Just a small question - has anyone noticed any rust or even slight surface rust on the bottom/undercarriage of their Scions? Or Toyotas in general? I am going to be ordering my xB soon and will be leaving it in a driveway, exposed to the elements, so I was just wondering if this is something i should worry about or am i thinking about it too much.. heh

Thanks in advance,
- sh00k

 

You worry too much!

I live in the Southern Tier of NYS and salt is a daily thing on the roads all winter. I've never seen rust on my vehicles (even surface rust) till the 4th or 5th year.

Just don't park it in the grass...

 

Well I live in Seattle, and we all know what this place is known for (Rain). As of yet I have not noticed any rust on my car. It's an '05 but I've only have for about a month and a half too.

 

lol - i have a valid reason to worry though.....

I bought a 2004 hummer brand-spanking new in november of 2003. So, I have owned it for about 23 months now.... YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE IT BUT THERE IS ALREADY SURFACE RUST ON THE UNDER-CARRIAGE! not only that but the bolts that hold on the rear license place are so rusted that if i pull the license, i think they would break - it's that bad! on the back bumper, around the area where the tow hooks are - IS ALSO RUSTING!@#!@#!@#!#!@#!@#@!#

I had the truck covered with a tarp and car cover for the first few months of ownership but lately i haven't been doing that. I HAVE NEVER EVEN driven the hummer in snow or when there is salt on the road! i have left it sitting for weeks while i waited for all the salt to get off the roads... this is why i know that it's not the salt that's causing this...

It is for this reason that I decided - I'm never buying an american car again... I have owned a grand national, monte carlo, dodge durango, chevy avalanche and now the hummer....

AFTER SPENDING 65 F*CKING GRAND IN CASH, i did not expect my dream car to become a rusty $65,000 toy!@#!@#!@ #

im glad that no one has noticed this problem on the xB - my next car.

I have not gone back to the hummer dealer yet but when i do, i'm going to talk to the manager and ask how many other people have come back with this same complaint. im going to tell them then and there that they've lost a customer and im going to call hummer and let them know how much it sucks to spend $65,000 hard earned dollars on a rust bucket. I give it a couple of years more and im sure the floorboards will be the next thing to go...... it's really messed up and saddening

 

no rust on mine....and yeah heere at my car audio shop we do alot of hummers and they have rust galore!!! we just did an 05 and it had rust on it....damn

 

Funny you wait for the salt/snow to clear up before you drive your hummer? People here tend to drive their hummers while there is snow

 

You go from a $65k Hummer to a $15k Box? I just don't understand that.

 

12 mpg or 34 mpg?... what's hard to understand about that?.. i think the hummer is the weekend "fun" car... the box is the daily driver...

back on topic: i've had my box for 2 years now... no rust anywhere (granted i live in CA)...

 

My 05 xB did develop some rust. I had a little fender bender and where the paint came off right down to the raw metal, it did rust after a few days expose - but that is raw metal without and paint on it. Other than that, none detected elsewhere.

 

Well I can understand your point about the Hummer but that is a bit different.

The Hummer H2 is built on a Chevy fullsize truck platform and those are renown for rust on the frame and undercarriage. I think truck buyers just expect it. My Wrangler was the same way on the frame and undercarriage after 3 years.

Cars are a bit different. Theyre unibody so if the sheetmetal starts rusting underneath it's a bigger deal than if it's a 1/4 inch steel frame of a truck or hummer. Still looks like crap tho...

 

undercoating ;)

 

I will be traveling a lot soon, like road trips, so i'd rather pay $36 for a full tank than $110 for a full tank. I love that the hummer brings me more girls than ladies foot locker but i can not be paying that much in gas... as of now, in 23 months, i've only driven the hummer about 13,000 miles - that's it. im still keeping it, but i'll only take that out when i need to show off and attract gold digging hoochies. the scion is for the long hauls.

but im going to reiterate, never an american car for me ever again! i've seen imports rust but only AFTER the body has been damaged - like in an accident or something. w/o damage, no rust! if i had known the hummer was a piece of ****, i would have bought an xB and saved the rest of the money to put towards a house....

you live and you learn, right? that's my motto.

 

i had rust on my brake disks, but thats normal...

 

The Scions have a protective coating on critical underside parts from the factory, many other vehicles do not.

When I had my Toyota Land Cruisers I had no problems with corrosion, and those 6 vehicles saw serious off-road use as well as being daily drivers. I had friends with Blazers, Broncos, Jeeps, and one lone Scout that watched their vehicles rust.

Toyota appears to do a very good job in protecting their owners investments.

(The TransAm I had when I lived in NJ was already showing some minor rust at one year...The salt on the roads can be a real killer!)

 

the only time id be worried about rust on a toyota is when u have some metal that shouldnt be exposed. Like a weird dent in your car with the paint all scratched off it....damn hit and runs....=( other then that Ive had a few toyotas way older then my xB and no rust problems.

 

EXACTLY!!

If this is a serious concern to you, invest the $300 or so in doing a complete inside/outside rustproofing and undercoating. It may not be 100% necessary, but it should put your mind at ease and is usually backed by a garuntee against surface rust for a minimum of 5 years and rust through for 10 years.

We do ours with Auto Armor and it's a great product.

-Alex

 

Moved to M&CC.

 

The only rust I have noticed on my 04 xb was on a bracket under the hood (upper left corner) that holds a hose in place. Nothing some rust-converter spray couldn't fix. As for undercoating, I find that truck-bed liner spray paint works great!
:D

 

At first thought this seems logical. But after several years the rustproofing actually causes more rust. It tends to plug up all the drainage holes and makes it harder to locate where the rust is. Not to mention the added weight and cost involved. Just keep the undercarriage washed during the salt season and inspect it occasionally for rock chips and touch up as necessary.

 

Not that anyone asked for it, but here are a couple of pics of my 2004 $65,000 rust bucket. This will be the last American car I ever own. PEACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!