Rust problem!!!???

[Ktelaine]

I bought my silver Mazda 3 last year, March 2004 and it's beginning to rust already!!!!! I noticed a whole bunch of what looked like orange rust dots all over my car and some rusting along the left rear wheel well. I took it to an autobody/paint specialist and he told me that the orange dots were not rust, which I was really surprised about!? He got some liquid compound and was able to rub them out.....the Mazda people said they were "break dust" - - is that true?????

The rust on the wheel well is TRULY rust and I'm completely horrified and disgusted by it!! Mazda will cover the costs to fix that obviously, but I'm VERY concerned about the future and if the car is prone to more rust coming through in a couple years?

When should a brand new car actually start to show rust? I KNOW definitely NOT after ONE year!!!! Anyone else notice any rust on their Mazda????

Any suggestions about what I should ask from Mazda or just 'do' in general?

 

[Gambino]

I had the same problem. I took it to a body shop and he told me it was iron spots from the salt used on the roads during the winter. I am in Salt Lake and assume that your problem is the same since you are in Ontario. They buffed mine out for free, but and wax should take care of that.

 

[stellar_bc]

did you wash your car at least once a month during the winter? i did being that the roads here in canada are literally full of salt during winter plus i got the anti rust and undercoat from the dealer which IMHO is very good. but even all that i still see some surface rust on some of the bolts underneath the car, nothing major though...

 

[Loose]

I believe the Mazda 3's had a "rail dust" problem. This can occur if you car was transported to the location where you bought it by rail car. I don't have this problem myself but do check with others about this.

 

[Ktelaine]

worried about future rust....

Thanks for your comments guys....

I'm still SO concerned about the actual 'rust' on the rear wheel well....it's definitely rust they say!!! How crazy is that on a freakin' 1 year old car!!??? I'm worried about rust coming through in the near future....should I worry???

What should I ask from the dealer to get some sort of 'guarentee'?

 

[stellar_bc]

yeah you should definitely start hassling your dealer about it. from what i understand the car has 5 years of rust warranty (not sure). but yeah for a 1 yr old car it shouldn't be rusting aside from a few boltts under the car.

 

[sajack]

Pollutants

Wash the undercarriage often and keep plenty of wax on all painted surfaces.
There are all kinds of air-borne pollutants around. No car is 100% safe from chemicals and industrial pollutants. I can`t see that your Mazda is more prone to rust than most new cars; you just have to protect against it. Surface damage to the finish doesn`t mean that the sheetmetal is rusting.

 

[rustyP5]

Protege 5, won't stop rusting!

I have a 2003 Protege 5 that WILL NOT STOP RUSTING! I first noticed rust around both rear wheel wells about 3 years ago. I brought it back to the dealer and had them pay for the body shop repair. 3 months later, the rust was back...with a vengeance! Had them fix it again. 6 months later, more rust! Same spot! Went to a different body shop. Another 6 months, more rust! All in all, it's been to 3 different body shops and each body shop has attempted to slow its rusting at least twice. It's now January and I'm noticing rust on the rear wheel wells again. The last time it was at the body shop was June. 7 months, new record! Needless to say, Mazda stopped covering the repair bills after the first attempt. I take good care of my car. I wash it every month in the winter (thanks to the salty Ontario roads) and even more frequently in the summer. I love the car but, it just won't stop rusting. Everything else on the car is perfect. I only have rust on the rear wheel wells. Do I need to go as far as replacing both quarter panels here?! I also had all 4 rims replaced about 2 years ago. They're rusting again too.

 

[wolverine_man]

That is kind of alarming on a new car. That being said, I do wash mine nearly every week in the winter, just like in the summer. I always go to the coin washes in the winter and get down to spray the power washer on the undercarriage quite thoroughly. Probably not a substitute for rust proofing, but it's gotta be better than nothing.

 

[FrankDiscussion]

The orange dots you mentioned sound like the "rail dust" that was brought up in a previous post. "Rail Dust" is caused by friction generated by the train wheels during transport, a common issue. Wash the car thoroughly, and use a clay bar with plenty of lubricant. Follow up with a quality wax or polymer sealant.

 

[fourthmeal]

These cars, like most, should have coated galvanized steel under the paint. This means that it won't rust unless the coating is damaged, say by a large rock impact or something like that.

Surface rust (the stuff that is oxidation from the surface of, say, brake rotors) is not really the stuff to worry about.

 

[Gambino]

I can answer this a little better now than I did the first time since I am now a professional detailer

These spots are called industrial fallout. Essentially the same as rail dust, industrial fallout is a result of metal particles sticking to your paint and the particles themselves rust and stick to the car. So, what you are seeing is NOT your car rusting, but the metal that has stuck to the paint is rusting. The best way to take care of this problem is with a clay bar then hand wax.

 

[cashmoney93]

was your car re-painted?

 

[NCZ13]

gambino are you on autopia?

 

[Gambino]

gambino are you on autopia?

no, whats that?

 

[NCZ13]

autopia.org
its a detailing forum. you said u were a proffesional detailer, and theres alot of pros on the forum.

im on there, but im hardly a professional. i know my way around a DA but i still havent perfected it yet.

 

[Gambino]

autopia.org
its a detailing forum. you said u were a proffesional detailer, and theres alot of pros on the forum.

im on there, but im hardly a professional. i know my way around a DA but i still havent perfected it yet.

No, I havent even heard of that. Maybe I will have to check it out!

 

[brobin]

I also have a silver 2004 Mazda 3. I had rust on the wheel wells after one year. They "fixed it". Then it came back after another year and a bit... They "fixed it". Now the warrenty has expired and it is back and really bad. Worse, there is now rust on the edge of the trunk lid where the brake light is...

Looking carefully, I can see rust forming everywhere there is an exposed "edge" of sheet metal.

While I am sure i can go pay to "fix" these spots, this tells me there was a problem with the rust protection at the factory on some of these and this is going to be a rust bucket.

 

[Mikey444]

I'm feeling really bad about my trade-in now, I have the same problem with all those tiny rust dots on the paint, it's going to be a pain claying the car come spring. Another issue I have is the extremly thin paint, I have huge chips on the hood and front fenders, the car is white on top of that, so they are extremely visible.

 

[major error]

if you don't have the factory touch-up paint, go to paintscratch.com

Also, Autopia has a really good tutorial on fixing chips.