Vehicle rusts more in Florida than Michigan?

[wemay]

I've never had to deal with rust on any vehicle here except one we bought that already had some (68 Firebird w/vinyl half top). And who knows where that car began its life.

 

[billt460]

I owned a waterfront place on the Texas coast (saltwater) for 8 years … you did not even think of using steel doors etc … most things were cedar. But this was bombarded 24x365 - not a few days.

In fact, I just got back from the beach … coin wash on the way home … sprinkler under it in the am …
Will never have a coastal rust problem if you clean it well every trip …

There is a reality show on Bravo Network called, "Below Deck". It's about people who work on a rental Mega Yacht in the Caribbean and Mediterranean, catering to wealthy clients. The crew is constantly washing down the exterior of that boat daily. Cleaning windows, mopping decks, hosing down furniture, watercraft, tenders, etc...... All due to constant salt spray and buildup.

 

[billt460]

Maybe Astro can answer this. I've often wondered if coastal naval bases at or near the sea, like Pensacola and Key West, along with carrier based aircraft, had any type of problems with salt film getting on the fighter aircraft that are utilized there?

 

[Dennywires]

So here’s the deal… I live in SE Michigan, lots of road salt and rust. Just the way it is. My Sedona is actually still pretty rust-free despite its age, surprisingly. This past February we drove it to Florida for a couple weeks. I noticed something strange once we got there though… a week or so after we arrived, it developed a rubbing sound from the front brakes; sounded kind of like a chunk or rust broke off and got stuck between the rotor and the dust shield. You know the sound. Almost if something was dragging; you could really hear it at low speeds, and was not there before. For the record, all rotors and pads were less than 2 years old, and the rotors were the Raybestos Element3 coated type. Fast forward to a couple weeks ago, I had the vehicle in the shop for some unrelated work, and the tech advised me that the front rotors needed replacing NOW because the inner veins had swollen with rust and bulged the rotor. Sure enough, he was right. They were bad. I could even feel the pulsing under braking. But the issue didn’t exist until we arrived in Florida.

Here’s another one… I just did an oil change on the vehicle today. It has the original oil drain plug, which was previously virtually rust-free on the outside. This time, it was covered in rust. I previously changed the oil in December, before we drove to Florida. Maybe the salty air did a number on my van? We stayed very near the gulf for 3 weeks FWIW.

Heat and salt water

 

[atikovi]

I have lived in florida all my life and have never had a car rust, ever.

In the rustbelt, your car's exposed undercarriage is bathed in a brine solution from the first snowfall until April or May. Much more destructive than ocean mist deposited on painted surfaces.

 

[Cujet]

I live in Jupiter Florida, 11 miles from the coast. Absolutely zero rust. I do maintain my stuff well.

moved my 2003 rust free jag to PA a couple years ago and the bolts all got rusty in a month! Now the trunk lid is rusting on the outside Where the paint rubbed away.

point being, Florida is mostly rust free

 

[atikovi]

Now the trunk lid is rusting on the outside Where the paint rubbed away.

Rust will form on any unpainted steel. The state you're in has nothing to do with that.

 

[64bawagon]

We travel to FL in the winter. Even if my truck is clean when we leave theres no way it gets to FL without driving through some salt. As soon as we get settled I hit the quarter wash and clean the underside out as best as I can. If I dont, the salt thats on it, and the humid warm FL air will rust everything like crazy. The best case scenario is to run into a big storm on I-75 somewhere South of Atlanta.

 

[scrowley]

Florida cars are preferred when buying used.Have to be careful as there are so many people bringing rustbuckets into the state.i have seen very few to no Florida cars damaged by rust unless driven in the salt water.

 

[eljefino]

Rust is a slow motion fire. Oxidation. Once it starts it's real hard to put out.

I have heard other anecdotes of Yankees moving south and having their cars even more rapidly disintegrate once down there.

Salt gets behind fender liners, in rocker panels, your rotor vanes. Driving through a hurricane, huge puddles should clear it out. Doesn't it rain daily in the afternoon? Have you driven through some?

 

[Jetronic]

If salt air rusted caused serious rust in three weeks, people who live in Florida (or Virginia Beach) would need a new car every couple of months.

The OP first noticed this in Florida but it was happening long before.

I agree, but coated rotors should last a bit longer than 2 years unless parked in the sea regularly. I wouldn't pay extra for coating if it wouldn't help and just replace with cheap rotors rotors yearly or every other year.

 

[Kurtatron]

I live in Michigan and go to Florida every year for winter vacation. Not only that I bought a 1999 Toyota Solara from Florida in 2015. The Solara had no rust on it, whereas all the Solaras up here have been noticeably absent due to rust. I mean look at this way, there is not enough salt in the florida air to make ponds and lagoons near the coast salty, but in the north you're driving through salt water for months on end. Rust is almost without question worse in the rust belt than the coast-belt.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

Rust is a slow motion fire. Oxidation. Once it starts it's real hard to put out.

I have heard other anecdotes of Yankees moving south and having their cars even more rapidly disintegrate once down there.

Salt gets behind fender liners, in rocker panels, your rotor vanes. Driving through a hurricane, huge puddles should clear it out. Doesn't it rain daily in the afternoon? Have you driven through some?

You got it. It is raining someplace in the south.... always. When it stops and the sun shines , you get a steam bath you did not plan for.