2013 Honda Accord rusting already...

[K.Aoi]

Ironically garaging your car can be worse than parking it outside, salt doesn't do much corrosion if it's below freezing, but when its warmer (such as in a garage) it can get to work.

 

[KGMtech]

Get it treated with Krown, they will drill holes into the door jamb area that will allow the chemical to get inside that panel, it won't fix it, but it will slow down the rusting process.

 

[ecotourist]

My 2007 Accord is much better than that. I have a small amount of rust on the side a deer took out and which required extensive repair (bottom corners of the doors mostly) but the other side is still fine.

I wash my car with a pail and hose. I spray whatever can be reached through all the drains. And I hand wash whatever I can reach on the inside of the rear wheel wells (and quite a bit of debris builds up there).

 

[Barkleymut]

I would put that on Fast Eddies used car lot. When people ask about the rust, just answer "RUST? No no no, that is the new bronze zebra stripe package. Now if you buy it today I'm gonna include that for free."

 

[carviewsonic]

No rust on my '07 Accord either, but I live in a small town that uses sand. After a trip to the nearest city (which does use salt) I go to the carwash ASAP to wash the salt spray off, especially from underneath and in the wheel wells.

 

[billt460]

Could be worse. Here’s a Kia Sorento I saw yesterday.

Look at the bright side. Now he can service the rear wiper motor from the outside.

 

[billt460]

I would put that on Fast Eddies used car lot........

Out here we have, "Cactus Jack's" For real.

"No credit or bad credit, don't sweat it!"

https://www.cactusjacksauto.com/cactus-jacks-surprise/

 

[Barkleymut]

 

[StillLearning]

No rust like that on my '07 Accord which has lived its life through CT winters. Only rust issue I ever had was a small spot which formed on the edge of a rear wheel well from a rock chip that went through the paint and a small patch on the oil pan I found at the last oil change. Had the wheel well taken care of before it spread and sprayed the oil pan with a little fluid film. I crawl under it for oil changes regularly and the frame is still solid with no rust.

The car has never been garaged and is usually hand washed. I try to spray the wheel wells and undercarriage with the hose when I wash. I also try to take it for a drive during a heavy rain once the roads are rinsed and aim for standing water when I see it to help rinse the salt from the underside. Not sure how much it really helps, if at all, but seems to be working so far. 181k and it still looks like a new car when it's clean.

 

[Cdn17Sport6MT]

Its not good either, my 1999 VW Beetle only sees winter use for the last 8 years and still has no rust and its 22 years old.

VW's generally have an excellent bodyshell, from the rust-proofedness perspective. At least it seems to me to be the case...

 

[Cdn17Sport6MT]

I have seen several Honda's have rust issues over the years. It may be that the iron content of the sheet metal they use is higher than other comparable makes...

Funny, i have a '97 Civic 2 door, and despite some breeches in the paintwork and minor rust at those very few locations the car seems to NOT want to rust at anything like the rates I've seen in many cars. It has to come down to the cleanliness of the steelmaking, the steel chemistry, I don't know. Mebe exactly what you say, above...

 

[TCL]

I think with Honda it's more of a lack of quality of their steel. I remember back in the mid to late 80's, they had a recall on Accords that had major issues with the fenders rusting through in as little as 2 years on cars driven in the rust belt.

They ended up replacing many free of charge. I had a co worker at the time who owned one, and got 2 free fenders out of the deal. But it didn't matter. The thing was a bucket of rust after just 5 years. It would appear this problem is ongoing with them.

That'll buff out.

 

[willbur]

Its not good either, my 1999 VW Beetle only sees winter use for the last 8 years and still has no rust and its 22 years old.

But don't German or northern European cars use (more?) galvanized steel on the lower body and resist rusting better?

 

[wpod]

Garages won't stop salt rust.

 

[R1jake]

I have seen several Honda's have rust issues over the years. It may be that the iron content of the sheet metal they use is higher than other comparable makes. Another thing to consider for anyone who frequents touchless automatic car washes is that they use either high akaline or acidic presoaks as chemical action to dissolve and remove the solids prior to the rinse cycle. These high concentrations of either base or acid chemicals cannot be good for repeated use on automotive finishes and coatings. The mechanical action washes that use traditional mitters, and spinning pads use chemicals and soaps that are less harsh. Lastly most automatic washes recycle a percentage of their wash water. This also equates to many vehicles being resprayed with filtered waters that may have dissolved road salts in them thereby adding insult to injury.

As far as repair to your Dad's car. The repair needs to start by mechanically (via sanding) removing all the corrosion on the exterior. Then chemically treating the interior of the panel with some kind of corrosion or rust converter. After the perforated holes are welded shut on the exterior skin, then both the interior and exterior of the panel surfaces can be sealed and coated with proper primer and paint coatings.

Some shops or individual owners will then go the extra route by spraying the interior of the panels with some kind of wax or petroleum based coating like Fluid Film. I once worked for a fellow who grew up in Minneapolis. He would spray all of his cars through the panel drain holes with some kind of oil mixture so much so that it would be dripping out of said drain holes for days afterwards. His rust preventative measures did work very well as a result.

Good Luck with the repairs, and now you know the reason why rust is called "cancer" by many in the industry.

Nope the will replace that whole rocker if he wants it fixed right.

 

[addyguy]

Get the car well oil-sprayed, and it will slow it down enough that the car will last a while.

 

[Trav]

A lot of "Winter use" varies a lot in terms of rusting. If you live in the city, your vehicle is going to see a LOT more salt, along with salty water and slush, than if you live far out in the suburbs.

The inner city salts constantly in the Winter. I remember seeing literally piles of salt at intersections, where salt trucks sat at red lights with the spreader spinning.

In the more rural areas they were lucky to get plows to get through.

I live in the city and drive in Boston often.

 

[Trav]

But don't German or northern European cars use (more?) galvanized steel on the lower body and resist rusting better?

They do but others do too or so its claimed. The sheet metal and ruggedness of the VW and most other German cars (we wont talk about some GM Opel models) is far superior to anything used on Japanese cars.
People laugh at the Beetle but believe it or not it has one of the strongest floor pans of any unibody built, you can cut the roof in half, remove the rear quarters and whole back end body and make a mini truck out if it with no loss of rigidity.

 

[Dave Sherman]

I have to chuckle a little. That looks better than my wife's 2013 Equinox. The bottom edges of the doors started rusting when it was 2 years old. Dealer slapped some paint on since it was inside the rust warranty, which lasted about a year before it flaked off. Now the A pillars are starting to show it on the outside, and there's a blister forming in the taligate.

 

[Blinker]

This is one reason why I much prefer cars that use a plastic outer rocker panel. The metal outer rocker panel are one of the first things to start rusting.