GOT RUST?

[Hutchvibe]

Most vehicles have little nooks and crannies where road dirt and crud accumulate in the body or frame, holding moisture and leading to rust.
Has anyone discovered any of these spots in our vibes? I keep mine clean and pressure wash the underboby because I hate rust!
Are there any of these little hidden areas that I should be checking?

[Derf]

Places I have started to see Vibe surface rust:
-Brakes and suspension parts
-Engine mounts, specifically parts that get hot, or where paint has been damaged from oil spills, salt, and stone damage
-Hood, stone chips
-Door seams, along the bottom, you will not see the rust due to the plastic body panel, but with the door open look all the way around the welded seam
-Back hatch, around hatch gasket
Link to rust pics: viewtopic.php?f=30&t=40549#p483429" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The worst rust was brake parts, followed by bottom of engine compartment where heat and salt work their voodoo.

[Hutchvibe]

I appreciate the link which showed the rust spots you discovered. I'll check all the spots I can reach without too much disassembly. Thanks!
Anyone else find more?

[zythr]

The rocker panels are a good place to check as well.

[Rayven01]

The roof, especially the leading edge above the windshield. Rock chips seem to do more damage there.

[Hutchvibe]

Thanks all for the tips. I address chips and finish maintenance so rusting from the outside in does not worry me. My concern is those little spots unique to each vehicle which accumulate road crud and rust holes in many vehicles of the same type. I've been watching all the vibes I see and so far I have not seen any with spots rusted thru. I'm hoping this means the design doesn't have any little "secret spots" where rust is working it's way thru. I have 100K on our '05 and it looks and runs great! I'd love to get at least another 100k of similar service...love this car!

[Tommychu]

Derf: Seriously? The drums and rotors are the only cast iron pieces on a Vibe I can think of outside engine internals and flywheel and they're right out there in the thick of the moisture and salt. If they don't get horribly rusted I'd start asking some questions (except in the case of all those schmancy coated rotors).
One spot I'd consider suspect is a section of the rear subframe where the tie-downs went when they buckled your Vibe into the train car to ship it to the dealership. They sent the cars out with some little plastic plugs for those holes in the PDI kit, but I've seen more than one Vibe (mine included) where the dealer tech doing the PDI didn't bother with them and chucked them in the back of the car (or maybe NUMMI put them there and the dealer tech never even saw them... we'll never know for sure but mine were in a sealed baggie so it's possible).
Other than that, don't forget to look at the one spot that always rusts out on every car ever, the seam right under your left foot where the floor pan meets the firewall and rocker panel.

[Derf]

I mentioned the brake parts because of what they do to the rims. On mine and several other Vibes I have seen rust stain the painted OEM rims. The suspension parts, struts, arms, and frame mounting points were also starting to rust. Although you are right these parts are common rust points, addressing them now will keep the car cleaner and hopefully make it easier to service the brake/suspension parts. Living in the snow belt, the copious amounts of salt applied to the roads, and now brine solution, turns average rust into all consuming rust in short time.

Thanks for the tip on the tie downs.

[cptnsolo77]

Worst rust spot I have is along the edge of the sunroof due to a chip in the paint. Once a year when I wax I fill it up with touch up paint. It hasnt spread & its on the roof so I dont mind. The Vibe is 10 years old Im not worried about too much now. As long as it starts in the morning, doesnt burn oil & the AC works im content

[lannvouivre]

Well, I don't live in the Salt Belt, but I would also check where the plastic cladding/trim is on the first gens. The upper portions of the door trim has 3M tape along the top edges, and the upper parts of the fender flares has crappy rubber beading along the top. I know dirt can get behind all of these pieces as I replaced all of my fender beading a while back. I wish I had remembered to maybe plastidip those parts the cladding goes on top of, since I might be moving to CO from TX.

[Derf]

While working on the car found two more rust spots. Welded seem behind the mirrors and bolts holding down the roof rails. Both require dis assembly to access. If you start to see streaks on your paint, this will help you determine a location. While working on these areas, cleaned and painted with Rust-Oleum Rust Reformer. If it was warmer, would have used Por-15

Under mirror, next to window seam. The foam gasket in the mirror holds moisture and salt, the seam is the lowest point so the water and gunk accumulate until it penetrates the urethane joint filler:


Roof rack bolts, under cap. They put slots to get the water away, but rust belt salt still takes its toll: