Would you be concerned about this amount of rust?

Was under my car the other day trying to get a piece of cardboard box that blew under and got stuck in the driveway. It’s a 2017 CPO CX-5 Sport. Naturally, I decided to look around. I live in Long Island, New York, which gets absolutely littered with salt during the winter. So some level of rust on components is expected on an almost 4 year old vehicle. You should’ve seen the weld points on my 2017 Tacoma.

Anyway, I was a little alarmed to see this level of pitting/loose rust on the frame itself. This is where there is an opening in the protective plastic covering (what are these holes for on car frames, anyway?). Everything else I can see looks good. I’m assuming salt sat here for a bit and had a good lunch. What do you guys think?

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No. You answered your own question. Looks like a drain hole.

"some level of rust on components is expected on an almost 4 year old vehicle. You should’ve seen the weld points on my 2017 Tacoma."

Want to see real rust? Look at a 100 series Land Cruiser that's been in the salt belt.

Thanks! This is in the right rear, under the rear passenger seat. I’m not too familiar with the need for drain holes etc in the frame. Can you elaborate?
 
No. You answered your own question. :) Looks like a drain hole.

"some level of rust on components is expected on an almost 4 year old vehicle. You should’ve seen the weld points on my 2017 Tacoma."

As the previous owner of a 2013 LX 570 that was meticulously taken care of, I can confirm Toyota truck frames rust like crazy.

Want to see real rust? Look at a 100 series Land Cruiser that's been in the salt belt.


If you are concerned with the start of the corrosion (understandable), you may want to apply some kind of rust preventative measure like Fluid Film.
 
Technically there is no "frame" as it is a unibody vehicle. Without the drain holes water would pool and cause a real rust problem.
 
Technically there is no "frame" as it is a unibody vehicle. Without the drain holes water would pool and cause a real rust problem.
Right, right. I’ve always leased vehicles so I never really cared about this stuff. But I now own both of my vehicles with the intent of keeping them for many years, so all of a sudden I overthink every single thing.

I appreciate your reply!
 
⋯ Want to see real rust? Look at a 100 series Land Cruiser that's been in the salt belt.

.
Yes I want to see it but your link is pointed to a 2003 Lexus LX470. Unfortunately I can’t see any pictures of rust issue either on this 17 years old car with 275,000 miles from Chicago area.
 
When I lived in New Jersey, I lay out the hose and drive my car till the hose was under the car. I would attach the lawn sprinkler and turn on the water( not real hard) and pull the hose slowly from front to back and wash off the salt. I typically did it a few times if we had a warm day above freezing.
 
When I lived in New Jersey, I lay out the hose and drive my car till the hose was under the car. I would attach the lawn sprinkler and turn on the water( not real hard) and pull the hose slowly from front to back and wash off the salt. I typically did it a few times if we had a warm day above freezing.
That’s actually smart haha.

So, I looked at all four of these openings on the vehicle. Each one is positioned under the door. I’ve come to learn they are hook points for tying down the vehicle (as well as drainage holes). The left rear is also corroded like this but the front two look practically new. Odd. Either way, after seeing responses here I’m not going to lose sleep over it.
 
Was under my car the other day trying to get a piece of cardboard box that blew under and got stuck in the driveway. It’s a 2017 CPO CX-5 Sport. Naturally, I decided to look around. I live in Long Island, New York, which gets absolutely littered with salt during the winter. So some level of rust on components is expected on an almost 4 year old vehicle. You should’ve seen the weld points on my 2017 Tacoma.

Anyway, I was a little alarmed to see this level of pitting/loose rust on the frame itself. This is where there is an opening in the protective plastic covering (what are these holes for on car frames, anyway?). Everything else I can see looks good. I’m assuming salt sat here for a bit and had a good lunch. What do you guys think?

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There’re plenty of rust complaints here either under-carriage or interior, especially from snow-belt area. Many CX-5 owners in Canada suggest rust-proofing when they purchased a new CX-5.

Just joined the club and question on rust

Rustproofing & Undercoating...is it necessary?

Recent rust complaints on suspension、undercarriage、and brake calipers:


I'll try and post some pics of my rear brakes soon. It's not just the rotors either. The calipers and brackets are rusted badly as well.
Same as gazelle said too: never happened like this on any of my previous cars.

First 4 pics are pics of the undercarriage of my 2017 Mazda 6.
20,000 kms (12,000 miles):
The other 3 pics are from my 18 year old Pathfinder with 330,000 kms (200,000 miles).
I'll leave it at that.

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I was very surprised at the amount of rust in some areas but the dealership mechanic assured me it is normal. ⋯
Photo of the rust I was talking about:

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Another recent very rusty undercarriage after two or three years from a CX-5:
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previous year, un treated.
North east US.

I dont honestly believe Mazdas have good rust resistance even today. yeah may be better than 10 years ago but not the best.

This CX-5 should be from Illinois:
Just spent 3 hours under my 3 year old CX-5. Did AT, Engine and 2x TC oil changes.

Rust level in various spots on 36 month car was tad too much. Mark this post, but in 4 season weather I don't see this version last 10 years.

If this is CA/FL type of no salt climate - all should be fine, but winter states beware.

This CX-5 is from Toronto area in Canada:

Here is comparison pictures between his CX-5 and Toyota Matrix from Southern New Hampshire:
Rust like that after a few years even with heavy use of salt I believe is unacceptable with today's coatings and materials to look worse than a car that is 13 years old is not acceptable. How can Mazda get away with this? I love how this car drives and looks but also want one that will last. Also very happy with fuel economy so far getting around 30.5MPG on my 100 mile round trip commute.

2005 toyota matrix/pontiac vibe - 225K miles driving 100 miles a day
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2014 CX-5 (seen 2 winters) -28K miles
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As mentioned by another poster, spray fluid film every couple years. The stuff is great. It sticks to the frame and then dirt sticks to it creating a rust proof type of barrier. Farmers have been using it for a long time. I use it now and it does work.
 
I'm sure my 19 has some rust like that as well (live in WI). I do use a soft-touch car wash that has an undercarriage spray, so hopefully that helps, or will help, with some rust issues. But, regardless, I'm sure I have some rust like that as well.
 
Also another thing I noticed when I was under there, this sloppily applied job of seam coating (?) on the rear of the frame. Normal? The wheel wells are also lined with it.

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Yes that's normal. It looks good. It is to prevent noises. As for your first picture, I can see salt stains around the metal in the plastic carpet like material. I would want to hit that with some fluid film.
 
I would have to look on our vehicles, but most vehicles are made with specific tow truck hookup locations, most tow truck drivers just use "The hook" because they don't want to look for it, and it takes more time to find and attach them than the big hook. Almost happened to me once when the driver started to place that big hook on my Vette aluminum A-arm, I said Oh H*** NO. I grabbed his chain and hooked the small adapter to the slot in the frame. I drove a truck for a short time for a garage owner friend of mine. It's oval just like the one in your picture. They can easily bend front suspension parts with that hook, so I will find the hookup locations on these vehicles and try to post pictures. Next post I will insert pictures from a 9 month old 2018 CPO CX-5 rust issues.

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