Severe corrosion on new mustangs

hioctane · Apr 8, 2005

A few days after purchasing my new GT, I discovered that all the aluminum components under the hood were severely corroded and all the steel parts under the vehicle rusted. The dealer said that they have seen this condition before, apparently some cars got road tested on the salted roads of Michigan and did not get a wash job before being delivered to dealers. Four of the ten new Mustangs on the dealers lot are corroded. My car has become permanently disfigured and devalued. Ford Corporate was notified on 3/1/05 but have yet to provide a written response. Please inspect your car closely and provide the forum some feedback, as I would like to hear how widespread this problem is.

kevins05v-6 · Apr 8, 2005

hioctane said:
A few days after purchasing my new GT, I discovered that all the aluminum components under the hood were severely corroded and all the steel parts under the vehicle rusted. The dealer said that they have seen this condition before, apparently some cars got road tested on the salted roads of Michigan and did not get a wash job before being delivered to dealers. Four of the ten new Mustangs on the dealers lot are corroded. My car has become permanently disfigured and devalued. Ford Corporate was notified on 3/1/05 but have yet to provide a written response. Please inspect your car closely and provide the forum some feedback, as I would like to hear how widespread this problem is.

4 out of 10? Just on that dealers lot or throughout the country thats crazy 40%. mines not corroded neither are the other 7 05s I saw at a car show last weekend in Ft. Lauderdale...
Strange very strange indeed..if true I would ask for a new Mustang or some money back at the least, maybe even have the dealer buy the car back.

hotrodnut · Apr 8, 2005

My Son's '04 GT is like that (purchased in Jacksonville, FL with 8 miles on it) and my '03 Mach1 is not. I couldn't beleive it, I figured his was on the front of the trailer when shipped and went through a very bad snow storm when shipped to Florida.

Beachboy · Apr 8, 2005

Car was and is clean under the hood. Orly issue was surface rust on the rear axle and side mounts. Nice cleaning and some semi-gloss Rustolium problem solved.

Jenns01TA · Apr 8, 2005

hioctane,

I would think that to atleast make a formal trip to the dealer to get the corrosion documented. Although it is not an inherint manufacturing issue and probably would not be covered under warranty. If it was me, I would get it on record at the service center and have whoever told you about the "test drive on salted road" documented. If at all possible.

I just got my 05 back from my dealer. Fuel Tank, Upper Strut Bearing and Bell Housing bolt. Now, they agreed with and diagnoised the strut bushings and the fuel tank issue and have ordered those, but low and behold I was told by three differnet techs that the chattering from the tranny was "Normal" or they heard no abnormal noise. I had one guy tell me "You want your Mustang to sound like that. It is the exhaust sound.... and one service advisor I grabbed to listen thought it was coming from the blower in the dask. Ahhhhh hahahahaha I have had 3 Stangs and NONE of them sounded like this, NOR would I WANT it to........ Yeah right. Either way. It is documented, so if the tranny fails in a year or two...it is on them.

Good luck. I dislike stories like this. But, before you take the steps to halt the rust yourself. Just make sure you swing it by to get it documented.

Jennifer

Reimann · Apr 8, 2005

I've noticed a couple specks of rust on my '02. I was hoping the newer Mustangs would be of better build quality and not have this problem. It sucks that they do. I am glad to see that hotrodnut's Mach 1 doesn't have that problem because I have thought about trading my '02GT on a Mach. Maybe they use better paint on the special editions or something.

doublestang · Apr 8, 2005

Undercoated/rust proofed and all suspension/axel parts rusted

Thanks for this post - thought I was crazy.....I've had my Mustang since Thaksgiving / one winter in the midwest with only one serious snow (salt) episode doesn't seem like enough to completely cover every exposed metal part under the car with rust?
I thought it might just be new car thing - my Durango doesn't look this bad and I've been driving it here in thr snow for 5 years?

I'm also lucky enough to have the gas tank problem, the stereo problem, the whining in the rear end problem ......but I love my car!

cheezsnake · Apr 8, 2005

Beachboy said:
Car was and is clean under the hood. Orly issue was surface rust on the rear axle and side mounts. Nice cleaning and some semi-gloss Rustolium problem solved.

