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I questioned this thread back in 2015, not much has changed about the how's and why's of such issues. It seems to be 95% operator error for which there is probably little or nothing mechanical that'll cure it.
I can honestly see this happening once to a single vehicle owner maybe a very few times to fleet operators but beyond that its a matter of paying attention and taking care to NOT repeat a mistake.
99 e250 with this issue on the driver door. The issue can be attributed to rust as well. My lower hinge mount area has rusted to the point it was flexing. Every time the door opens, it contacts the front fender and bends it. This promptly bends and breaks the bracing behind the lower fender and creates a lot of contact with the door. Out here on the prairie we get huge winds rolling off the Rockies. They have definitely ripped the door out of my hands, hut I cant say that was the sole cause.
I have to respectively beg to differ on this issue. For us, it's never the passenger side, always the driver side - probably just frequency of open/close cycles. Drivers open the door with gale force winds blowing directly from the rear to the front of the van and the door promptly rips out of the driver's hand and slams open. It typically dents the front fender, separates the door skin from the door and causes binding between the fender and door. I've replaced three driver side doors and have another two that are tweaked that we are just living with. This happens typically in the winter, when we have blizzards with high wind. It is very frustrating. I've personally had it happen when a car was parked next to the van and the door ripped open and slammed into the car next to me. That event really brought home to me how the door tweaks happen in an instant and it's really hard to prevent. I yelled at a driver about having it happen a few months earlier and really felt bad about it after that. There's not much an employee can do short of rolling down the window and doing a death grip on the door EVERY time they open it just in case the wind is there - highly unreasonable.
We purchase junkyard doors for like $250 or something and I put them on myself, but $900 doesn't surprise me if you are going to a body shop that is bringing it back to "perfect".
As far as avoiding the problem, the only thing I can think of is to watch the weather and issue warnings to drivers about carefully opening doors when wind is high.
Also happened to our company van - I am searching junkyard now for new door fender - damage exactly as you described
@EagleFreek I am drooling and lusting after the car in your profile pic... had one once, but life and circumstance robbed me of it.. Constantly looking for one
Took my van to my buddy's since he has a heated shop, more tools than I and also for a second set of hands. I wound up being the second set of hands and he did most of the work. We just replaced the hinge pins and bushings. The door shell has some damage to it that would take longer to fix than time we had. He told me to get another door and he'll paint it. However, with the new pins and bushings and a slight adjustment of the front fender, I can open and close my door without issues. That's good enough for me
I can see OP is absent so I'll step on my own toes here with an impression and opinion based on a lot of years living and driving............
This sounds like a highly suspicious situation, possibly caused by pissed off employees purposely damaging this door or doors, whatever the case might be.
I've also NEVER had a "wind event" so large it caused damage to a door or its surrounding sheet metal. Never, ever.
Adding straps and such aren't needed but perhaps better employees are? While we can't undo or untrain stupid we can be more selective in those under our supervision or employ.
Not sure what I smell something fishy about this post but sumpin ain't right..........
Until today, I could honestly say the same thing. Unfortunately, that is no longer a true statement for me. I was getting out of the van today, pulled the handle and nudged it open with my leg as I reached for my wallet in the center console. I didn't even know the wind had grabbed it till I heard a "pop". Made the same sound when i tried to close it and now won't open at all. Never had i ever heard of wind causing body damage. I dont think my front doors have straps like you guys are talking about though. Its a Tuscany conversion, not sure if that makes a difference. The warranty is long expired and i have no idea how to even open the dang door now. Not saying that dude is or isnt bs'in. Just saying, apparently, it can happen...
Mine did the same thing. I was climbing through the passenger door for a couple days and decided I wasn't going to do that anymore. Damage was already done, so I put a prybar between the door and fender and was able to work the door skin back enough to be able to use the door.
