Here's another oddity that I've noticed and was wondering if anyone has come across this. (Boy, I'm not having much luck with this car am I? )

With less than 6k miles and only about 3 months of ownership I've noticed some small odd rust spots on the "rocker panel" on the driver's door side/entrance. The best place I can describe it is along where the aluminum "Acura" sign at the bottom. The other three entrances don't have this.

At first I thought it was the paint but I can wipe these spots off with a wet rag and even some polish if needed. So that rules out the paint on the rocker panel (sorry if I'm not using the terminology correctly). So I ask myself where the heck is this coming from? I then looked under the door to see if there are any vent/drain holes where water can be leaking on to that location as the bottom of the door is right over that area. Nope, nothing, clean as a whistle! I was thinking that something is rusting inside the door and dripping on to the area.

So my next theory is that maybe it's dirty water or something that go splashed in there while driving. After wiping things down and cleaning up the area two weeks ago, I noticed the spots appeared again!

This is quite noticeable as my car is WDP. I'm sure with darker colors it would be hard to notice.

Any ideas or theory? I serached for "rust" on the 4GL forum and only came across this one post but the OP mentioned it was along the chrome trim around the door though I do question why he is having rust up there???!!!

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...highlight=rust

 

Maybe you go thru a car wash and dont wipe down the door jam areas and creates a rust spot on that one spot oddly?

 

But then why just the driver's entrance only? The other 3 don't seem to have this problem. And if there are no bare metal where the heck would the rust be generated from? Baffled!

 

wow that was me, haha. well the rust i had was tiny, like the size of a pinhead. it looked like someone came along with a rusty needle and poked at my car's trim. i haven't checked it recently but there seems to be nothing noticeable.

with your problem i figure that maybe the panel is supposed to have some sort of coating to protect against rust and somewhere along the way it has been worn off. that would explain how it reappears with little moisture.

although that would also warrant that my rust come back also since i took some polish to it to get it off. maybe i never had rust at all and it was just some weird gunk. i don't know

hmmm, well i say try to check if any outside moisture, like water from the recent showers, can get to that spot. shut the doors and spray a hose at it and check if it can get wet

 

That's how mine looked liked!!!! The car is new and I'm sure nothing is worn off yet. Like I said, water clean up and they are gone only to reappear at another time! I'm going to try to put a coat of wax on it and see if it appears. I am pretty sure it's not from the surface but maybe some water spray got on there with "rusty water" and the water evaporated leaving the concentrated "gunk" there looking like a pinhead.

If you check, can you let me know if they came back?

 

I pretty much always hand wash my car. I have noticed two oddities about both of the 09 TLs I have owned. One is that no matter how thoroughly you wash the car - doors and rocker panels (strip under the doors); the bottom edge of the door is still dirty. I always wipe the door jam (edges around the open door) off after I am done washing and I have found that I run a towel along the entire length of the bottom of each door - the towel comes back filthy. I've always wiped the rubber gasket off before on other cars, but have never had this door edge remain dirty after washing on other cars. I think I had noticed the same thing Kingmeow mentioned and ended up determining it was this build up of dirt on the lower (just inside) door edge. Since wiping that edge on each door after a wash I have not seen the spots on the door sill.
Oh, the other oddity - water that gathers under the hood above the firewall in the area where the wipers and vents are. I have to open the hood and dry that puddled water. If you start driving it all sprays up on the windshield! That is not something I have had to do on other cars!

 

TWO? Lucky you! I wonder if it's the aero design that kind of funnels dirt and crud into that area. I noticed too, now that you mentioned it, that the area is always dirtier than the rest of the car. Bascially dirt just gets in there all the time and I've never owned any other cars where that area is like a vacuum cleaner!

 

Try hitting it with a clay bar and report back...

 

i checked the spots again and i didn't see anything out of the ordinary

i think a coat of wax should be perfect for protecting it from further damage

 

Probably just an area of the car that is not treated for rust as well as the exterior. My my first 3G was WDP and I took off the top trunk lining once for a few days in attempt to realign the spoiler, with a little rain and moisture I noticed rust spots. A coat of wax and that was the end of it.

 

LOL.... I have also noticed that! Another thing I noticed is that water collects in an odd way at the back lid. If there has been a very recent rain, when you open the back lid you might very well spill water onto the luggage in the boot.

I wouldn't hesitate to let the dealer have a look at any rust spot that I noticed, in order to allow them to compile data nationally just in case there really is a problem.

