Rust on Axles and Underbody of Brand New 2010 Mazda CX-9

[jjm901]

I just bought a 2010 Mazda CX9 4 weeks ago... was under the car and noticed what I thought to be an unusual amount of rust on the axles and other parts under the vehicle, even some light surface rust on the frame. The vehicle was manufactured in September 2009 so it has been sitting on a lot at one or more dealers for a while, but when I purchased it it only had 100 miles on it.

I was wondering if other owners have seen this and what do you think I should do at this point. I brought it back to the dealer, and after sending pictures of the rust to Mazda they claim that this is normal and not covered by under warranty since they consider it to be surface rust and will not cause any long term issues.

What do others think? Is this normal? Should I elevate this further and demand the parts be replaced? The vehicle be exchanged? Or do nothing? I am attaching a few pictures so you can see what I am talking about.

 

[nguvanh]

IMO. that should not happen on a new car. I will check on mine and let you know.

 

[vikefan7]

That's a lot of flipping rust for a brand new car. Guess you should have paid for the underbody coating I'll check mine too and see if it looks that bad after being two years old.

 

[o.c.cx9]

I have a 2008 CX-9 Touring with 21000 miles and I just looked under the entire front end and COULD NOT find one bit of rust. I live in southern Calif.

Are you sure your vehicle doesn't have a salvaged title somewhere hidden?

Doesn't look right to me.

Just my .01c after Obama taxes

 

[danz75]

I wonder if this was the result of the car sitting at a port by the sea for a long time? Most new cars have a protective layer on the paint surface but I don't think anything's protecting the undercarriage. Definitely worthwhile to go back to the dealer and look under other new CX-9s there to see if they have the same amount of rust.

My 09 which has seen one saltless winter has no rust that i can find.

 

[badself]

What I see with your new vehicle really bothers me. It's obviously the result of sitting out in adverse elements for too long. If water damage has occurred with this vehicle prior to ever being titled, there would be no salvage title. The manufacturer or dealer is under no obligation to disclose something that does not exist. Go straight up the chain, put the dealer and manufacturer on notice, get proper documentation, and GET A LAWYER. If I had to spend money to make them eat the vehicle, I wouldn't blink an eye, I would do it.

Not but a month ago, I made a Hyundai dealer take back a new 2011 Hyundai Sonata SE that sat in the dealer service department for three out of the four weeks I had possession of it. They initially laughed at me, but they weren't laughing in the end when they had to cut a check for the full value of the vehicle, including taxes and tags. I eventually bought a new Infiniti G37X coupe, but I probably spent 75 minutes looking over every square inch of the car (including the underside) before taking delivery.

The condition of your vehicle is compromising its value. It's a salvage car even without the salvage title. Please don't let them get away with it.

 

[Wisconsin Proud]

My '05 Pilot had the same thing happen to very similar parts. Basically these are untreated steel parts. No big deal.

 

[dolesun]

My '09 has nothing like that. I'm in Nor. Cal.

 

[2008GT]

that does not look right. almost looks like someone sprayed some acid under there. I know a lot of used car places use acid to wash underside of SUVs to blast caked on mud and dirt and make it look clean temporaly.

 

[sjg]

My 09 Touring with over 15K miles (including a cold, messy winter with lots of salt on the roads) has nothing like that.

 

[MSPBlazinYellow]

that is amazing. I have an 08 with 40k miles, i just changed the oil and did not see anything like that underneath. Something seems wrong there.

 

[SeCX-9]

ditto

 

[CX9 SportOwner]

Pushing 40k, snowy winters, no rust.