2008 rusting
 

Anyone had rusting problems? Mine is rusting under both my driver door and my passenger front doors. Not happy about it!

All 4 of my doors are doing it. Was like it when I bought it, and you can tell that the previous owner took care of it... It's only been in 2 Michigan winters, so that's pretty disappointing... But I've heard if you have it fixed, chances are it will get worse than it was, so I'm just leaving mine... BUT every time I wash it I make sure to clean it and dry it off to remove moisture. Plus I oil the doors and put rustproofing in them to help prevent more rust.

Like, the under body of the car?

If so, you do realize what 1, much less a couple, salted roads will do to bare metal right?

I'm thinking he means the bottoms of the doors. On the inside lip at the seam. I've heard about it before, and mine have done that too. Sure salted roads will do that, but it should not happen that quickly...


And I've never seen something that stops or prevents rust...otherwise cars would be built with it on them already.

Small world ? Hot-Rodders using it for years.. And it works great..

And it is for RUST already there.

Move down south.:smile: They dont even have salt down here. Be warned though, if they announce snow flurries be prepared, first thing to sell out are water, milk,and bread. Also the schools will close for a week. :lol:

It is a common thing on several GM models. The body man soid the metal is treated and for some reason when it is folded and welded the reated surface is being effected on some cars not all even in the same model.

Repairing will not make it worse but depending on the job it still may came back.

I would recomend having it repaired if you plan to keep it. It will for sure only get worse.

I took the bottom of my GP door that started with this and used Por-15 then painted over it. 2 years later no more rust. It seals the surface and seam and is undetectable once painted. Just don't get it on you hands or you will be marked for weeks.

Years ago when I lived in Michigan, rust was a major problem on any car. There are better rust resistant materials today, but with salted roads nothing is perfect or forever. I would have the doors fixed, since existing rust will only spread, and be sure the door drains are open, and make sure there is no bare metal exposed.

Oh yeah, I've heard stories about cars from the 70's rusting out within a year. My dad says growing up a truck would last 10 years before the body would literally fall off the frame from all the rust... We as a general public have become too nitpicky over time really. At least they're better than they used to be.

My son took his 07 into the dealer last fall and they re-painted all four doors. He had over 36k miles but the service manager said rust was covered for a longer time.

For sure get it fixed as if it is done properly it will be no worse.

After his was fixed, it got worse.

I've herd storys about the bottom lip of the doors.
haven't seen it yet but I wash mine often and dry off the door jams and seals every time to keep the rust Gremlins away. )

The second paint job on mine seems to be holding up well so far, but its only been a few months. They also put some kind of oil film rust inhibitor over top of it. I asked if they put any inside the door, but they didnt. I think Ill put some rust check spray in there next time I have the door panels off.

I have a feeling if I took more care drying the door seams after washing the problem wouldnt be as bad. I think an air compressor would be best for drying out any crevices.

I had it happen on my GTP rear door and my GMC. I clean, Dried and waxed them weekly, sometimes more than once a week. It still happened.

The problem starts in the fold. I cleand and painted my own since it was out of warranty. The truck lasted 12 years before it got any worse and the car is still holding up. gound it of and used Por 15 to seal it then painted over it.

I'm a newster guys so please bear with me, I'm located in Michigan and know very well what a Michigan winter can do to a car. I came across this thread and to be honest this seems a bit unusual for rust this early on for a modern day car with galvanized panels, seam sealant & modern paints. Has anyone discovered the root cause? Is the sealant not doing it's job due to poor adhesion and/or quantity or is the galvanizing not getting to the pinch weld areas at the door seams to protect.

Back in the day when trucks could develop complete rust-thru in as little as 2 years, we had a rust proofing place that was know for it's product which NEVER solidified completely and would creep into crevices and seams like magic. Sounds like a good product for this problem. I think they're still in business, perhaps a call is in order.

What with all the rebates & such I'm looking at a new HHR although this concerns me. Has the problem been solved or is it a ticking bomb?

Motoretro

It hasn't been solved, although it seems as if this usually doesn't happen to most people. I live in Michigan, and it's on mine...and it's only seen 2 winters...I store it in a pole barn in the winter. Other people in Michigan don't have this issue.

No problem here with rust... But here is an answer for those w/rust.. :http://www.por15.com/whatispor15.asp

This is the deal. The metal is folded over and the surface coating is either not gettin put on or it is knocked off in the MFG of the door. This is why some only have two doors with the issue and two that are fine.

Also it is not just an HHR issue. It is seen on other GM cars from time to time.

It is not a time bomb. It is a light surface rust and will grow slowly. Yes in time it will cause issues but it's not going to be a massive hole in 5 years. If anything it will leave an ugly surface if you look under there.

The HHR door folds under so we can see it better, most other cars the door is not folded as far and it is seldom seen by the owner.

In most cases by the time it gets worse you will have some rust in other areas like the Quarter panel etc that will over shadow the issues here.

I would still get it fixed under warrranty as it has a very good chance to stop it if the work is done properly. Note it still could come back in some cases.

We have Honda's, Toyots's and Fords with less than 5 years on them here with rust. So GM is not the only one with issues.

If any car is with no warranty just grind and sand off the rust and seal the door with Por 15. Then paint over it. Just don't get it on your hands or the floor or it will be their for a long time. It seems to only rust on the surface and it is easy to repair if need be.

This is not like the days of old where the drain holes were clogged and the rust came from deep with in and by the time you saw it you had a hole already.

The info I have on where it is coming from is from the Body Shop guy at at GM dealer that has been dealing with these. He hates it too.

If you cover it with Por 15 won't that block the drain holes?

And I did not mean this in a sarcastic way or anything, I'm serious. Wouldn't it cover up the drain holes when you spray it on?

