acura1972

hi guys, i live in toronto but dont really drive that much yet (take the subway to work, avoid salty roads for now if it snows). this will change next year when we move to the burbs... questions are:

a) i know that acura's body rust record had historically not been great. would you recommend that i rustproof her (2010 RDX has a lot of plastic panels too i noticed)? i bought the car (eg. not lease nor financed) but plan to wash it often... just wondering if it's a must if i plan to own it 5-10 yrs? [i thought i could just as easily use the $ for rustproofing to fix the car if it rusts later on - eg no rustproofing now, see what happens later and have it fixed as necessary]... im willing to take an "intelligent" gamble on not doing it as my work colleague who has a 2001 MDX didnt have rustproofing and after 9 yrs and 150k kms, still is very good [accdg to him]... however, if you guys think acura's body panels are that bad, maybe i should reconsider...

b) my first full tank of gas with 90% long trip and 10% city driving gave me around 20mpg (11.5L/100kms)... is that decent? i find it quite good but dunno what to expect...

thanks

Carbon2008RDX

Are you serious? I would say NO. Rust proofing a new car has not been needed for over 20 years. Ever watch the movie "Fargo" with the salesman that tries to pitch the extra seal coat! LOL. Awesome movie by the way!!

R*D*X*

i paid $350 for complete rust proofing in Ziebart coz i saw a rust buildup underneat my car. I know most people here will disagree with me because we do have rust warranty but if you talk to the dealer about this warranty it wont cover if you drive your car in snow or salt.

acura1972

thanks for your inputs carbon and rdx... this is exactly where my confusion stems... some say yes some say no... i didnt get it fm the dealership since i know it's a ripoff... but then toronto's roads do get salted a lot (except this winter ... my sis used to live here and is now in CT -- she said we do have more salting in toronto... though she did say that CT also has it... she doesnt go for rustproofing since her cars were all european -- Volkswagen Jetta, then Volvo then BMW... and yes, i have inherent distrust of warranty fm dealerships (eg. whatever i get fm them is a "bonus" if they want to give it to me -- i would ask for it of course, but knowing them, who knows if they will provide... hence why i also chose the RDX and Acura - hopefully less needed to go to stealerships to request for warranty servicing)... the only concern is Acura's body corrosion as ive seen a few honda civics circa model late 90's who have rust and are still running... no one beats our engines for durability though...

Carbon2008RDX

As long as you wash your RDX in a fair amount of time including the under carriage wash after driving on salty roads you'll be fine. Any quality auto carwash will do. New cars do not rust these days unless extremely abused maintenance wise.

acura1972

thanks! ill do and go to car washes more frequently once i drive on "salty" roads then... ive avoided it so far since we are lucky in toronto this year... [plus i dont drive the car a lot on weekdays since i still take the subway to work]...

R*D*X*

even you wash your car frequently rust will always be present if the metal is expose, i baby my rdx too, i only use it only every weekend and its always clean but i can still see rust building up before i rustproof my car. They spayed some wax inside the metal.

It's really up to you coz for me it took me a year to decide because when i did my research some people think that under coating will not prevent rust it will do more damage to your car... but i still do it coz my theory is once the metal is coated with something like paint it will prevent water and salt to penetrate on the metal. and besides they warranty it as long as you visit them once a year inroder for them to check the coating and reapply if necessary.

acura1972

ok, for now, ill hold my ground and wait... thanks carbon and rdx... rdx, out of curiosity, whereabouts do you live? is it heavily salted? the reason why im hesistant to do rustproofing is precisely what you've researched, PLUS, what carbon said, plus my own friend's experience with his mdx -- 2001 no rustproofing and still going strong at 150k kms and just had it repaired for stone chips, not rustproof... i will have a full summer to look at this and see what happens... here in canada, there's a company called krown that drills holes in the car and puts some oil but you need to do it annually... heard it's effective but im really hesitant to have my car drilled... undercoat/rustproofing (eg ziebart, etc) may not be as effective i researched but at least some protection is provided... for now, ill save my mucho... the other thing i wonder is: if i do want a new car in 5 yrs time, say a newer rdx if there is one, then i would have probably wasted my time rustproofing right? holding off for now... hope there are other posters there who may want to give their 2 cents

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

1) No.
2) The gas mileage is normal.

acura1972

thanks princelybug... [and rdx and carbon, again... ]

R*D*X*

I live in Chicago. Ziebart also drilled a hole on the body panel inorder for them to spray the wax inside and also you need to visit them annually.

About the undercoating it will benefit you also to cut road noise and protects metal. Some people say that undercoating will crack for a longer period of time and will trap salt and water but my answer to this is even the water is trap in there it wont damage your metal because your metal is still covered by your factory rust proof, we just added another protection which is thicker and protects you from stone chips. The best time to do this is summer time because they need to dry it to avoid moisture inside the coating.

Dima1978

When I lived in ol Russia we did rustproofing by hand with a brush so there is no bubbles left behind. We did it because cars like Lada or Volga sucked (they still suck-- nothing changed). There is already a coat of that black stuff where it needs to be. IMO it is not needed especially if you keep the car less then 10 years.

greyghost04

Even Consumer Reports says rustproofing is at best a scam at worst hurts your car. If you've driven your car anytime outside of the dealership, water has gotten on parts and now the rustproofing will seal it in against the metal.

cavium303

interesting read. there was an earlier post about snow/salt ruining the warranty. but acura sells its cars in the northeast/midwest where quite a few states do salt their roads - does this mean acura will not honor their warranty in chicago, minneapolis, connecticut, philly, new york? i doubt it. dont bother with this nonsense IMHO.

Dima1978

They do in minnesota. I think it has to be a rusty hole not just a surface thing

greyghost04

Not sure what you mean. I didn't say anything about warranties.

cavium303

my bad. i think i misread rdx's post:

i paid $350 for complete rust proofing in Ziebart coz i saw a rust buildup underneat my car. I know most people here will disagree with me because we do have rust warranty but if you talk to the dealer about this warranty it wont cover if you drive your car in snow or salt.

cavium303

surface thing, i think, can be alleviated if caught early and rustproofing will be of no help eventually if not treated early anyways. not disagreeing with you in any way, in fact just agreeing more so

black label

Congratulations, you paid $350 to void your rust perforation warranty. Typed verbatim from the warranty manual, Rust Perforation warranty section.....

cavium303

yes, i just attended an acura new owners clinic tonight - they had said that there is no need to rustproof. in fact they did confirm that it voids the warranty - HOWEVER, what they offered was these electronic gadget stuff, if i had wanted it. i said "no thanks", and gladly went home with my free acura mug, keychains and touch up paint instead

R*D*X*

No worries im very satisfied with my decission, thanks.. I didnt removed the facotry rustproof so my car is still protected i just added coat on it,, but thanks for your concern.. I have warranty from Ziebart in reagrds to rust!!!

Dima1978

I'd do it but I can't justify the purchase of rustproofing for a car I am keeping 3-5 years. Did it make quieter at all?
PS Someone is laying a heavy coat of sarcasm.

R*D*X*

I also agree with you, You dont need to rust proof your car if you only plan to keep it for 3-5 yrs. I guess i only did this to have peace of mind so i dont need to inspect my car (undercarriage) everytime i drove in snow coz Ziebart will do it for me annually and warranty their work.

Like what i just said in my previous post, i keep thinking this rust proof for almost a year before i decided to get it but it's really up to you guys and im not suggesting it to anyone.. :p PEACE

mav238

I don't think the newer cars today require any additional rustproofing given the metallurgy technology is state of the art as compared to previous older cars. But in Toronto, as it is here in Mass, due to the salt use on roads, it would be a good idea during the winter months to go to an automatic car wash to have the underside washed out weekly. I have been going to the automatic car wash here once a week, or sometimes depending on the weather twice a week, to clean out the underside of the car as well as trhe whole body. $10 each time, is well worth the money I think.

cavium303

mav

good suggestion for the OP/RDX/People who live in "salty" roads, but wouldnt do it yourself wash bay be better for salt rinse out (eg use rinse, lessen/dont soap)?

auto car washes' (i presume gas station ones) soap and even brushless ones cantbe good to your clearcoat. doing it 1-2x/wk might even dull your paint/clearcoat.

some of these auto washes dont even wash ur undercarriage - more like a fender and "running board" area wash (if you have one) on the sides is what i noticed thesewashes do. just a thought.

xsupenn

agree with most of the posters here on the non-necessity of rustproofing especially from stealerships.

just make sure you have properly detailed your car with wax (collinite 845 works great) prior to winter. presto! you're good to go (of course, do take care of your vehicle with frequent washing during winters by trying to avoid "salt" as much as you can: eg. keep ahead of the salter if you can! LOL))

designer

sup,
a little late for this post but I needed to inject,

I live in Canada where there is ample snow and salt (in the winter!). I have had a 98 civic dx, which was rust proofed probably 3 times in its life and can honesly say it has prevented rust from starting. My friend has the same car but a 97, and he never got rust proofing. It is now a rust box -corners, door handles, undernearth...hard rust damage. My car is plum-dark blue colour and his is black.

I beleive it must be applied right away to prevent rust from starting. If the rust starts, and then you rust-proof with oil sprays it should help retard the rust from growing/spreading but really once rust starts it will forever plague your cars body.

