Does the TL require an under coat to prevent rust??

 

comes with protection from the factory... now if you want the added protection of an additional coating, thats up to you and your wallet$. but in my opinion its not worth it

 

I've been thinking about undercoating it myselff or having someone do it when my 2005 arrives.

From what I've seen most current Honda/Acura's do very limited undercoating. Mostly it's painted the body color and not true undercoating. My 89 Legend has some underbody and wheelwell rust/corrosion. My dad's 89 Civic had undercoating applyed by the dealer and it has been rust-free and both cars saw the same weather and drive in similar conditions and roads.

My wife's Honda Pilot did not have any undercoating and I sprayed it on myself, be forewarned it's pretty messy. There are some threads that claim undercoating can cause corrosion by trapping water between the undercoating and body.

I still see around Maryland alot of mid-90's Accords and Integra's with the charactoristic rust at the back opening of the rear wheel well opening. I would have thought by now Honda/Acura would have been solved this annoyingh problem by now.

 

Doing it yourself if messy to say the least. Not to mention that if you are adding under protection. You have to make sure the underside is 100% clean. When the pro's do it they clean it such that there are no acids left underneath your new underproofing, among other nasty's you don't want to trap in... If you are gonna pay to do it... Make sure it's done right. From everything I've read here I've decided NOT to do it... FWIW

 

I'd be very careful about doing any kind of undercoating at all...... In fact I wouldn't do it. The metal in cars is treated a lot better these days than in even the early to mid nineties. With most undercoating the salty water gets trapped in pockets that can't be washed out and that's where the trouble begins.
If you wan't to prolong the life of your TL, just wash it as often as possible.

There's a reason why those big undercoating companies have gone out of business.

TL-Rocket

'04 SSM/EBONY/6MT/NAVI/HPT

 

Don't put undercoating on your new car. The factory has done research to determine the areas that need protection, and they do a pretty good job protecting the car when it's built. The undercoating companies have prettty much gone the way of the dinosauer lately...years ago they were everywhere...and now it's hard to find one. They'll tell you anything to get you to use their service, but it's not only not necessary, it does more harm than good. It traps moisture and can actually cause more rust than it prevents. Our TL doesn't have a rust problem, so don't make one.

 

My logical side agrees with you, my practical side looks at rust on the rear wheel opening of mid 90's Accords and Integra's and wonders. I still have a couple weeks to decide.

FWIW, the undercoating that Honda used to use in the mid 80's had a process flaw that would cause it to delaminate from the painted body. My brother had a 86 CRX Si and alot of corrosion occured in the pockets that resulted in that gap. My wife had a 86 Integra and the same thing occured there, so I'm aware that undercoating can be pretty bad when that occurs.

 

You need to evaluate the requirement to get undercoating. If your car is exposed to lots of salts, sand, gravel, water, etc, then undercoating may be a good idea.

It's a DIY project. I've used this stuff for years (see link below). It's pricey but stays on for a long time, is durable, and stays flexible. You would want to tape off anything that should not get sprayed like wire harnass plugs or drain plugs, etc. You would need 2 cans for a TL and it should be applied in nice even thick coat during a warm dry day. You must also wash the underside very well a day or two before you undercoat it.

I've also used Herculiner for undercoating some stuff on my trucks, but applying Herc is tricky and messy.


http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/C...atalogId=10101

 

Don't do it!

To quote Putty from Seinfeld on his opinion (as a car salesman) on undercoating...
"We don't even know what that stuff is!"

I can tell you what it is - margin for the dealer.

If you have to have it, do not buy it from the dealer and let me know because I have a bridge for sale that you may be interested in.

 

those mid 90s accord probably werent taken care of... im sure even some of those cars had some extra "under coating" on them.... if you have to drive a car up north (which im sure you do unless you have a beater for the winter) then your car will be exposed to salt.... salt will eat through just about anything if given time and moisture. what you need to hose the car down often in winter months... and yes i realize that this may not be practical but it is effective. if you cant do that, then as soon as it begins to warm up you need to clean the entire underside of the car, getting rid of all the pockets of salt and grime, that just sit there and eat away at the car. some drive thru car washes have a under body cleaning option this works good as well... as it uses pressurized water to clean quite a bit away.

any car will get rust when subjected to those conditions without good maintence, doesnt matter the manufacture, or model. if you want it to last maintain it, and it will last for years to come

 

That's the problem, my 89 Legend and a couple of friends with mid 90's Accords were careful to wash off salt within a reasonable time period but still the dreaded corrosion occured.

I have one friend with a 95 Accord EX 5 speed with 240K+ miles. The car inside and out is a 9/10 with the exception of a small amount of rust on both rear wheel openings. He is extremely good about maintaining it.

In some way I feel the design of the rear fender opening and paint/dipping was not up to par. The front fender linings is plastic and there is not lip at the edge of the opening. The rear on some Honda/Acura models has a metal lip that is often covered with a flexible piece of rubber. That lip tends to accumulate salt and other road debris. I always hose it off with a garden hose to remove the stuff that collects on it when I wash. It's the only bad thing I can say about Honda products.

 

I had undercoating done to my 85 Cutlass by the dealer, and it messed up the catalytic converter and the ECU emissions check. Finally, the dealer had to remove the converter under the warranty and changed all the oxygen sensors. I believe Consumers Report and similar mags advise against undercoating, saying that it is unnecessary, and it only helps the dealer's profit margin.

 

Like the people said, don't do it. If Honda (Acura) cars are built in such a fashion that they'll rust and show serious under-carraige deterioration from the elements, shame on them.. they're just building cars like they did in the 80's which did two things right: they leaked and they rusted.

 

To much focus on rust guys.....

"Rust proofing" is for preventing rust, "undercoating" is more for sound deadening than anything else. Will "undercoating" help prevent rust? In many cases yes, but its a secondary function. I always used it when I lived up north due to the rocks/sand. The thickness of undercoating keeps the rocks thrown from tires from chipping thus causing rust underneeth the vehicle - not to mention deadening the sound it causes. Is it a required now in 2005....? Most vehicles now have plastic inner wheel wells not to mention the TL, Nissans, etc have "fabric" in the rear wells.... So, for me it would depend on where I lived and how much I and/or the vehicle would benefit from it.

 

me being in autobody..i ahve something to say about this. No it doesnt require undercoat. New cars, since the late 80s, come GALVINIZED. spelling? o well anyway.. This is a special liquid that the frame/car is dipped in. This stops rust. ALSO...Undercoat has been known to cause problems...In the 60s/70 they used undercoat from the factory. This was great until a rock flew up aand chipped the UNDERCOAT. Now you have a smal chip. When you hit a puddle, water gets in the chip and ACTUALLY RUSTS THE FRAME OUT UNDER THE UNDERCOAT!So i STAY AWAY from undercoat...hope this helped?