I have to start by saying that I live in New England, so I can say that I know a thing or two about rust in cars.
This however has me a little upset/puzzled.
I own a 2007 , and I know that the chrome that they make today is not your grandfather's chrome, but there is no reason why the lug-nuts would be rusted.


You can blame that rust on the environment if you want, but how about the rust on the struts on the rear gate?


I am having these two things looked at the dealer today, they say that they will be covered by the warranty, but I will not know for sure until Thursday when the work will be performed and I (won't) get a bill.

Has anyone suffered from these issues too? check your car and report please.

I am having issues liking the picture of the lug-nuts, but I will soon...

 

Here is the pick

 

No rust here, but the farthest north mine has been is Broken Bow, OK, and that was in the summer.

 

My lug nuts look the same. Rusty just like yours. Thankfully its the only place I've seen rust though. Mine's a 2008 and its been through three snowy Ohio winters. Not enough rust to bother me but maybe next time I'm at the dealer I'll bring it up.

Honda products for whatever reason seen to have an affinity to begin rusting a bit earlier than other vehicles. Just my observation. My prior 2000 Accord was bullet proof for 8 years, except it began to show early signs of surface rust in multiple places (lip of the hood near the front, the trunk hatch, and some surface discolorations). And I maintained the car impeccably and kept it clean as much as possible in Ohio.

But it does make me wonder if maybe these lug nuts are just poorly made. (Of course, who knows what the road crews are really treating our roads with in the winter that may be accelerating the process).

Keep us all advised....

 

When rotating the tires most shops do not use a protected socket and the thin chrome used on the lug nuts gets damaged. Insist on using one that will not damage the chrome; I use one made of for use on a Porsche.

 

yea that looks like rust because the finish is worn down...i wouldnt worry too much about it

 

I have what looks like rust on the rim itself. I don't have a pic so I will try and explain. When looking at the rims, if you look on the inside of the rim you'll notice a bunch of raised slits about 1/2 inch long and there are about 10-15 of them in a row. The edges of those slits look like they're rusting. I just had it in for service and was going to have them look at it but I forgot so I will do it next time. I have a 2008 RDX. If you don't know what I'm talking about I'll try to take a pic tonight.

 

One of those metal side rails where the trunk cover sits on is getting rusty. I will be taking it to the dealership on my next service to see if it will be cover under warranty. Not sure how it got rusty.

 

like this?

http://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Pneuma...2&sr=8-1-spell

 

I rotate my tires, so I guess that I may have f-ed it up....in any event, I don't remember this being an issue in any of my previous vehicles.
That still doesn't explain the rust on the tail gate.
Regarding the rims issue, please post a pic pronto, I am interested in seeing what your problem is.

 

The Amazon socket mentioned is designed to protect the areas around the lug nut location, not the nut itself. Also, impact guns are the next destroyer of the chrome on the lug nuts, I like to use a breaker bar and not beat them up. The sockets that cushion the chrome are not intended for impact wrench use, and that is why the service shops do not use them. If I can find the source for the cushioned sockets again I will list it here.

 

Youre gonna get those rust spots with your car in the NE. Dont sweat it.

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by jimmyR
When rotating the tires most shops do not use a protected socket and the thin chrome used on the lug nuts gets damaged. Insist on using one that will not damage the chrome; I use one made of for use on a Porsche.


Original Poster (OP): check the socket that you have been using to tighten your lug-nuts. Is it a 12-point socket? or an 'old' type 6-point socket, with sharp interior corners? that is what is likely damaging the corners of your lug-nuts.

The Amazon socket (shown on the link given above), will also protect the corners of the lug-nut from damage (as well as the part of the wheel surrounding the lug-nut).

Look carefully at the pic on Amazon. Note that the 6-points of the interior of the socket do not come to a point (sharp corner), but are inset and 'rounded'. That prevents the socket from contacting the actual corner of the lug-nut, where the rust is shown in the OP picture.

The special socket contacts the lug-nut a short distance away from the corner. Also note that the special socket does not have flats between the interior 'corners', but slightly rounded 'flats'. All done to provide more bearing surface from the interior of the socket to the exterior of the nut, helping to limit pressure points, and damage.

Of course, you can get a similarly shaped 6-point socket from SEARS, but without the exterior plastic/nylon (?).

I would not use a socket with an interior 'coating' or plastic insert. That will only prevent an accurate torque reading, as part of the force from the socket to the lug-nut will be deflected by the socket interior insert. I think those special inserts are intended to protect show chrome nuts on show cars, not to get an accurate torque reading on daily-driven cars.

 

That's a replaceable item covered under warranty. I know this because there are "bad" batches of lug nuts out there on both Acura & Honda vehicles. My brother's '09 Accord started to rust on all lug nuts in 1yr. Mind you this is Ohio not Canada or somewhere extreme. BTW, my '07 RDX has zero rust signs.

 

just curious, what's the final verdict on these lug nuts? covered by warranty? mine isnt even 1 yr (and not been through a winter yet) but one of the lug nuts have started to rust on one portion (havent rotated the tires and so far only 1 oil change. rattles and rust, i guess are rdx's downfall)

thanks

 

They replaced them under warranty

 

That is fuckin sweet! I never knew these existed. Oh Snap, come to my house today!

 

I have a 2008 RDX and the struts in the trunk are quite rusty. Were you able to get yours replaced under warranty?

 

...had all mine done under warranty - rust is covered, also had lug nuts replaced because those rusted down too. Also - the nut interior in the gas cap

 

It's not so much the high impact socket that wears the lugnut finish, as it is the hammering action of the air wrench.

My 2007 RDX has never been to a dealer or shop, and never been beat-on by an air wrench. I install the wheels by hand using a torque wrench and the lugnuts look shiny new.

Air wrenches do nothing but save the shop time, and damage your car.

 

Yes, I had mine replaced under warranty.