Aluminum Corrosion?

[jasonvibe]

Here in the great white north. I see a lot of white corrosion on the tranny and rear diff. the darn car is only 6 months old. And my last 3, 10 year old cars never had it this bad after 10 years. We have only had 6 times they salted the road. And it was washed off within a week by rain. I am not about to do "Mothers" on the tranny. Is this a Kia or Hyundai I bought with a Pontiac badge. Or are toyota trans's all like this? I am starting to believe this toyota "quality thing" is due to someone being paid to say it, ie consumer mags. PS. my motorcycles with aluminum engines and both about 20years old never had this rate of white corrosion. wish I had a digi cam to show you folks.This is a great site...

[mcgusto82]

here in ny, my vibe isn't showing any corrosion...pics would help much.

[TRDman]

We don't have nearly the snow here in Ny, but my car (about the same age as yours) hasn't seen corrosion even with the oversalting of the roads they use. The old Toyota van I drove did have slight amount of corrosion; after 6 years. Pics would help because you could have some kind of bad sealing issue down there. On the Toyota quality I think you're right; they aren't bad, but the are beginning to slip.

[ColonelPanic]

I don't know what you're talking about, mine is still shiny - you must have a lemon! (of course, uh, my tranny is still new, isn't it? ) The old one did look like crap, even this far south where salt isn't so frequently used. Not to mention a lot of the little odds and ends under the hood are rusted. But nothing really important though, on mine just trivial stuff like brake lines have rust on them. As time goes by, you may just see how Toyota spared no expense when it came down to corrosion-resistant materials and/or coatings in key areas on these cars!

[ToolGuy]

Unfortunately this is normal now a days... Car manf have left off or cheapened the coatings used on all parts even interior parts.

[jasonvibe]

I was just so surprised to see the "white" stuff on the tranny. Worse than the oil pan on my 20 year old 'cycle after 10 rain storms. I suspect it is a density thing. The denser the aluminum the harder for oxidation to set in. I know my 10 year old bonnevile had no such "white stuff' on the tranny. You can see the casting is not polished or sanded on this Vibe's tranny. Just one of those, "do the minimum effort materials". It gets the job done, but not very pretty. Just hope the corrosion does not set in where seals are. I have seen it myself on 'cycles where the engine corrodes at a seal and won't seal on it's "outer edge". The rear diff is easy to get shinny. But the tranny, I'll just spray some silicone on it. Silicone drys and seals surfaces nice with minimal smell. If you have not noticed, I am trying to make sure this car makes it the 10 years I keep all of mine.

[48-remi]

Rustprooffing by using an oil spray is quite popular in Quebec and Ontario. I have used it for over 20 years and got my Vibe done within a week of delivery. Keeps our cars like new despite all the salt used here.I was wondering if this is commonly done in the US ?RemiBase Neptune, stick shift,