The top and bottom slats on our 2011 Mustang MCA grille have broken in several places at the extremely thin mounting points. My dealer submitted photos to Ford and although there is no impact damage, warranty coverage was declined. I have been trying to find a used 2012 CS grille with no success and before I buy a new grille, I need to know if this is a common problem. Has anyone else experienced this type of breakage with the MCA or California Special grilles? If you inspect your grille, you will want to gently apply pressure near each slat mounting point to see if there is movement as the separation is not readily apparent otherwise.

 

I couldn't find a lower grill to match the top one on my 11 MCA so I replaced them both & I noticed the same thing when I was removing mine.

 

Do you know what puts the pressure on and causes the breakage itself? Is it somehow a result of normal wear, weathering (like freezing) or cleaning?

I've been planning on an MCA grille.

 

Yep same thing happened to mine. Surprisingly little pressure will snap the thin plastic that holds it to the vertical supports. I have a GTCS.

 

I was on a fun run today and mentioned this to a few others. We all checked our grills and no breakage. I was wondering if any of you (flame suit on) take your car to a car wash that uses those hanging towel like cloths that swing back and forth. It is possible they can get caught in the grill opening and cause the breakage. Just askin..

 

I wash by hand, but it is possible (and likely) that the dealer used some kind of automated wash system.

 

What grilles did you buy and are you satisfied with them?

 

All hand washing here too, possible it happened while on the dealers lot and I didn't notice until I washed it for the first time. Not a huge deal as the part that is broken sits right where it would anyway.

 

Has this happened to anyone with the '13 grilles?