Remind me not to buy a chevy equinox (pic heavy)

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Thats life in the salt belt. The only thing you can really do to keep rust away is use a winter rat. I would never take a decent car out in the winter.
It goes downhill from day one.
 
People amazed by that rust on a 1 year old car should go to a dealer lot and look underneath brand new vehicles sitting there. Chassis rust on a brand new vehicle is common now. I see nothing there that is out of the norm especially since the OP said the vehicle is in the rust belt.

Not saying I would be happy with it just that it isn't the big surprise to me it is to some of you. It is normal now.
 
Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
People amazed by that rust on a 1 year old car should go to a dealer lot and look underneath brand new vehicles sitting there. Chassis rust on a brand new vehicle is common now. I see nothing there that is out of the norm especially since the OP said the vehicle is in the rust belt.

Not saying I would be happy with it just that it isn't the big surprise to me it is to some of you. It is normal now.


Welcome to the northeast, right? So darn corrosive here.

My Focus seems to be holding up okay for being a Ford with 3 winters under it's belt. It really should be much more rusty than it is! Of course, liberal application of waste oil probably helps with that one ...
 
I can't speak to the rust as cars just don't rust here in the Pacific North west, but...

Right tool for the job. I have the shallow 32mm. 10 min oil change on my Equinox. Oil filter location isn't that bad.
 
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
My 20 years old LS400 has less rust than 1 year old Equinox.

The cartridge oil filter holder of the 2000 MB E430 is right on top of the engine about 8" from the radiator, there is nothing else close by and nothing on top of it, even a blind can remove/reinstall filter holder with a filter cap wrench.


My 13 year old BMW, driven in Canada, has less rust underneath
crazy2.gif
 
The worst oil filter location I've encountered has to be a 4.6L Thunderbird. You have to do all sorts of contortions to get the filter out and in around suspension bits.
 
I looked under the 2012 Acura. The exhaust system is all rust colored except the shields, those are still shiny. I am disappointed, I expected stainless steel exhaust on it.

Is there any miracle cure for preventing further rust on exhaust system? Usual oil based treatment can not be used there.
 
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YouTube video of someone doing the T-bird oil change.



IIRC, I was able to get a strap wrench in there if I couldn't just loosen it by hand.
 
Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
People amazed by that rust on a 1 year old car should go to a dealer lot and look underneath brand new vehicles sitting there. Chassis rust on a brand new vehicle is common now. I see nothing there that is out of the norm especially since the OP said the vehicle is in the rust belt.

Not saying I would be happy with it just that it isn't the big surprise to me it is to some of you. It is normal now.


My 3 year old TOYOTA (and I have to shout here) when I bought it last year had less rust. My three year old Camry has less. And I don't take good care of my vehicles, washing them etc.

First thing I did when I looked at my Tundra was crawl underneath. No kidding, I crawled under it.
 
That rust looks identical to what I observed under our Trailblazer. One year worth of winter and it started turning all red underneath. Seeing the corrosion at all the weld points made me cringe. The black "paint" applied to the undercarriage doesn't appear to do anything but flake off. I've been applying undercoating since then, has slowed down the corrosion to a standstill.
 
I truly believe the black paint they use is the cheapest stuff they could find. Might not even have primer. The metal certainly lacks any sort of galvanizing like the sheetmetal does. Anything painted body color seems well protected against rust, but any suspension part painted black is going to rust.
 
Originally Posted By: gregk24
Another GM engineering marvel. Guess its not that big a deal though.


That's right! If it's not a Fram or a Honda it must be junk!
 
Originally Posted By: supton
I truly believe the black paint they use is the cheapest stuff they could find. Might not even have primer. The metal certainly lacks any sort of galvanizing like the sheetmetal does. Anything painted body color seems well protected against rust, but any suspension part painted black is going to rust.


It seems the underbody parts get that initial rust coating and then stop. I don't know what they do to the roads in Ohio, but the cars there rust a lot more than they do in PA. As soon as you cross the border into Ohio, rust buckets galore.

PA does have an annual safety inspection that removes rusted out cars from the road, where Ohio does not. Last time I drove through Ohio, I saw a Corolla that the door skin had such a huge hole in it you could see the window regulator, and a Mystique that the driver was about to fall through the floorboard if she hit a bump. You could never pass safety inspection with cars like that in PA.
 
I don't think you can pass with holes like that in NH/ME either. My local garage says if they can't run their hand over it, it's not allowed. But sometimes I wonder, daily I see vehicles with big holes, so each shop probably goes by their own rules...

At least with suspension parts one generally has years before the rust compromises strength. It's also an eyesore that is under the car; out of sight, out of mind I guess.

I'm not sure if steel slows down rusting, once it gets a layer; I know aluminum does, the oxide forms a protective layer. But I don't think that is true for steel; it keeps rusting at the same rate. Maybe worse, once the flakes start, since it can trap water for longer against good metal. It may just have the appearance of slowing down.
 
I wouldnt have been griping about exhaust, bolts, hangers and other untreated parts.. does anyone think Coated LCA's and Welds should be rusting like that its less than 1 year old with 12000 miles. And the owner is retired and didnt drive an incredible amount in the salt storms.

Its garaged but unheated.
 
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Originally Posted By: Rand
I wouldnt have been griping about exhaust, bolts, hangers and other untreated parts.. does anyone think Coated LCA's and Welds should be rusting like that its less than 1 year old with 12000 miles. And the owner is retired and didnt drive an incredible amount in the salt storms.

Its garaged but unheated.


What is the floor of the garage? If it's just cement ... that'll rust it.
 
Originally Posted By: CHARLIEBRONSON21
See that filter location often. Yuk. Not as annoying as the 3.6L in those and the Acadia and stuff. "Let's copy Toyota and put it under the exhaust with only one way to get to it." Well at least toyota's have room to put your hand without getting burned.


I second that. Not only is it under the manifold but it lets oil drain all over the motor mount and everywhere else. Then you have to deal with the drain plug that shots the oil directly on a cross brace and then let's it drip 3 feet away from the oil pan.

It is a shame that the do it this way. The 2007 equinox/torrent v6 body was so easy to change you didn't need to put the car on ramps if you didn't want to and you never needed a oil filter wrench. It was the easiest vehicle I have ever changed the oil on.
 
IIRC NickR's family's old 'Nox was showing an incredible amount of rust back when they had it. Might well be a Equinox thing to rust early.
 
Living in the rust belt, this is how it all starts. On a 12,000 mile 1 year old vehicle , I definitely would get this rustproofed ASAP by Krown or Carwell if you bought this . Leasing it I would just wash it now and then and forget it. I think rustoleum could have done a far better job underneath than whatever cheap paint is on it now. Although the bodies are galvanized, I wish they could use a better primer/paint for underneath components. It's a nice looking SUV, but some I've heard take off sound kind of buzzy.
 
Looks like a normal amount of rust for the salt belt. As long as the floor pan and seams aren't showing rust, I wouldn't worry. My '05 Frontier has heavy corrosion already. All the floor pan seams are corroded, but no perforation. I did a FF job last fall, not sure it really did anything to help abate the rust at all.
 
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