Excessive Rust? video inside
 

Looking under the car from the rear, I noticed that where every bolt is attached to the rear wheels , the metal is covered in rust. Even the exhaust system is showing rust. Check our 3 year old Honda CRV and no rust at all.

Car is garaged kept and was never driven in snow. Can others take a look under their BRZ/FRS and see if yours looks the same? What do you think??

[ame="http://youtu.be/HQHwkK0zWt4"]http://youtu.be/HQHwkK0zWt4[/ame]

100%

I will look later. Pretty sure mine is the same way but went through a winter in Nebraska. They treat their roads a little different here though.

Just replaced my exhaust with a catback and had no rust at all on the exhaust. Didn't pay attention to the suspension area you are showing in your video; however, I'm sure I'd probably noticed that amount of rusting had it been there. Will check later today.

Also, just for the record my BRZ is garage kept & driven year round; however, we haven't had any snow in TN since I got it. I have noticed treated roads though but I believe the solution we use here isn't too rough on vehicles.

Checked mine just now... Not a single speck of rust at all. I'd definitely be bringing this to the attention of your local Subaru dealer to see what they have to say.

Looks like surface corrosion from exposure to salty water. The exhaust system looks OK to me, spots of rust are normal on aluminized steel exhaust and means nothing. The painted suspension parts should not be rusty yet although the rust will not harm the car given how sturdy those pressings have to be. Might be worth a warranty claim as those parts could be treated with anti corrosion chemical and then re-painted with corrosion resistant flexible epoxy. Those suspension components look powder coated which is pretty durable.

Depends where you live though. If you drive in winter anywhere it snows it is going to get rusty underneath. Generally speaking those heavy steel pressings aren't going to be weakened by that kind of surface rust. Garaging your car doesn't help much and then only if your garage is bone dry for most of the winter. Warmth in the garage and moisture or humidity will actually cause more rusting than if you parked outside in the cold. It's a chemical thing. Rust needs oxygen and liquid water to form a corrosive solution. Remove either component and the steel won't rust. The other technique is a sacrificial anode (zincs on boats) which is provided by the aluminum on aluminized exhausts and by zinc/phosphorous primer and galvanizing on steel panels and pressings. Then the underbody and internal cavities are sealed against water and air by flexible epoxy undercoating and waxy anti corrosion sealants.

I have rust at the suspension area too, the same for a friend of mine, not sure if normal. kinda sucks as mine is garaged as well

Thats why doing a rustproof is a good idea

Thanks for the input..may have the dealer look at it, or just hit it with some rustolium spray and keep an eye on it. Hate to take it to the dealer since I'm sure they will say its normal.

I think they'll fix the rust for you

Its under warranty right? 5 years rust corrosion warranty ?

Correct me if I am wrong, but I think the rust warrantee is if rust eats all the way through a body panel or other part.

Correct, an anti perforation warranty. However, manufacturers will assess early rusting and sometimes elect to remedy it early. For suspension though they will not since it is a cosmetic issue.

I'm not really worried about those 3-4 bolts since I replace them pretty frequent. In the shop manual it mentions to replace most of those everytime you unbolt them.

I noticed the undercarriage bolt has some rust. I live in Socal and garage kept...

Well I just got my frs a few days ago and I think Ill rust prof it right before the snow and salt hits the ground!

those are just the machined faces of the steel mounting areas. if you want remove the parts bolted to them and sand down or use 3m brown color scuff pad on a drill or angle grinder and use paint or just coat area with anti-seize youll be gtg

I could have sworn you needed suspension for driving ...
I don't think its just cosmetic...

BRZ a lot closer to the ground than the SUV...going to make a difference. Are you near the shore? When I lived near the ocean everyone's brand new cars were a mess. There are petroleum products you can spray underneath on bolts and brackets for those areas, can't say I know what's good anymore but here a link to bull frog to give you an idea http://www.bull-frog.com/products/. You may need to get under there with some steel wool and sandpaper to clean things up first.

