Body Rust!

[Gonzo]

I almost passed out when I saw my MO rusting! Large area in the rear passenger body area. I don't recall hearing anyone with a simliar issue. The rear drivers side passenger area is OK.

I will have it sand blasted wed and painted.... I think I caught it early enough so its mostly surface.

[mattski]

Originally Posted by Gonzo

I almost passed out when I saw my MO rusting! Large area in the rear passenger body area. I don't recall hearing anyone with a simliar issue. The rear drivers side passenger area is OK.

I will have it sand blasted wed and painted.... I think I caught it early enough so its mostly surface.

That sucks - It is probably from all the salt they use on the roads in the winter...

[nafddur]

I have a couple spots of rust in those exact places as well. And, not so coincidentally, I'm near Boston too. My guess is that those places inside the rear doors are a weak spot for rusting. For whatever reason, they likely don't get the same rust preventative procedures as the rest of the car.

[stedyone]

I'm definitely checking my MO tonight after work. We also live in a salted road part of the country!

[Pilgrim]

The good news is that what's shown isn't really a "large area", and that it's not in a place where touch-up will show. You can have that fixed and re-painted without changing the exterior appearance.

Thanks for the good photos - they give us all a place to keep an eye on.

[Gonzo]

Thanks Pilgrim my thoughts too and since the metal is still solid I"m hoping its just surface.... my appointment is delayed to next week... I'll let everyone know if I find out anything. I believe it is coming not from the salt but rather water coming down from the top of the body. IF you look at the dirt/water marks in that area they lead right to the top of that rubber seal. If even a little bit of paint is gone thrn its game over.

[nafddur]

Originally Posted by Gonzo

Thanks Pilgrim my thoughts too and since the metal is still solid I"m hoping its just surface.... my appointment is delayed to next week... I'll let everyone know if I find out anything.

Same here, Gonzo. I just scheduled mine in to get both sides sanded down and repainted next Tu (even though the rust on the passenger side is miniscule). My body shop guy also thinks the molding might be holding water there, causing the rust in those spots.

[stedyone]

Originally Posted by nafddur

Same here, Gonzo. I just scheduled mine in to get both sides sanded down and repainted next Tu (even though the rust on the passenger side is miniscule). My body shop guy also thinks the molding might be holding water there, causing the rust in those spots.

Eveyone, I took a look at these spots on our MO last night and I can attest to this door seal trim that is incorporated into the inside edge of top of the wheel well is going to be problematic in winter. This press-in door seal does retain water and road dirt especially all along the inside edge of the wheel well. I will definitely be spraying the water in the wheel wells during car washes and such.

Thanks to the OP for this awareness!

[Gonzo]

Funny Nafddur that we live in the same area and are having work done at the same time.... dare we compare how much each is paying?

[nafddur]

Originally Posted by Gonzo

Funny Nafddur that we live in the same area and are having work done at the same time.... dare we compare how much each is paying?

I didn't get a firm, written estimate, but was told $300-$400. I'll know for sure next week when it's done.

But I'm also getting my rear bumper cover painted as well, something I've been procrastinating on for the last 4 years. I had a new rear bumper cover put on when the car was only a month old, and that set me back $580. About a year later I had that one repainted again for $325 (this time they just repaired a slight raised area and repainted it). That's what I'm getting done again (along with the door rust) because the damage is very slight, but when I popped it back out, the paint cracked badly in several areas. The first damage was when my wife backed into something in a parking lot, the second when it was hit by someone else (we have no idea when or where), and the third was when I backed (at night) into my SIL's truck that I had forgotten was parked in my driveway. Let's face it, Mos are known for that rear blind spot.

The body shop guy forgot completely about doing the exact same repair 4 years ago, and he started talking $500-$600 to repair and repaint - and almost $300 more if he put a new cover on (which we both decided wasn't necessary). He shrugged when I told him I thought it was less the last time, and he just shrugged and smiled. If he tries to charge me much over $400 (let's face it, the $325 WAS almost 4 years ago), my old receipt from 11/04 is going to appear VERY fast. I might even just show it to him before he writes me up.

