Hi Everybody. I have a really weird question. I have a 2004 Baja and the front body panels (both sides now) next to the hood over the wheel-wells have mysterious dings. I say mysterious because nobody can figure out where they are coming from. Let me explain: I park in my driveway and drive to work where I have a secluded private parking spot. From the time I leave one parking spot untill the time I arrive at the next, a new ding appears. (And no, I have not been in an accident.) Has anybody experienced similiar events, or have any probable causes? I've been tossing around the idea that there is something structural going on. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

i know the old toyota trucks use to do that and it was because the welds were bad around the wheelwells,maybe baja`s do that also,hope not for ur sake,cause on the toyotas after the dings came rust:drunk:

small rocks getting flung up?

small rocks getting flung up?

I suppose it is possible but the dings don't have creases or scratches. They are also more on the side facing areas.

Hi Everybody. I have a really weird question. I have a 2004 Baja and the front body panels (both sides now) next to the hood over the wheel-wells have mysterious dings. I say mysterious because nobody can figure out where they are coming from. Let me explain: I park in my driveway and drive to work where I have a secluded private parking spot. From the time I leave one parking spot untill the time I arrive at the next, a new ding appears. (And no, I have not been in an accident.) Has anybody experienced similiar events, or have any probable causes? I've been tossing around the idea that there is something structural going on. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

I also have a mysterious 'ding' in the hood of my 2004 Forester. I noticed it the day after I had it in for an oil change. The real mystery is that the dust on the hood was not disturbed meaning that nothing had come into contact with the outside of the hood. I inspected under the hood. In the spot under the ding was a black sticky substance between the hood sheet metal and the internal brace for the hood. My theory is that the oil change technician closed the hood with too much force and the internal brace, being 'glued' to the hood sheet metal by the black substance, 'sucked' the ding into the sheet metal from below.

 

The hood is aluminum, which is a much softer metal and not thoroughly tested over years of use as the previous steel sheet metal has been. I'm wondering if this is a design defect that may start showing up in other cars.

 

Of course, when I explained my theory to the service department, they looked at me like I was nuts, but it is the only cause that I can think of.

 

Any thoughts from anyone?

Thanks for sharing your experience. I was wondering how to approach the dealer about this. I'm thinking of taking pictures and trying to find other baja owners who might have the same problems. Knowing that the steel is recycled I figured it might be slightly more unstable but I hadn't thought of checking other models. Again, thanks.