@BRZnut, I have some rust like yours in the first few seconds clips (where the exhaust pipes meet) and at a few bolts down the pipe. I have an FR-S, even though it shouldn't matter.

Can you please let us know what the dealer says and if they'll correct?

Thanks!

Your car is already rust proofed from the factory. You don't need to do that.

My frs is not rust proofed..

Well Theres no signs at least (oil nor wax)

Can you explain please?

Thanks

the chassis itself comes galvanized from the factory

Thanks for the reply


I thought galvanization is only to protect from rock chips?

I haven't looked under the car yet ..i know the bottom of the doors are galvanized only

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanization"]Galvanization - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

Quote from wiki article:
It will do nothing to protect against rock chips.

Well, my Subaru dealer had an Impreza displayed on a roll up stand showing the entire underbody. The whole thing is heavily coated in black flexible epoxy paint. That's rustproofing and protection against stone chipping of the underbody.

You cannot see any of the internal rustproofing but it is there.

Good to know Subaru also galvanizes the sheet steel. Porsche and Audi also galvanize their metal. The hood of the Subaru is aluminum and needs no corrosion protection beyond paint.

Rust proofing also help bolt and fasteners. You don't want to snap bolts and have a hard time changing parts in a few years just for regular maintenance. How many times did I ever snap the 8mm bolt holding the brake line to the strut, or fucked up a sway bar link because the rust took the hex threads away - enough for me to yearly shoot rust check on all the suspension parts and fasteners.

All car manufacturers galvanize their metal parts upon manufacturing. Some manufacturers may have a lower quality galvanizing process (pre-inspection, cleaning of the steel), probably why some cars are more prone to rust (ie. Mazdas) off the lot.

Thinking of doing Krown rust proofing before winter time (Canada), but I think they'll drill holes in your car so they can spray the inside... not so sure if I want that.

I assume toyota/scion does the same process?

Im going to rust proof my frs anyways just for piece of mind

Best place would be krown?

Even if they drill holes they cover it up very well

It would take hundreds of years for any of those parts to rust through to the point of failure. It is cosmetic.

Sorry if I sound unsympathetic but no it would not take hundreds of years. Maybe if it was in a condition where it would allows it but in this cases like up north conditions it would take just a few years . Take a look at junk yards....
Just my opinion .

I have the same. I've noticed the rust on my suspension area soon after my car was delivered. I don't think it's a big deal it's just surface rust.

You don't. There is no need for any aftermarket rustproofing and,,weirdly, it can void your anti corrosion warranty.

It would take decades, at least, for rust to meaningfully weaken those suspension parts. Maybe a hundred years but that's irrelevant. The post suggesting that it may take hundreds of years makes a very valid point: it takes so long to rust who cares? The exhaust parts corrode from the inside. Not an issue.

All these cars are built on the same assembly line in Subaru's manufacturing plant. The only Toyota/Scion parts are the FI system. The transmission is Aisin.

On the frs it is definitely a Toyota horn

That's is what I figure, so I decided to hit those area with some flat black spray and see what happens.

Unfortunately, unless the rust is completely removed, treated and then painted over for protection, just spraying on top of it will cause the paint to bubble and flake off in the future.

Rust paint such as the Tremclad brand would work well. There are other anti rust paints. Also, there is undercoat in a spray can. If you're going to bother you might Tremclad it (grey primer then colour) and spray undercoat it. You can skip the colour if you decide to spray undercoat as it can go over the primer.

You can see that these suspension parts are already painted with flexible undercoat from the obvious drips.

I only thought the the hood was aluminium on our cars but A friend claims that 3/4 of the car is made of it

Any truth to what he is saying?


Thanks

Only the hood, my friend. 3/4 aluminium would be a steal for the price we paid for.

Tell your friend to go home; he's drunk.

Lol thanks..ill tell him

F-tons of car will display this.
Not to worry.

Yes,

and yes.

You could pull undamaged, yet rusted to hell knuckles off a car in a junk yard in 20 years,
clean them up, install bushings/bearings, and be good as new.