemblies on top of the roof that the roof flaps push and snap down into has come dislodged. I came out to the car at lunch and one of the rear flaps was released. I looked more closely and the silver round plate that covers the oblong latch hole was displaced maybe 1/4 inch. I cannot move the round plate by putting my finger nails under it and lifting. The hole in the plate is misaligned now with the hole in the roof metal and the flap will not punch down and secure.

The dealer has no experience with this and has not seen a bulletin. If you understand what I'm describing, has anyone heard of this? I will try the Solstice forum.

The first 2 pictures show the round plate slid down and right. Right now the stud from the roof flap touches on the silver metal, left of the hole, so it's off quite a bit.

Does anyone know how the thin silver plate adhers to the surface? Glue? It sits on the film piece that is there to protect the trunk from scratching
The other picture is the plate from the other side which is still aligned. thanks.

 

[todaresqSL2]

It may be the metal inside the hole moved and not the exterior chrome you see. See if that slides around in there.

 

[RMFNSKY]

Could it just be pushed over with a tap from a rubber mallet.

If that dosen't work then I'm not sure what to tell except have the dealer get it fixed.

But I have a question about your paint since it's Yellow. Do you think the paint on the bumpers and the piece behind the front wheel is a darker shade of yellow. I am asking because I ordered yellow and another poster said that the paint didn't match in these areas.

See the picture for the areas I am asking about

 

[Stu's Sky]

Speaking of paint, I have Graphite. It matches well, but I noticed that some body parts have more of an orange peel texture than others. Makes me believe the car was not painted all together as one.

 

[Rick Tinley Park]

Speaking of paint, I have Graphite. It matches well, but I noticed that some body parts have more of an orange peel texture than others. Makes me believe the car was not painted all together as one.

Cars never are painted together -- the parts are painted and then assembled. However, they are (or should be) painted in batches - so any minor color differences are eliminated.
Since the booths are hydrostatic - the coverage should be the same. I do know since latex based car paints have been introduced quality across the board (all makers) has been nighmarish.

 

[brentil]

Get the dealer to fix it, if your dealer can't fix it take it to another Saturn dealer who's more compitent. If they can't fix it they better replace the entire trunk lid since it's under warranty and any issue should be resolved that's a real issue.

But I have a question about your paint since it's Yellow. Do you think the paint on the bumpers and the piece behind the front wheel is a darker shade of yellow. I am asking because I ordered yellow and another poster said that the paint didn't match in these areas.

See the picture for the areas I am asking about

The two items you have circled are the two items on the car made of plastic and not hydroformed steel (front lower peice is too I think). That might cause a color discrepency, I know it did on my ZX2 S/R I used to own that was yellow.

 

[longwaitlarry]

I saw the paint discrepancy also

Speaking of paint, I have Graphite. It matches well, but I noticed that some body parts have more of an orange peel texture than others. Makes me believe the car was not painted all together as one.

I'm very new in this process (put deposit down on April 14) but my dealer has a graphite on display and the first thing I noticed was the orange peel on the drivers side just behind the front door. The salesman stated that it was not a problem, that the area just needed to be rubbed out to match the rest of the paint.

 

[bigdog]

Could it just be pushed over with a tap from a rubber mallet.

If that dosen't work then I'm not sure what to tell except have the dealer get it fixed.

But I have a question about your paint since it's Yellow. Do you think the paint on the bumpers and the piece behind the front wheel is a darker shade of yellow. I am asking because I ordered yellow and another poster said that the paint didn't match in these areas.

See the picture for the areas I am asking about

I would not use a photo posted on a web site as proof that there is a paint mis-match. The pic you reffered to could show color diffs due to lighting, reflections or shadows. I would take the word of the folks who have their cars.

 

[rwood411]

That is odd. Mine always look a little out of place- just like in the first two photos. I just figured thats how it latched onto the trunk. Hope I dont eventually have the same problem.

 

[Rick Tinley Park]

This is getting scary (me; not the problem) -- I'd like to be able to check mine...:banghead:

 

[VUETH1S]

Do you think the paint on the bumpers and the piece behind the front wheel is a darker shade of yellow. I am asking because I ordered yellow and another poster said that the paint didn't match in these areas.

See the picture for the areas I am asking about

I don't think so but I'll look now in good daylight. The only thing I saw was at the dealer's first demo, the spoiler was definitely a different, paler shade of yellow. I don't have the spoiler and everything looked uniform, I'll check or maybe post a pic.

 

[VUETH1S]

It may be the metal inside the hole moved and not the exterior chrome you see. See if that slides around in there.

Definitely the exterior thin silver plate assembly has moved. In one of my pictures you can see a 'ring' of dirt where the plate was and is supposed to be.

That doesn't mean something in side (below) may not be aligned, maybe that's what caused the silver plate to be torqued to the side.

 

[GRinLRAR]

But I have a question about your paint since it's Yellow. Do you think the paint on the bumpers and the piece behind the front wheel is a darker shade of yellow. I am asking because I ordered yellow and another poster said that the paint didn't match in these areas.

I test drove a yellow Sky today. When it was in the showroom I could see a difference in the plastic parts compared to the steel parts. But had I not known to look for it after reading some posts here I probably would not have noticed. I didn't look for it when the car was outside. Different light may have made a difference.

 

[Sunny Ragtop]

That's my car and they DON'T match

I would not use a photo posted on a web site as proof that there is a paint mis-match. The pic you reffered to could show color diffs due to lighting, reflections or shadows. I would take the word of the folks who have their cars.

Hi Bigdog,
Good advice, but he is using my YELLOW SKY for the picture and everyone that looks at my car can easily see the mis-matched colors without being pointed out. (same with the dealer's demo) All the plastic parts are darker, duller, and almost a greener shade. Not EVEN close to the metal yellow. More light, worse it looks. When viewed from the side, I can live with the bumper surrounds, but man the plastic panels in front of the doors look like cheap replacements after a crash.

 

[bob]

Does anyone know how the thin silver plate adhers to the surface? .

I beleive it has a peel off backing thats heated up before its put on the car. That piece is one of the last things thats put on the car. I agree with Brentil, lget the dealer to fix it.

 

[VUETH1S]

Update on trunk buttress plate

The local dealer fixed the plate position. They had to get under the plate and pry it off - it was still on the mylar coating piece that covers the flap area. The silver plate fastens on the trunk surface by a two-sided tape (they said). It's supposed to be directly above the hole that secures the buttress to further steady the flap when the top is up. They cleaned off the old tape from the bottom of the plate. They didn't have any "official Sky double sided tape", so cut a circle with some double sided tape that they had and used that, and centered the plate back over the hole. The service manager told me to let them know if it didn't hold and they would order a Sky part number if there was one.

The have not received any official labor codes and rates for the Sky so they use straight hourly rates-of course they didn't charge me anything.

Attached should be a picture or 2 of my yellow. Yes the rear side piece is plastic. You can see a line along the parts, but the colors on mine are very close with not really a discernable difference. I'll try to find my picture of the dealer's first yellow demo - the rear panel was slightly off and the spoiler was definitely different than the trunk.

Problem solved and what a glorious 75 degree low humidity day to drive the Sky back down Broad St with my problem fixed. The yellow Sky looks great reflected in the storefront windows!

 

[RMFNSKY]

Thanks for the pics of the paint. I really don't see any difference in your car. Looks Great!!