Hey everyone. New owner here. I just bought a 2017 TLX with 200 miles on it and there's some rust on a couple brackets under the hood. Is this normal?

Thanks!

 

Hmmm. I doubt it's going to do any damage but seems unusual. My TL has 152K miles and neither of those parts have rust. The TL and TLX essentially have the same engine components. The first pic is the precat, which I've since replaced with HFPC's (high flow pre-cats). However, the old cat never had rust like that - just the general "browning" that the main channel has from heat. The second is the exhaust to EGR tube which I also find unusual to have rust. Again, no rust on mine and it's 152K miles and 6 years old.

I think I'd mention it next time you're at the dealer.

 

I'd say completely normal. It's made of iron and iron rusts when exposed to the elements. Had they used a different metal (stainless or something), that wouldn't happen... But it would also cost more.

Acura and Honda like to use cheaper metal where it isn't all that visible, for the purposes of cutting costs. That's all it is.

You can go see your dealership to see if they'll warranty those pieces, but I get a feeling they will say that is perfectly normal. Ultimately, it shouldn't affect reliability... Just doesn't look pretty.

That rust was probably already there when you bought the car, just from sitting out in the elements for a bit before it sold.

 

Thanks guys! I'll have the dealer check it out when I get a chance.

 

I'd be more concerned about what appears to be dried blue liquid to the right in the first pic and to the left in the second. To my untrained eye, it looks like engine coolant which could be from a sloppy top-off or worst case some form of a leak.