Hatch is rusting on my 2003.5?!

[Revs]

I'm on holiday's next week and I plan on tackling the rust on my car, its just minor surface stuff, but i'm anal about that stuff.

So far this is what I have to do:

- rust on strut tower seams, front (worst part)
- some rust on inside the front wheel wells
- underside of the car right in front of the rear trailing arm, both sides are rusting
- some other small parts underside the car at the rear
- rear suspension arms, paint peeling, rusting
- and other minor spots

I'm going to use some phoshoric acid type of rust remover and a wire wheel, then use Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator as a primer.

I can't stand the idea of owing money on a car that has rust(argh)

 

[DeanSweet]

Update: it appears Mazda may be fixing (car odometer was 52,200 miles when they looked at it) my rusting rear deck lid. Something about weep hole was improperly formed? The door seams and gas door are all fine. I wash/scrub them with fine tooth comb every so often and wipe them down after every wash. I wonder if they would mind if I just brought the deck to them. I really have issues with leaving my car with anybody while I can't stand there and watch... I love pulling into the garage and having half dozen or so Mazda employees hanging around my car in astonishment on how clean it is. Makes my day.

 

[StevieB]

Just checked Warranty booklet- perferation is covered for 60 months, unlimited mileage. Bring it to the dealership.

I can't believe no one else checked this...

 

[FunkyBuddha]

I have some bubbles on my driver's door above the side molding and some rust poppin through on the driver side fender.

 

[snowblazin]

I never really checked my doors or hatch (you bet I will now, though) but there is a small spot right by my fuel door. I'm in the Rhode Island and they salt/sand the roads like no other as well. I need to get the hell out of this ****hole state.

 

[Rotary_Powered]

Invest in Rubber undercoating, once a year spray most of the underside of you car as well as inside the wheel wells, If you want to protect your exhaust system, then coat the piping with a few good layers of a quality high temp ceramic paint. Wax the paint and detail every 3 months.

 

[Dimitrios]

Just checked Warranty booklet- perferation is covered for 60 months, unlimited mileage. Bring it to the dealership.

I can't believe no one else checked this...

It's usually 60 months/50k miles.

Also, you need to understand what "perferation" [sic - perforation] is. It's usually defined as rust through the entire panel; personally, I see most of this as 'surface' rust, regardless of what people's thoughts are (I've had rust on the hatch too).

D

 

[StevieB]

HellOOOO? Rust perferation is covered for 6 years, unlimited miles! Stop bitching and go see your dealer! Geez!

 

[DeanSweet]

rust is usually only covered if it has rusted thru from the inside out... bubbled paint does not count., that's surface rust. Still no word yet... getting irritated.

 

[Dimitrios]

HellOOOO? Rust perferation is covered for 6 years, unlimited miles! Stop bitching and go see your dealer! Geez!

"Perferation", yo, is through the panel (holes, etc). Rust on the surface and/or bubbled paint is not.

6 years and "unlimited miles" is oxymoronic.

The "bitching" is that most people have never had a car that has rusted in such a manner before. It's well worth the bitching IMO.

 

[bazooka joe]

you can do all the cleaning you want, but that's not going to stop that crap from rusting from the inside out....the northeast sucks..(pissed) ....snow, sand, salt...freakin crap all stuck up under the car sitting there rotting away the undercarriage and sheet metal....i actually don't have any rustspots yet, but i'm sure they're coming (86k on a 02 p5)

 

[jjac28]

I just noticed some rust marks/small bubbles on my back wheel wells. :wtf: i always take good care of my car washing it frequently, waxing etc.
anyway, i sprayed some anti rust stuff there and made an appointment to go to krown next week. i didnt do rustproofing last year, but have done it every year since i got my car. i'm really dissapointed, my car is only 3 1/2 years old, i was hoping my protege would last longer than that .

looks like the protege has some serious rust/metal issues.

walking through a local train parking lot i've noticed rusty wheel wells on some proteges as well. im amazed how quickly these cars rust! did we buy junk? modern cars shuldnt rust so quickly!(shocked)

 

[DeanSweet]

almost two months laters and Mazda USA finally OK'd the repair to my rear hatch... Car goes in on Monday. They say 4-5 days. Hoping to get a Mazda6 for the week. I will let you know. Fun times this weekend tearing my stereo out.

 

[DeanSweet]

got a call from the dealer today... rust is too far into the hatch, new lid should be in from Mazda on Friday... I hope the paint matches.

 

[kableguy]

if anyone is worried about rust pick up some rust protector stuff from a hardware store, works like magic!! removed all the salt coating s*** from all the bolts and makes rust dissipate. this is probably the best $8 bucks ive spent in a while, just put it anywhere that u dont like the way it looks, doesn't harm electrical wiring or paint or lubricants just fixes rust!

 

[DeanSweet]

after a week, my car still sits right out in front of the paint shop basically untouched. New hatch was to arrive Friday, hoping I get my car back by Wednesday? Curious if they are gunna swap rear glass or not? I really don't want to re-tint the glass but on the other hand, I don't want to deal with a bad seal in the rear glass. Rental car is getting old. Mazda6 is avg'ing like 19mpg...

 

[Diehonda]

It's usually 60 months/50k miles.

Hope it is unlimited. Will have to go to the dealership and see. I have right over 150K and the rust is through the panel at the seem of the lid.

 

[DeanSweet]

picked up the car this afternoon... man I was so happy to be back in the car. hatch lid matches perfectly. Love the smell of fresh paint. Now to put the stereo back in. Total bill being sent to Mazda was ~$1460.

 

[mnkyboy]

picked up the car this afternoon... man I was so happy to be back in the car. hatch lid matches perfectly. Love the smell of fresh paint. Now to put the stereo back in. Total bill being sent to Mazda was ~$1460.

DeanSweet, was your car still under warranty? My spoiler on the hatch is starting to chip! I bought the car in Dec 01, so its been out of warranty for 2 years. About a year ago certain parts of the car started to fade. I emailed Mazda USA about it, but they said it wasnt under warranty anymore.
I love my Protege5, but the paint job sucks

 

[DeadGeneration]

I've never noticed anything like that on protege5 or any others that i've seen. Wasnt there a thread about the yellow paint being different in the others in that it was subject to more swirles? could this also make it open to rusting more? It was something with the paint mixture in the yellow missing one of the ingredients, I dunno exactly.