Side Badge Reinforcement

[jazzplr]

I was told this morning at Crew Carwash that they made a decision last week to not wash gen4 SHOs any longer due to the side badges popping off and damaging the SHO or vehicles next in line. They were applying tape to the trailing edge of the badge to prevent this from happening but there were still enough cases of damages.

Is there a way to reinforce these to prevent them from popping off?

 

[2011TAURUSSEL]

I had one pop off but couldn't prove it was car wash. I replaced and put some RTV around the perimeter and let dry in the sun for a few hours. The tabs are not very wide which of course makes them easier to fall off. Since the RTV trick the emblem has stayed in place for coming up on two years now.

 

[dinojc86]

Thanks for the heads up on the side badges ......

 

[cdcdcdguy]

They always tape mine at the car wash. They seem to come off easily.

 

[tech10002]

Is it flat underneath? Could we put some 3m molding tape under it? I just ran mine through the wash yesterday. Now I’m worried. Lol

 

[2011TAURUSSEL]

I would try the RTV sealant/adhesive trick first I think that bond will be stronger.

 

[Crazyeights]

I was told this morning at Crew Carwash that they made a decision last week to not wash gen4 SHOs any longer due to the side badges popping off and damaging the SHO or vehicles next in line. They were applying tape to the trailing edge of the badge to prevent this from happening but there were still enough cases of damages.

Is there a way to reinforce these to prevent them from popping off?

Crew did it to me 2 weeks ago. Back to hand washing in the driveway. They lost a good customer. Mine were always taped. I would have been upset if I was behind my SHO in the car wash and my badge got stuck in the cloth brushes and scratched my paint.

 

[tech10002]

How do the badges come off? I don't want to break the tabs trying to remove them so I can reinforce. I don't have a good shaded place to wash the car so I have to use a car wash and then pull it in the garage to wax.

 

[jazzplr]

How do the badges come off? I don't want to break the tabs trying to remove them so I can reinforce. I don't have a good shaded place to wash the car so I have to use a car wash and then pull it in the garage to wax.

I was told by the people at Crew that a gap on the trailing edge gets caught by the rotating brushes, clockwise on the right side and counterclockwise on the left side. The tape was working on mine but they said in the cold months the adhesive didn't hold. I talked with a manager in their home office that was on the team of people that decided to ban the SHO. I asked if there was a way to reinforce the badge if they would make any exceptions. He said they are meeting this week and will be looking at options. He did say that if I installed the regular Taurus badge that they would wash the car however I don't see that as a viable option.

 

[2011TAURUSSEL]

The cold weather theory sounds plausible. When mine came off it was mid December and even in Texas it can get rather cold here. So far there has not been a refusal by dealers and since installing the RTV sealant/adhesive on the new side badges there has not been a problem.

Wouldn't that be ironic if the vehicle ahead of you was a SHO and that badge fell off getting caught in your vehicle.

Note I said ironic, not funny!