Rust - The Dealers Problem or My Problem?

Joyride

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Hi everyone. I've tried searching the forums and there are threads about rust but nothing that helped answer my question. So here it goes...

I now have about 2500 miles on my truck and while a neighbor and I were working on the suspension we noticed all the rust, salt, and corrosion (drive shaft, trans mounts, suspension parts, etc.). Living in Southern California, rust isn't something we contend with much, especially not on a brand new truck. So should I be heading back to the dealer to address the issue under warranty, or is this normal for a Ford built in Michigan? Doesn't seem right to me.

Any input or advice on how to work with the dealer is much appreciated. If the rust is something that will fall on me (hoping not) I have seen some information here in the forum on how to address rust. But I don't think it should be on me since some of these parts look toasted.

There are multiple areas but here are a few pictures I took:

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Joyride

Joyride

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rust

" Although rusting is generally a negative aspect of iron, a particular form of rusting, known as stable rust, causes the object to have a thin coating of rust over the top, and if kept in low relative humidity, makes the "stable" layer protective to the iron below, but not to the extent of other oxides such as aluminium oxide on aluminium.[3] "
So like not washing your truck it creates a protective layer for the paint :LOL:
 
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Joyride

Joyride

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CV axles, driveshafts, and exposed metal are common surface rust points on vehicles. And it doesn’t take long for it to form. Look at your brake rotors after it rains; you’re likely to see oxidation on them.
Okay, I thought that could be the case. Looking at the second and fourth picture, even these areas? I see that some of it is on various welds too. Suppose I can wire brush all these areas and treat the exposed metal but figure the dealer can resolve the finish issues better than I could.
 


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Joyride

Joyride

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Only if it stays in Michigan
Makes sense and the rust on my truck is probably excessive compared to many others in this forum. Definitely frustrating and is driving my OCD car enthusiast side crazy!
 

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I remember reading somewhere of a guy from CA that bought a truck and had rust everywhere. His was worse than yours. What he ended up finding out was that because of COVID related logistical issues, it sat at the port for months before being delivered to his dealership. If I recall correctly, he eventually had to get a lawyer involved to get Ford to buy it back. I live in NV where it’s dry as hell, and my truck has zero rust anywhere. I was just under the truck today actually for a quick inspection. I grew up in SoCal and IMO it’s not that humid for it to be that rusted. My guess is it sat at port somewhere or stayed in Michigan too long.
 
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Joyride

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I remember reading somewhere of a guy from CA that bought a truck and had rust everywhere. His was worse than yours. What he ended up finding out was that because of COVID related logistical issues, it sat at the port for months before being delivered to his dealership. If I recall correctly, he eventually had to get a lawyer involved to get Ford to buy it back. I live in NV where it’s dry as hell, and my truck has zero rust anywhere. I was just under the truck today actually for a quick inspection. I grew up in SoCal and IMO it’s not that humid for it to be that rusted. My guess is it sat at port somewhere or stayed in Michigan too long.
Damn, I definitely don’t want to lawyer up. I just want to get out in front of the issue and stop the rust from getting worse. I had thought about that too, that it sat in Michigan because the salt is everywhere on the underside. It never dawned on me to inspect the underside upon purchase because it’s a brand new truck and in Southern California.
 

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Surface rust on bare metal parts. No big deal. Normal.
 
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Joyride

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i wouldn't put all your faith in the dealer.
he's not putting his top mechanic on this even if he agrees to do something about it.

he's putting the high school summer student on it who's making minimum wage

if it bothers you, spend a weekend under the truck and do it yourself.

bottom line is these parts will takes years to rust through and become a problem.
even doing the work yourself is no guarantee the rust wont re-appear after time.
Yeah, your probably right. Figure I’d end up doing it myself anyway since I’m OCD like that and don’t trust most folks to work on my vehicles unless I really know them well. I’ll hit it with a brush and an inhibitor and call it a day.
 
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Joyride

Joyride

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Surface rust on bare metal parts. No big deal. Normal.
Appreciate it. Didn’t know if I should be worried. Out here it’s always perceived as rust = bad. So from what folks are saying here, it’s not good per se but there are some things I can do about it.
 

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Appreciate it. Didn’t know if I should be worried. Out here it’s always perceived as rust = bad. So from what folks are saying here, it’s not good per se but there are some things I can do about it.
You could always take it to your dealer and ask them about it. You'll probably end up with the same results and be better either ignoring completely or spending a weekend clearing it up yourself, but it doesn't hurt to ask.
 
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Joyride

Joyride

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You could always take it to your dealer and ask them about it. You'll probably end up with the same results and be better either ignoring completely or spending a weekend clearing it up yourself, but it doesn't hurt to ask.
Not a bad idea. Even with their help I'd probably crawl under there anyway haha.
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