My only problem with rust proofing with the oils sprays are its DAMN-ASS DIRTY. The oil sprays under the car and hood, starts off as an orange, or golded gew akin to an oily BP disaster, then after a year it solidifies more to a thick black tar-like crud that seals; however all the whilst, it is protecting your car from rust. It is hard to remove, keep clean, it smears, it can dissolve some gaskets, and rubber lining that seals lights or compartments, its sticky, it will get on your hands when you detail. I have used Krown, which is a far more cleaner oil-spray, but must be applied anually before every winter. The other two times I have used Zeibart oil spray, and this stuff is like BP oil/vaseline- it sticks and penetrates and one spray coating can protect for 4-5 years IMO. The Zeibart stuff is thick, heavy, gewy, and messy, but it does the job very well. In the winter it solidifies, and in the summer it liquifies and oozes out of every orfice.

For those of us who obsess about having our TL's clean (most of us), the rust-proofing is a big annoyance as far cleanliness is concerned. I could not bring myself to rust proof my brand new 2008 TL wth Zeibart, and I still can't. So I invested in those electronic devices under the hood that send an electronic current that supposedly prevents rust. Its been tired and tested for boats and it has worked. So far it seems to be fine with my car....

Undernearth the wheel wells, around the round rim, and behind the rim is an upward lip that always traps sand, water, dirt, and salt. It is hard to clean but it can be done. Rust will develop there. Manually oil spraying that behind lip and corners is probalby not a bad idea but I wouldn't over do it.

stoxxsp500

i see designer's point, however, i guess rust proofing only applies to cars that people want to "run to the ground". for me, id like to change it every 10 yrs or so, so i couldnt really justify rustproofing.

for a 97 car, id say the "residual value" is almost down to few thousands? (maybe even less). how long will that car last further? another 10 max? (i know honda/acura engines are bulletproof, but at that point, 20 yrs or so, cars will have lots of headaches for me in terms of replacing stuff). ive heard of "krown" but they recommend applying every year for $120 or so, for 10 yrs application = $1200 vs for me a risk of rusting plus oily grime in my garage, doors, etc.

dont get me wrong though, to each his own here. i personally just dont feel the cost (and having to go to the rustproofer every year or so) is worth my time, especially if one plans to change his vehicles <10 yrs or drives a lot per year (eg. 15-20k miles per year)

XLR8R

If underbody "rust-proofing" voided the warranty, then dealerships couldn't push it as a value added "benefit" during the sale. They are just maneuvering to cut out the aftermarket.

Read the warranty. "Refinishing" only refers to "body panels" -- ie; fenders, quarter panels and such. Through and through rust of the underbody is covered during warranty regardless of undercoating. They might try to claim that underbody coating which gets over-sprayed inside a fender is "refinishing" of a "body panel", but that's a stretch.

The best answer, I think, is to spray the underbody regularly with plain, clean water. Carwashes use way too much pressure which blasts into seals and seams. Additionally, carwashes mix acid into the water in order to clean better. They don't always get the acid mix right -- car wash employees, ya know...

zinc

My tailpipes and muffler rusted. I am in NJ so that might give you an idea..Luckily I was hit (without injury) in the backend and now I have shiny pipes again XD

FlopMeister

I have rust already on my Rdx wheel hubs. On the inside part. The vehicle has 270 miles on it.

Sylvain

Interesting point, if you don't keep it very long, it shouldn't have time to rust even in snowy/messy areas. However, I just bought a four-year old RDX and I am not sure if need to worry about rust or not... As far as the '06 RL is concerned, I did not have any rustproofing done but that car has a few Aluminium parts.

R*D*X*

Hi, just to let you know it's been 4 years and im very satisfied with my decision getting the Ziebart rust protection, Once a year they inspect my car for rust and reapply sealant if necessary. I always check my undercarriage and i couldnt see any damage or rust build up except for the exhaust pipe.

Undercoating is an additional protection for rust but for old car that started to have rust this will not help you at all... you need to remove the rust first before you apply rust sealant.

Sylvain

Yikes! More easily said than done... Thanks.

BLEXV6

I would not bother with rustproofing. I suggest that for those of you who have a late 90's vehicle this puts your vehicle over 10 years old and rust is going to happen, but if you are going to keep a vehicle that long get the rustproofing.. I suggest the pre 90's Hondas were rusty, but not the newer units, say 90's and newer.

The gas mileage you are getting is normal.

TheCanadian

11 year bump!

How's your Acura holding up. I've had mine sprayed every 2 years. So far I've got minor rust starting in the rear fenders, with nothing on the trunk. The rubber wheel well liner has also fallen off.

I'd say rust wise no one can tell it's rusting unless they looking closely. My mechanic recently told me it's one of the cleanest here's seen in the rusty old north.