It's not likely, of course, but if the rust keeps reappearing, I would let the dealer have a look at it.

 

Interesting. Probably the same in my case...I hope.

 

George, oh I will definitely mention it the next time it goes in for maintenance service. Just so that they get a data point in case later on it turns into something big I can say "Hey, I told you guys earlier..."

As for water collecting on the rear back lid, I noticed that too. In my case, after many cycles of water/dry/water/dry/etc, it has left all the dirt behind turning the corners into a dry mini-lake bed of crud. I gently loosen it up with an old toothbrush and flush it with a bottle of water.

 

Speaking of rain... does anyone else notice that when it rains or after it has rained and there is water on the roof and you open up one of the rear doors, the water collected from the roof will just drop onto the backseat bolster? and I'm not talking about a drop or two that ends up on the seat.

 

I've had my 2010 for less than a month about 750 miles and it's also the Pearl White color and I notice the same thing with the door sills. Have to wipe the inner door sills after washing. The wife did want a white car again. No rust spots to speak of yet?

 

no i haven't

only thing i've noticed is that water likes to pool up in weird areas (trunk gutters and plastic engine cover)

doesn't bother me too much because of how little rain we get in southern california plus how little my car is left outside. but i can see some water damage happening in time with cars more open to the elements

 

Isn't it funny how they thought so very much through so very well, and these water drips slipped right through.

 

I wasn't refering to the inner 'door sill' - it's the bottom edge of the door. After you wash and rinse and dry your car - open the door and run a clean rag along the bottom edge of the door. I think you'll find it is filthy.

Oh - and my having 2 09 TLs was not my idea initially - it's posted elsewhere here - I had dealer problems and they replaced my first car with an identical brand new one 6 months in.

 

I'll try to post some pics the next time I see a major occurence. But I may not again if I try the wax idea.

 

Dude, clay bar, try that...

It worked wonders on this 01 Jetta I used to have. It was covered in these rusty spots. It was really fallout that caused it I understand.

 

It could just be rail dust.... take others advice, and clay bar it


read this

http://www.passatworld.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=258340

 

I'll also +1 on the clay bar idea. Put some sealant and/or wax down on there to protect it. I've also seen this happen with rail dust, it gets embedded into the paint and over time will rust. You can't wash it away, but you can get it out of the paint with the claybar, seal or wax after!

 

Will do. I took a look at that rail dust link and the pictures posted there look exactly like what I see!!!!

Too bad it would be friggin' below freezing this weekend in the Northeast for claying.

 

Yea, Rail Dust is a common problem.... the dealership should have prepped your car better

What you are seeing, is there are actually like pieces of metal shavings, stuck to the car... and THEY are rusting, not the car...so when you clay bar the car, you remove those pieces

If you do decide to clay your car (which i think you should) be sure to put a fresh coat (or 2) of wax over it, to seal it in

 

Yes! They are very very fine rusted metal shavings that stick to the paint. I can picked them off with my fingernails and then take a wet rag (only water) to cleanup the "halo" left behind by the pieces.

I'm curious as to why only the driver's entrance and not the other 3? Though I hardly transport passengers so only the driver's entrance is being used.

 

^ think deeper

the drivers entrance is the most used one (obviously) so it got exposed to the elements quicker, if the rust spots are inside the door jamb.. if its on the outside, beats the hell outta me lol

 

I have the same problem on my white TL. Small rust spots appearing on the fender behind the tires (only 1.5 months old, and 4000km).
I am assuming it is coming from where tiny rocks on the road hit and break the paint surface, causing rust to form from the unprotected metal underneath.

I haven't had a chance to hand wash the area (only wand wash, as the temperature has been quite cold lately).

I hope it disappears after I get a chance to wash and dry it properly.

 

Front or rear tires? Lower or upper? A lot of the lower pieces are plastic so it may be just the "stuff" stuck to it that is rusting. I'm having a hard time visualizing exactly where.

 

Just behind front tires, about a foot up from the mud flap between the tire and the edge of the front door.
I rubbed with my thumb when it was still wet from the carwash and it would not rub off
I'll try to get a photo next time I wash it. Covered in snow and road grime now, hard to see anything.

 

Ah, got it. I can't say that I have spots in that area. Do these spots appear on both sides of the car? Your wet thumb may or may not do it. With my spots, on some, I need to use my finger nail to gently scratch/nick it off. Some I can get with just a wet thumb or tissue.

Post a pic at your next convenience. I'm curious.