I haven't seen a car rusted in many years. Doesn't the GM warranty cover rust for a specific period?

It has to be rusted through.

Thanks for the POR-15 tip guys! While I'm going to wait at least another year on fixing the HHR doors, my Trailblazer has the same issue on 3 doors. I've done it once, but it came back.

I was able to check a new HHR out in the showroom today and examined the seams closely. I did not see any indications of either poorly placed or inadequate amounts of sealant and paint coverage was very good. This does not eliminate the possibility of corrosion from within though if there was contaminates at the folded seam. As long as it did not void the warranty, I don't see any reason why you could not use a thin, creeping rust proofing product which would not plug any drain holes. Seams like being proactive here would possibly save you paint & repair labor bills later.

Motoretro

No, you make sure you poke something thru each one & keep them open...

If It were me, I'd have the door panels off, & paint the inside first.. Rust is curable....Just needs treatment..

You do not spray it. That would be a mess.

You would just take a foam brush and brush a thin coat on,

Also the HHR has large drain holes so covering them would not be easy with this coating as it is not that thick.

The problem is not on the inside it is in the folded seam and gets under the paint surface on the out side of the door. That it is not a fast rust and would take a while to do any major damage. But it time it would be damaged.

The way the HHR door is it makes it easy to see since we have a large lower door.

The issue is to get the rust in the folded seam. Not an easy task. I wax the seam and dry it at every was and it still did it on only two doors.

I just had my 08 and my fathers 07 repaired under warranty. To my suprise they removed the doors and used a tool to unbend the lip of the door cleaned the rust and repainted/resealed the door. It seems that the dealer are doing there best to corect the rust problem.

Oh, I guess I thought it was a spray... I've never seen it before, but that makes more sense then. I suppose I should really look at trying to fix mine...

You can't seriously believe that rain does not get inside the door & go
down to the seam, & out the drains..

I'd still be painting the insides, if I had the problem...

I was told that unfolding the seam would require replacing the outer door skin, so I might as well get a whole new door. I think that is the next course of action if I have to bring it in again.

That is what they do and that is what it needs done.

That is what it is designed to do. That is what all cars do. The metal is treated and this is what prevents the rust.

The issue here is on the out side in the seam.

Generally all car doors are protected with treatments and coating. This is why they have drains in doors and fenders.

In fact even when it rains now I get some of the inter coating leaving a stain on my rockers where it drains out. They usally have a waxy like coating on the treated steal.

The metal on a car is dipped, treated and coated pretty well. The issues here is some of that coating is getting knocked off in the seam when it is folded and sealed.

Painting the inside will not hurt but really is not needed.

In the end they all will rust our from the under side anyway in 10 years in most parts of the country.

Exactly but they will cover some rusted seems on doors. It depends on the GM warrenty rep and how well your dealership works with them.

The front doors have 4 drain holes in them and the rear doors have 3. That is pretty good.

That all being said... Mine goes into the dealership to get rust proofed next week. They will spray this rustproofing that looks like thinner petro jelly in all the doors thru those door drain holes in all the doors, the hatch and the seems under the hood. Then instead of using that on the under carriage where it can be seen. We are spraying the underbody with the black sound deadening spray that we already have in our wheel wells. But this will cover the entire bottom of the car. Certainly a slight PIA when it comes to do suspension work but well worth it in the long run. Can even get a can of it for touch ups later. It will not only seal/rust proof it, but also cut down on more road noise. WIN WIN

best part is, being done at a dealer so it extends and broadens my rust protection with GM. Further, done for cheaper than you think.

Yeah, my dad and I sprayed a can of rust proofing up each drain hole in the doors, hatch and hood. Hopefully that should help out. Normally we spray oil up the holes on our cars each fall, but with the rustproofing we shouldn't really need it. It's a spray can that is a liquid, then hardens up after a little bit leaving a hard layer of it over everything it touched...so it should get into each crack and crevice.

Sounds like you're doing the right thing.:thumb:
Being a bit older than you and living in the same area, I remember two different methods of rust proofing that actually work. One was a friend who sprayed everywhere and everything on his 1975 Datsun truck with waste oil every two years and then pulled it into a field to drip dry on a hot summer day. These trucks rusted badly in our weather although his did not have one rust through spot on the truck twenty years after it was made.:thumb:

The other is a place up in Midland, MI called Henderson Bros. who have done rust proofing for a long time. Their reputation is great and I've never seen a vehicle they did with rust thru. I've seen vehicles after they've done them and it looks like thick oil which drys to the touch on surface although stays gummy underneath. It must be really thin when it's sprayed on as you can see where it's run out of drains and along body seams. Not sure what they charge nowadays although seems like just shooting the doors would not be too cost prohibitive. Might be worth a try, especially on a new vehicle to avoid doing the ole disassemble, clean & paint procedure. I'm still trying to do a deal on 2010 HHR and will look them up if I find what I'm looking for.

Motoretro

I used to do the "used oil trick" inside the body panels back in the 70's....... EPA would shoot you now though.

Somewhere I thought I read that GM will deny rust claims if any aftermarket rust proofing is done, not sure if it's true or not.

So far my '07 isn't showing anything, I think it is an issue with the glue/sealant in that seam myself... some cars got it proper and some got partial application and it wasn't caught during prep and paint..... I've seen CrazyCarKid's at a G2G, Definitely rust bubbles under the paint at the seam...... did you look at mine Eric? I don't recall.... I know we talked about it some. All 4 doors on mine look like new.

Yeah, you showed me the door lips on yours, and they look brand new!

That place in Midland may be worth me checking out.... Only about 25-30 miles north of here....

The wonders of living in LA. Rust is just not an issue, and since I originally lived in Michigan, I'm well aware of the rust belt issues.