Rust!

[buck91]

Wife’s 2014 explore sport. Noticed this back in the fall and hasn’t majorly changed over the winter but the car is only four years old (and outside of rust warranty on miles). Worried about rot in the future as well as effect on trade in value. Now my first thought is to sand and paint affected spots then use Fluid Film inside the doors to hopefully slow down the existing rust. Has anybody else run into this issue? Definitely worst on the rear doors. No other real problem areas that I can find.

 

[peterk9]

It's always best to take care of these things as soon as possible as it will only get worse. You'll have to down to the bare metal and then put a primer on it or a rust inhibitor type of paint before the finish coat. I'm not familiar with "Fluid Film" but if it just a product used to cover the rust I don't know if it will help much as this problem appears to be from the inside out. How is the hood lip holding up? Any bubbling?

Peter

 

[DMG632]

WOW that's not good. If it was mine I would sell it and let someone else deal with it.

 

[blwnsmoke]

^^ definitely a standup guy.. pass the problem on to someone else rather then fix it.

 

[buck91]

Hood and tailgate looks fine. No issues on the underbody either. Fluid film is a lanolin grease-oil which has gained a popularity over its 100 year history

 

[Mlarv5]

Knock off the loose stuff, leave the solid rust on it. Spray it with this stuff and let it dry to a black color. Once dry slap some pant on it and forget about it. I have used this product or one like it for many years on different cars truck and trailers, and they have all stood the test of time. My latest project is a 68 Mustang coupe and I have used a lot of this on the inside of the doors rear wheel wells etc. Corroseal Rust Converter Primer-82320 - The Home Depot

Also isn't the rust warranty up to 5 years, but it has to be a rust though hole not just bubbles?

 

[peterk9]

..........Also isn't the rust warranty up to 5 years, but it has to be a rust though hole not just bubbles?

The warranty does not cover "surface rust" which this would be. Corrosion (perforated only) is covered for 5 years, unlimited mileage.

Peter

 

[06bluez]

yes my 2014 sport has rust in the same places on the rear doors. Frustrating! i noticed slight bubbling even back in 2015 but it was hard to tell if it was really rust. sure is now!. I plan to remove lose paint, take the door panel off and get some POR-15 on it inside and out in the spring...

 

[Mbrooks420]

Looks like lack, of failure, of the weld through primer. I’d wire wheel the seam heavily, use a rust converting primer, and topcoat it as suggested about.

 

[DMG632]

^^ definitely a standup guy.. pass the problem on to someone else rather then fix it.

I'm not sure why you would question if I'm a "standup guy" or not or are you saying that anyone that sells a car with rust on it is not moral? I never said you should try and hide the problem and sell it. It's a 4 year old car with rust...... cut your lost now, rust only gets worst with time. Looking at the pictures rust is on the outer & inter door skins how much time and money would you spend fixing this car? Ford Explorer's are not a investment grade car they are a commodity, so the money spent in repairs is not a good investment.

 

[Phil DeVtec]

I'm not sure why you would question if I'm a "standup guy" or not or are you saying that anyone that sells a car with rust on it is not moral? I never said you should try and hide the problem and sell it. It's a 4 year old car with rust...... cut your lost now, rust only gets worst with time. Looking at the pictures rust is on the outer & inter door skins how much time and money would you spend fixing this car? Ford Explorer's are not a investment grade car they are a commodity, so the money spent in repairs is not a good investment.

I agree...time to move on from this car. Totally agree, that the Explorer is NOT the kind of car you dump money (for repairs) into.

 

[Mbrooks420]

I don’t think I’d buy a car that I was totally against putting money into.

 

[DMG632]

Sure you always have to spend money on/in a car, but this rust is out of the normal (I hope). My point is why spend the bucks to have 4 doors repaired or replaced with used doors then spend more on paint for a total of $2000.00 (just a guess) when you can buy another 2014 with less miles for $20000.00 and no rust problems.

 

[Mlim_556]

That area tends to get soaked from driving thru harsh weather. I give it a good clean when I wash my car, hopefully that will prevent this from happening. I have a 2017 sport, and would spend the money to fix it properly, or just replace the door.

 

[peterk9]

That area tends to get soaked from driving thru harsh weather. I give it a good clean when I wash my car, hopefully that will prevent this from happening. I have a 2017 sport, and would spend the money to fix it properly, or just replace the door.

4 doors at approx. $850 ea. would be around $3400 plus painting and labour. Probably cheaper to have a body shop do the touch up if not a DIY,

Pete

 

[steelers06steelers]

THAT SUCKS!!!! Man you spend $50,000 on a new vehicle and this is what you get. These forums have me seriously regretting my purchase. I think had I found this website in January I would have bought a Toyota 4Runner.
Rust, Water pumps taking out engines, the list goes on and on. This place is worse than WebMD. lol.
I was really hoping to take care of my new Explorer and have it at least ten years, maybe more........

 

[steelers06steelers]

Sure you always have to spend money on/in a car, but this rust is out of the normal (I hope). My point is why spend the bucks to have 4 doors repaired or replaced with used doors then spend more on paint for a total of $2000.00 (just a guess) when you can buy another 2014 with less miles for $20000.00 and no rust problems.

I cant imagine why the guy would buy another one? Ive had mine for a month and Im ready to trade it in after reading all the crap on this website, I gotta stay off of here, this place stresses me out....

 

[Andy.J]

I've not got this issue on my Explorer, but have had it on a lot of my older cars. If it's only light to moderate surface rust it's a fairly simple fix, especially as it's in quite a forgiving area in terms of fixing/spraying/hiding. Similar to what Mlarv5 said earlier, I would wire wheel it down, use rust inhibiter, a tiny amount of body filler if needed, feather in the original paint and respray it. After it's been cut and polished the repairs should not be noticeable unless heavily scrutinized.

Judging by the photos I would not even remotely consider replacing these doors as they do not appear to be that far gone at all, and would add a mountain of expense.

It's annoying (infuriating actually) that this has happened to such a new car, but IMO fix it and forget it, but fix it soon before it gets worse.

Note that we do want follow up photos so we can critique your work

 

[peterk9]

I cant imagine why the guy would buy another one? Ive had mine for a month and Im ready to trade it in after reading all the crap on this website, I gotta stay off of here, this place stresses me out....

I've had 2 Explorers, a 2011 and currently a 2017, both leased. My vehicles are all low mileage and these 2 have been trouble free and I'm looking forward to possibly getting the redesigned 2020. You have to remember that like many other forums, they tend to attract those who have issues. The thousands of owners who don't have issues are not likely to search for a forum to say they don't have a problem. There are many repeat Explorer owners here.

Peter

 

[Mlarv5]

I cant imagine why the guy would buy another one? Ive had mine for a month and Im ready to trade it in after reading all the crap on this website, I gotta stay off of here, this place stresses me out....

I have never seen any automakers website/forum like this where people come to say Hay this is the best x.. car truck SUV I have ever had thanks. You will mostly find people that have had a problem want to modify their car truck SUV. Every auto maker has it's issues when you mass produce 100's of thousands of vehicles a year there are always a few with them. Sit back relax and enjoy your new ride, I have had several Ford Explores over the years and each one went well over 200 thousand miles.