Yes. I had to do the exact same thing to my 03 Mach I. It had surface rust on some parts under the vehicle. I imagine that's pretty common on new cars, since those parts don't get painted at the factory. A little scary when you first look at it, but the Rustoleum does the trick.

lostsoul · Apr 9, 2005

all you need is WD40! WOOOO

85_SS_302_Coupe · Apr 9, 2005

Just curious....did you look the engine/questionable parts over before you purchased the car, or has this happened since you bought it? Not pointing fingers, but if you bought it like that....ya know? Or if it's happened AFTER you bought it, then is this really Ford's responsibility? Not trying to argue, just curious.

livyx95gt · Apr 9, 2005

85_SS_302_Coupe said:
Just curious....did you look the engine/questionable parts over before you purchased the car, or has this happened since you bought it? Not pointing fingers, but if you bought it like that....ya know? Or if it's happened AFTER you bought it, then is this really Ford's responsibility? Not trying to argue, just curious.

Agree.

I have noticed that this seems to be the place for folks to come and talk about how crappy the 05 is. Everyone seems to have a story about how Ford dealers are A-holes or the car is a piece of crap and everyone should go drive an Evo. Bleh. A) If you didn't check the car out, then I don't see how it really is Fords problem. B) If it wasn't there and it now has a little surface rust, is it really their fault? C) These parts that are rusted aren't coated from the factory, so they WILL rust eventually. If you can get some money back for it then great. If not, well, then your car is a few months ahead of everyone else's.

If the new stang's suck so bad, why can't I find any on the lots?

Rant off.

TGJ · Apr 9, 2005

Just checked my 05 over. There is not a spec of rust on it anywhere. Maybe it is just local to your area.

ZenGirl35 · Apr 9, 2005

I'm glad you guys mentioned this, although it sucks to hear about this being on the 05's. I bought my 04 GT last year and noticed rust underneath the hood. I know absolutely nothing about engines, but my brother is a mechanic and works on his 04 Cobra himself and he insisted this was not a big deal. Nevertheless, I was pissed about it and my dealership gave me the same story about snow/salted roads during shipping.

After all the run around we've all had just trying to get our 05's built and delivered, I will be some kinda pissed if my new one has rust under the hood.

crazy_tejano · Apr 10, 2005

question

Whats' the strut bushing/bearing problem?

TheDBA · Apr 10, 2005

livyx95gt said:
...
1) I have noticed that this seems to be the place for folks to come and talk about how crappy the 05 is.
...
2) If the new stang's suck so bad, why can't I find any on the lots?
...

1) This is easily resolved by adding a "The Complaint Department" sub-forum for each vehicle type so people can post their horror stories and look for specific complaints in one area.

2) I think build quality would have to be so bad that stuff was falling off for Mustang enthusiasts to not buy one - myself included. I'm not seeing very many on the lots OR on the street, and GTs are a rare sight. Hopefully that will change now that spring is here.

kevins05v-6 · Apr 11, 2005

livyx95gt said:
Agree.

I have noticed that this seems to be the place for folks to come and talk about how crappy the 05 is.

If the new stang's suck so bad, why can't I find any on the lots?

Rant off.

I concur! Pre-crash of March I started a thread about the good things with our 05s, since many were posting negative threads. But alas it is gone!

Gray02GT · Apr 12, 2005

cheezsnake said:
Yes. I had to do the exact same thing to my 03 Mach I. It had surface rust on some parts under the vehicle. I imagine that's pretty common on new cars, since those parts don't get painted at the factory. A little scary when you first look at it, but the Rustoleum does the trick.

It's 100% common, any car that gets driven in the snow or rain often is going to have that happen - but its just surface rust so what is the big deal? Most of that isnt stainless.

This being said, I live in colorado and its been through rain and stuff, no snow though because I have other cars for the snow, and theres no rust beginning on mine yet. But my 02 GT was covered with it after a single winter, and I didnt snow drive it very much at all.

Blk05Retro · Apr 12, 2005

Hey livyx95gt,
You need to remove that avatar, man that freaked me out scrolling down the page.

Back to topic! Is there anything that can be done once you get the car? What about a thorough cleaning of the engine compartment and underneath with a pressure washer.

MrMorden · Apr 12, 2005

This guy has ONE post and you're taking him seriously?!? Turn on the Troll Detectors, people...

cheezsnake · Apr 12, 2005

Gray02GT said:
It's 100% common, any car that gets driven in the snow or rain often is going to have that happen - but its just surface rust so what is the big deal? Most of that isnt stainless.

This being said, I live in colorado and its been through rain and stuff, no snow though because I have other cars for the snow, and theres no rust beginning on mine yet. But my 02 GT was covered with it after a single winter, and I didnt snow drive it very much at all.

The big deal is it looks bad (especially if it's under the hood). You get a brand new car and find rust on it, even if it's just surface rust. To be fair, I've spent a lot of time underneath cars restoring them, so I may care about that more than most.

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