WARNING: Inevitable Rust Location!
 

Hey Everyone,

I have discovered a potential problem with the design of our car that leads me to believe the driver side rocker panel between the wheel and the front door will rust prematurely.

Background:

I was installing my Rallyarmor mudflaps and when I pulled the fender liner to install clips, I found that I had rotting leaves and disgusting shit all inside the rocker panel in the area in the red rectangle. I pulled this all out and it smelled disgusting.

The Problem:

Rainwater is drained down the driver side windshield wiper pivot area of the car and channeled through the rocker panel eventually spilling to the ground. There is no screen or anything to prevent leaves and miscellaneous debris from getting pulled down their and accumulating.

The (annoying) Solution:

Periodically pull back your driver side fender liner and clear out the rocker panel. After I cleared mine out, when I washed my car, water was gushing out of there.

I will try to take better pics showing the drain locations and the area that was full of debris.

Note: if you live in an area with no deciduous trees, then lucky you.

Cheers

Can you paint with a rust free coating?

Thanks for the heads up, I was trying not to park under trees to keep that crap out.

If that much is collecting there already it would definitely cause a problem later on.

Good thing ill have rust proofing done soon

Don't you see, this is part of Toyota's initiative to "Go Green" - they're including a free composting system with every Twin!

Alternatively: That's where the crickets live!

I've noticed leaves in there as well as behind my fender trim.

Any rust proofing/or paint won't last long. The leaves and dirt act as a sponge holding water on the metal. Eventually it if going to find its way to bare metal. The bolts and C-clips that hold the fender on (where they rub) will be a good starting point.

Problem for the next owner, lol.

Holy FUCK, you were not kidding on this. This is only what I could reach with my finger. There is so much more in there that I need to vacuum out of something. Maybe get in there with a screwdriver. Does anyone recall what our warranty is for perforation due to rust?

http://i.imgur.com/88XgYMf.jpg

o lawd jesus

Thank you for your concern! :thumbsup::lol:

Sry bro, car is done.

jks aside, Canadian FRS come with mud flaps that make pulling the liner a b!tch. Is there no other solution? other then the warranty i read somewhere that covers body rust up to 5yrs?

Thank you so much for reporting this!
Im going out to check on that spot asap and will probably start spraying the inside with WD40 regularly. Hating the fact that the debris could've been holding water in that spot the 10 months I've had the car...

The worst thing about buying a brand new car is that you'll never know if they end up being vulnerable rust buckets like the mazda 3's =(

Good catch, I'll clean 'er up and spray lot's of rust check in there, as everyone should do before winter ;)

I just checked my car, and fortunately it was free of any leaves.
There's little to worry about if you live in the city with few trees like me.
But whoever installed the mudflap brackets, did so carelessly and they had scratched into the surrounding paint...so at least it gave me a chance to touch that up!

DO NOT DO THIS!

If you scratch inside, most likely primer will come off and from there on it will definitely rust. Try a leaf blower to agitate in there or a vacuum with a plastic head.

is there a way to solve this issue completely? put some mesh somewhere to catch the leaves? If my understanding is right, water IS supposed to go down like this. It is just the leaves will rot there. If we can catch the leaves, thing will be fine. Right?

I have a 2000 Camry and can see the leaves clearly in there. I'd say there are a lot of cars that accumulate leafs there. IMHO we are overthinking this. I won't even bother thinking about it.

If you're that worried, take the area apart, clean and dry it and coat it with a spray can of bedliner.

Post a video on how to do this...confused on how to do it...thanks

1. Turn steering wheel to the left to give better clearance
2. Remove driver side mudflap (it's like 3 screws +one fastener under the car)
3. Pull the fender liner forward (area previously covered by mudflap) to expose the inside of the rocker panel
4. Clear out any leaves or debris if existant, then reinstall mudflap

...it really isn't that hard lol!

This "problem" was also on the S13 240SX.

Never had any rust issues after 20 years (owning ~10 cars over the course of 15 years).

FWIW.

-alex