Combined, I'm looking at around $800 for both jobs.

Strange thing is, the guy sat at his computer, searched a bit, and gave me a price of almost $600 for a new bumper cover (without paint). That was when we decided it really isn't needed - especially since the car is almost 6 years old and the mechanical (non-paint) damage is so slight. The invoiced price for the new `rear fascia kit' when I bought it 11/04 was $226.04. Has plastic gone up that much in 5 years?

[Gonzo]

I think my guy is charging $200-$300 for the repair... funny any thing in common about 3 months into my new MO I rear ended... new rear bumper cover as well.

[nafddur]

Originally Posted by Gonzo

I think my guy is charging $200-$300 for the repair.

It's pretty hard these days to get any body work (no matter how slight) done for less than $300. And those rear bumper covers are just the price we early Mo - i.e. without rear cameras - owners pay for our stylish, huge C-pillar design. Oh well. Mine goes in tomorrow.

[nafddur]

Originally Posted by stedyone

I took a look at these spots on our MO last night and I can attest to this door seal trim that is incorporated into the inside edge of top of the wheel well is going to be problematic in winter. This press-in door seal does retain water and road dirt especially all along the inside edge of the wheel well.

You hit the nail right on the head with this assessment, sted. My body shop guy just called and said that the rusting I'm getting repaired was not just a couple spots. When they took the molding strip off (on the side that was the worst - they hadn't started the passenger side yet) the rust was all along the entire edge under the molding. Only where the rust was the worst, was it visible above the molding. And where that strip of molding is located and the way it is attached, it just collects and holds water and anything else regularly thrown up by the rear tires.

There is no doubt in my mind now that this is a pretty serious design defect, particularly for those of us in climates where our Mos are exposed to snow, slush and the salt used on the roads in the winter. And I've heard in the past that garaging a car exposed to these conditions in a heated garage (as I do every night), actually can exacerbate rusting.

[nafddur]

Originally Posted by Gonzo

I will have it sand blasted wed and painted.... I think I caught it early enough so its mostly surface.

I thought the same thing, about catching it early enough while the rust was only on the surface, Gonz. How wrong I turned out to be.

It turns out that the entire body panel along the front edge of the rear tire wells traps and holds water (and, worse yet, salt and slush) in the seam where the outer and inner metal layers join. Maybe some Muranos received better rustproofing in that area than others, and that's why not all of us with older Mos - especially those of us in ice/snow climates - are seeing this problem (yet). I took some pictures to show how bad the rusting was on the underside of the wheel wells, even though only a few spots were visible from the outside when the rear doors were opened.

I'm afraid the surface repairs I had done (for just under $300, but they do look fantastic) are only going to be temporary. I did pull the rear wheels and gave the rusted seams a good coating of 3M rustproofing when I got the car back, but that's likely too little, too late. It might slow up the future rust spread in the same areas, however, and that's the best I can hope for.

Once rust has begun, the only way to properly fix it is to unbolt or cut out the entire rusted section and replace it with a new body panel. Where this rust is occuring on our Mos, this just doesn't seem practical. It's not like unbolting an old, rusted out fender and bolting a new one in it's place. That rear quarter panel on Muranos is a pretty substantial body piece!

[nafddur]

Here are a few more pics of the inside rusting, the finished repairs when I got the car back yesterday, and the rubberized undercoating (rustproofing) I sprayed on. I didn't take any before pics of the rusting that was visible from the outside, but it looked similar to what Gonzo posted in the original post of this thread. I find it hard to believe lots of other mo owners aren't seeing this, but I guess those with CVT/floppy visor/broken seat/etc. issues are thinking the same thing!

And the body shop that did my work (closely affiliated with the Nissan dealer right down the road from them) insisted that this is the first Mo they have seen with this rust problem.