How much rust is too much for a newish car?

[nathlm]

It's a Honda Civic that is 5 years old and has the following rust


And


Is this normal for a car of this age?
Is it just surface rust or the start of something worse?
How easy/hard would it be to remove and what would be the process?

Since it's such a new car (in my eyes) it feels a little wrong to take a wire brush to it and I'm guessing would invalidate any corrosion warranty, if this is applicable for an approved used Honda.

There is slightly more than this, I just showed what I see as the worst bits.

If anyone can help with these questions, or can let me know if that's something Honda would/should cover under their approved used warranty, I'd be very appreciative.

[steveo3002]

about what i would expect , nothing there is overly important , its a bumper bracket and suspension parts , yes clean it up and treat it now and it wont be any bother for years

[Lotobear]

Typical for a Japanese car - I had three Legacys and whilst they were superb in evey way and the most reliable vehicles I have ever run they looked awful underneath after only a few years.

[bqf]

spray some Lanoguard on that, repeat once a year, sorted

[Terzo123]

bqf said:

spray some Lanoguard on that, repeat once a year, sorted

This

[Olivera]

The sign of Japanese quality.

[Byker28i]

I was expecting this to be an MG, apparently get the same after 2 years

[nathlm]

steveo3002 said:

about what i would expect , nothing there is overly important , its a bumper bracket and suspension parts , yes clean it up and treat it now and it wont be any bother for years

Thanks for the quick replies, all

You reckon it'd be worth going the way of trying to claim on the approved used warranty, or is this just something you think they'll claim "was the result of neglect" or "is just surface rust" as the car only has 15k on it, it looks brand spanking new in any other respect?

Otherwise I think this is the right way to go if they won't do anything through the warranty

[ExPat2B]

Chassis corrosion is only covered if it perforates - if there is a hole.

Surface rust like that is fairly normal if the car has been driven on salted roads a lot.

Pressure wash it, then Wirebrush on a drill on loose rust, treat rust with phosphate or fertan, clean and then spray with underbody seal, and then top coat it with with lanoguard or clear waxoyl.

[Smint]

About typical for a car of that age, nothing to worry about, its a clean underbody so would be one of the most pleasant rustproofing weekends you could have, compare to a previously untreated 12 year old ladder chassised 4x4 for a truly horrible job.

[nathlm]

Smint said:

About typical for a car of that age, nothing to worry about, its a clean underbody so would be one of the most pleasant rustproofing weekends you could have, compare to a previously untreated 12 year old ladder chassised 4x4 for a truly horrible job.

Yeah, I'm just a bit on edge since my previous car was a 56
plate RAV4 with 140k, it was like Swiss cheese underneath and no bolt ever came out in one piece

[littleredrooster]

You don't know what rust is until you've owned an MX-5. Unbelievable.

[James6112]

Looks horrible TBH, far worse than i’d accept on a 5 year old car
What’s to lose by taking it to the main dealer to be checked ?

[Belle427]

I'd be a bit concerned with the first picture, suspension arms etc do take a bit more of a battering though so that would not worry me too much.

[Trevor555]

A VW with only 12 miles on the clock

[steveo3002]

nathlm said:

Thanks for the quick replies, all

You reckon it'd be worth going the way of trying to claim on the approved used warranty, or is this just something you think they'll claim "was the result of neglect" or "is just surface rust" as the car only has 15k on it, it looks brand spanking new in any other respect?

Otherwise I think this is the right way to go if they won't do anything through the warranty

as others said it needs to be holes before they will look at it , its just how Japanese cars are , probably never had the winter salt washed off since new

soak it down with some rust treatment and check once a year it wont be a problem

[Sheepshanks]

Trevor555 said:

A VW with only 12 miles on the clock

I was going to say - I was a bit horrified by the amount of rust when I saw the first service inspection video on wife's Tiguan.

[vikingaero]

Depends on where the car is located. Scottish and coastal cars are horrific for rust. I now have a rule - no Scottish cars. Much as I love the idea of roadtripping up to NuScotlandshire for a car, it'll be rusty as hell compared to a Southern car.

[Bainbridge]

littleredrooster said:

You don't know what rust is until you've owned an MX-5. Unbelievable.

I agree

[VeeReihenmotor6]

5 years of british salty winters will do that to the car. Being a Jap car too the underbody protection is limited so it will fail quicker than something from the European marques.

The cast items and unboltable parts such as axles and control arms have only a light painted coating and will start to rust from day 1. People blast and powder coat them on classic cars for aethethics but they're still rotting from inside out.

I would wire brush off, hydrate 80 and either lanoguard over or prime and paint (with brush as overspray would look even worse).