If the piece is split, you must refit
The bane of my existence for the last couple of days has been Nissan part number 76922-2Y920, which is a long stretch of occasionally-reinforced rubber against which the driver’s-side door closes. After ten years, the original door welt was starting to split; I had actually patched it up with duct tape — yes, I admit it, and it was done well enough that you’d have to stare at it for a couple of seconds to see it — but in anticipation of the usual spa day, I ordered a replacement part through the dealership.
I was told to expect that for the first couple of days after installation, it might take a tad more force to close the door all the way, which seemed reasonable enough. And leaving work yesterday, I got in, closed the door — and got hit on the head by a piece of door trim.
It was now 4:50 on the day before Thanksgiving. Somewhere north of peeved, I drove back to the shop, which unsurprisingly had largely emptied out. My usual service advisor was still there, though, and I explained the situation.
He didn’t even bat an eye. “I’ll fix it. Hand me the keys.”
It was almost scary to watch. The problem was subtle, and it took the removal of the welt to discover: one of the reinforcements in that rubber belt had been placed too close to the corner of the door. Laws of physics: additional force to close the door plus unexpected area of lower-than-average compressibility — well, it had to go somewhere, and where it went was the plastic post where the seat belt height adjuster is mounted, knocking it out of its friction fit at the ceiling.
So that was that. Elapsed time: maybe half an hour. Lesson learned: there are worse things in life than dealing with an organization that makes a public show of obsequiousness.
