driver's side headlight mounted incorrectly?

[verylongdrive]

We just bought a beautiful glacier blue/cornsilk SE/DSG. Bought it right off the lot, a day after it came off the truck - it just took a bit of effort to find a lot to buy one off of...


Anway, problem or oddity:
The rear-facing outer edge of the passenger side headlight protrudes a small constant distance beyon the fender surface the way many nominally flush lights are typically done.
The driver's side light starts off at the top protruding at least as far as the other one, and downward along that edge it bows out more and more, before coming back further in nearer the bottom.

It actually bows out far enough to look behind the black plastic edge and see shapes on the rear of the plastic edge.

I assume this is not designed that way.

Has anybody else seen this?

This being our first new car in decades, I intend to be a PITA to VW about any problems, rather than capitulate to being fobbed off like by GM (your lugwrench broek on the first use? Well, you're over 30k miles, tough).

On the other hand, assuming this requires at least removal and proper reinstalation, I shudder at the thought of giving the local dealer an additional change to screw up things on my new car. If headlight removal requires bumper removal, that's a lot of effort I shouldn't have to make, but it's also a lot of r&r the dealer can screw up.

With a factory mistake (assuming that's what it is) like this, the repair effort, particularly by my local dealer which didn't sell me the car, should be warranty-like work paid for in detail by VW, and thus welcome, right?
(As opposed to free work they'd just rather try to talk me out of, that is.)

 

[South Coast Guy]

Pictures?

 

[verylongdrive]

Even with the slight blur, the difference is fairly clear - in Person, it catches the eye (mine, anyway) while standing at the driver's door.

The very dark grey line next to sheetmetal blue is the shadow thrown by the light sticking out, while the much thicker black line is the backside of the edge, which should not be visible.

By itself, it might appear like parts not designed well to align, as is common nowadays especially near the bumpers, and often hidden by large intentional recessing because 4mm +/-1mm looks much tighter than 1mm +/-1mm.

But looking at the utterly even RH light shows that it shouldn't be so.

What I can't tell by comparing is whether this mis-mounting has the light bent outwards, the fender bent inwards, or both - but I'm afraid that it's slowly becoming permanent.

 

[verylongdrive]

Went by the local dealer this morning to compare, and indeed, the LH and RH light are both supposed to be perfectly even.

I guess it's off to the dealer, then (there goes my Saturday) - or is the light held in only by the 3 or 4 screws visible from the top?

 

[verylongdrive]

Went by the local dealer this morning to compare, and indeed, the LH and RH light are both supposed to be perfectly even.

I guess it's off to the dealer, then (there goes my Saturday) - or is the light held in only by the 3 or 4 screws visible from the top?

 

[verylongdrive]

So I loosened the three screws/bolts on top of the light just a little, and it allowed me to move the light to a most correct position.
There are apparently no locating nubs that had been on the wrong side of a mating piece, and the shapes visible behind the rear edge of the light do not seem to have much of a locating function. So neither the light nor the fender have likely been warped by this mislocation.


Having been placed to far out, however, they did scratch paint of the invisible edge of the fender sheetmetal, as evidenced by blue paint on the plastic headlight part. Future rust problem?

Even in this most correct position, the light still bows out quite visibly from the fender.
Warped light? Misshapen fender?
Do I go to the dealer with this (i.e. "can you get me a replacement headlight under warranty?") or do I just go right to VW since it's like this right off the factory floor, plus vibratory paint damage?

 

[verylongdrive]

So I loosened the three screws/bolts on top of the light just a little, and it allowed me to move the light to a most correct position.
There are apparently no locating nubs that had been on the wrong side of a mating piece, and the shapes visible behind the rear edge of the light do not seem to have much of a locating function. So neither the light nor the fender have likely been warped by this mislocation.


Having been placed to far out, however, they did scratch paint of the invisible edge of the fender sheetmetal, as evidenced by blue paint on the plastic headlight part. Future rust problem?

Even in this most correct position, the light still bows out quite visibly from the fender.
Warped light? Misshapen fender?
Do I go to the dealer with this (i.e. "can you get me a replacement headlight under warranty?") or do I just go right to VW since it's like this right off the factory floor, plus vibratory paint damage?