Rust - is this normal?

[beaujolais]

I have 2003 Protege 5 which is starting small rust spots on the rear fender lip.
The car is 31 months old, has underbody rustproofing and is garaged (during nights).
...the lease is about to expire in few months and I'm deciding whether to keep it or return.
The dealer is going to fix this as warranty claim (sand-blast and re-paint) but I'm still concerned.

...any advises appreicated.

 

[Rudy23]

I should check my P5 for similar issues but if the dealer is willing to fix it, it probably isn't a normal thing. My experience with warranty claim is that you have to really fight.

I'd keep it but my opinion is biased for the P5

 

[MyZmZm]

Last summer I found rust on my hatch, right under the 'Protege5' emblem - luckily I was still under warranty, so they fixed it. However, about a month ago, I found rust along the very bottom of the front passenger door, where the seam is, so that bill is going to be mine before winter hits.

A friend of mine here in town found rust in the same spot, though much worse than mine was, under the emblem on the hatch, but he's just out of warranty; however, he also found bubbling paint along the whole length of the hatch door along the inside (again where the seam is). My recommendation is to check everything while you still have warranty so that the dealer is responsible for fixing it.

 

[Kansei]

All canadians so far.. guess I'll chime in. I have bubbling paint between the back bumper and the side panel on the passenger side, rust spots where the first posted does in the pics, and down near the rear edge of my side skirt. It sucks, I have like 100 miles left in my warranty I better hurry.

 

[rednecks_r_us]

I thought I read someplace that rust is covered by Mazda for 5 years reguardless of miles. Maybe I'm wrong.

I'm just glad that I live in Arizona and my 1966 Mustang is just barely starting to get some rust

 

[Bumble G]

yea I got that rust in the rear wheel well arch as also.

Canadian winter(canada)

 

[Mikey444]

awwww, rust never dies

EDIT: and yeah the warranty is Perforation Corrosion
(years / km) 5 / Unlimited

 

[ottawaP5]

I've got rust on the black window trim.

 

[Lil Freek]

i have rust in the SAME place.. i'm getting that sandblasted and painted at the same time that i get my body kit put on

 

[Lord_Zath]

Jose (protejay5) had some real bad rust issues, too. Dealer wouldn't warranty it...

 

[ottawaP5]

Jose (protejay5) had some real bad rust issues, too. Dealer wouldn't warranty it...

Wow...they better warranty my rust or i'll be pissed.

 

[beaujolais]

Well, the issue is that there should not be rust in at least 8 years in my opinion.
I've checked different makes and models (much older) and none of the cars had rust after 3 years! This is just a big screw-up from Mazda.

I'm almost decided to return the car when the lease expires.

Thank you for all the replies, you've just confirmed my suspicion that this model has issues.

 

[Lord_Zath]

It's not so much the model, it's the paint. I'm willing to bet the same problem will bubble up in the new 3 and 6 in a year or two...

 

[pee5]

I don't think there is any car that could stand 8 years of Ontario winters without rust. Even hardcore rustproofing can't help the road salt and wet winters of your area. Blame Mazda all you want, but you live in a harsh, rust prone province.

 

[Lord_Zath]

(mswerd)

 

[Mikey444]

My metality in keeping paint on a car in top shape in climates where they salt roads like madness is wash weekly, wax monthly, clay the paint at least once a year, buff it every other year and get a new coat of clear coat sprayed on every 3-4 years at most but give the paint a really good buffing job first and wet sand the new clear coat and buff it. That is pretty much the only way the panels can last let's just say 15-20 years, maybe I am exagerating.

For the underside of the car, well the metal down there has absolutely no protection once the paint is stripped off from road debris, so that will rust away no matter what.

Oh and Pee5, if you think your winters are bad, come to Montreal, not only are the roads salted as much as ontario but we have craters in are roads, you can entirely **** up your suspension on it. And even during the summer, we have large stones on the roads everywhere, it's never clean here. I tend to think, that if a car last 8-10 years rust free, it was a good buy.

 

[Kansei]

I tend to think, that if a car last 8-10 years rust free, it was a good buy.

So two years, just two winters, and already having two spots where the rust has come through and a place where the paint is bubbling up is probably bad. I keep on top of washing and waxing (wash once a week wax once a month, clay barred it in the spring, etc) and I constantly try to make sure that the wheel wells are rinsed out. I blame New York for this, Connecticut uses much less salt (basically no salt on local roads).

Our rear wheel wells are so cheaply designed that they just have a perfect shelf for holding the salt so that it can ruin our cars. I really wanted to keep this car until I graduated from college but it looks like that won't happen if crap like this happens when it's only two years old. What after a few more Rochester winters?

 

[ottawaP5]

The only way to prevent rust in the fenders is to get it oil sprayed once a year. I was told by the rustproffing place that Mazda's are particularly bad for rust.

 

[JOS3]

Jose (protejay5) had some real bad rust issues, too. Dealer wouldn't warranty it...

yes, i actually had rust in the same exact spot. i had about 1500 miles left on my warranty, took it to the dealership thinking, 'it will be under warranty.' the dickhead service manager (whom is a cocksucker and i cant stand him because dealing with him shortens my life span) took pics of the rust (which i had on BOTH rear fender lips) and sent it to the regional mazda 'people.' he said he would let me know the next day what they said. seven days later (after i had called eveyday) he called and let me know that they were NOT going to warranty it because he said, 'they felt that the rust could have been caused by rocks being flung up and chipping the paint off, causing rust.'

i was so ******* pissed because you could obviously tell it wasnt rock chips, the paint was ******* bubbling. i took it to a body shop and they quoted me around $1000 to fix each side becasue they said it was so bad they would have to replace the entire panels. i was so depressed because i spent so much time taking care of my p5 and keeping the body flawless. i would even wax it in the winter.

so how did i fix my problem that they wouldnt warranty? i traded the ******* rust bucket p5 back into the dealer that denied my warranty claim for a new rx-8. i didnt tell them about the rust and they didnt know it had it because they obviously dont relay information to one another. so they ended up giving me $13,000 for a p5 that will be a rusted shell in a few years. i win.

 

[Lord_Zath]

And thus, the term "pulling a Jose" was created.