What do you guys make of this rust?

I crawled underneath my truck this morning to see this... Apparently the truck was coated with a "zurich shield" by the dealer, which is supposed to be some protective coating. As my truck is brand new, I found the appearance of what looks to be surface rust odd. I'm in PA for the summer and bought it here. The only thing I can think of is this: the truck was built sometime last year and sat through a winter on the dealer lot. The dealer is also about 2 miles from the Chesapeake Bay, though it was in a heavily wooded area, so I don't think the salted breeze would be able to reach the dealership... just speculation, that's all I can think of.

Or maybe it is not rust, is there a way to check for sure? And if it is rust, what should I do for prevention? I hear that Krown and Fluid Film are popular on this forum, though if I do have the "Zurich Shield" on it, I would need to take that off before applying anything else, correct? Let me know your thoughts!


edit: I only saw rust as pictured, nowhere else. Maybe this section just catches a lot of the air or maybe it not coated properly.

Zurich shield website/description: https://www.zurichshield.com/zurichshieldhome.asp

 

Totally normal and nothing to worry about

 

It’s surface rust on a hunk of steel that has little to no rust protection what so ever as it’s exposed to the elements 24/7. That’s what I make of it

 

Any kind of Warranty with the Coating already applied ?

 

Thanks for the replies guys, this is more reassuring. However, excuse my lack of knowledge, but aren't the pictured parts painted/powder coated steel? I would totally understand the rust if it was just bare unfinished metal, but I could be wrong. I didn't see any rust on the frame and that for sure was painted.

The coating comes with its own warranty, I believe. I'll have to check the website again. Though the dealership was kinda vague about where it was applied, as it is an exterior and interior treatment... I wonder if I got one or the other or both?

 

I think a company would take care of a small problem like this. Just to make a customer happy

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LydayVlMWXI

I was curious and googled it. All I could find was this video. I watched it and seems like a bunch of car salesman bs. I don't think it's any better than any sealer or car wax. So I don't think it really applies to the bottom of the car? When it comes to cost/results/etc of most bottom coating or whatever businesses, you're better off just getting beneath your vehicle after pressure washing it, and rattle canning whatever you think might be a problem area.

If I were you and if you have the option, I'd try to get your money back for that coating. Not because of the rust on the bottom, but because it just seems like snake oil.

I'm in Florida and everyone that visits this state or who just moved has this misconception about salt mist from the ocean eating up cars. From my experience, the only time I've seen salt mist actually eat up metal (gates on houses, cars, A/C units, etc) is within a few hundred yards of the shore at most.

Lol as far as the video, I like one of the comments "Hey guess what" hahah. These guys go to phrase.

 

Thanks for the information! Luckily, it was free, they forgot to charge me for it with the truck but then tried to recoup by selling it to us retrospectively for a discount price of $750 LOL.

I'm actually going to move back to Texas in a couple of months after my work ends, so I don't think I'll be needing any coating on the underside just yet since the roads never ice over. Anyways, it's good to know that salt mist only really affects cars that are close to the shore. I'll make sure to wash my car well after beach trips then.

 

I can't make anything of rust, sorry

Paper on the other hand...

 

What supporting documentation from the dealer do you have in hand? If you don’t have any you can assume it wasn’t done. As you know they like to tell you everything and show you nothing get it in writing.

 

The rust is very common with Tacomas. Toyota paints its chassis components before all the machine work is completed. They then leave the machined surfaces bare steel after the final machining instead of painting those areas. They should paint after all machine work is completed but I'm not sure why?

Other areas that rust are the front differential around the CV seals, tie rod ends, steering knuckles and sway bar. The front differential mounts rust too.

One can chase that rust with Rustolem jelly, then metal prep any flash rust, and repaint with rustoleum primer and semi gloss black paint.

 

Lol that's awesome, great you didn't have to actually spend money on it. $750 is insane. It's no wonder they can afford to replace seats and other stupid things based on their marketing claims, because I'm sure that chemical coating costs $50 at most and maybe an hour of labor to apply.

I wouldn't even worry about washing your truck after going to the beach. I've spent a month or two staying at a house right on the beach and never noticed any rust within a that short of a time period. It's a lengthy process.

 

Catastrophic.

 

You would think that if your truck was 'rust proofed' with anything, that part would have been coated? Does not look to me that the rear diff was touched with any sort of coating.

 

You cant coat the rear diff with anything rubberized cause it traps heat. rattle can it with automotive paint if it bothers you.

 

Scotch brite and repaint it if it bothers you that much.

 

Spray with some cheap black primer.
fuggedaboutit..

 

Surface rust on cast/machined parts ... will just rust only on surface and becomes a protection barrier in itself. If you don't like it, wire brush, steel wool, wash, prime, and then paint. I am sure you will find other cast parts doing the same thing. If you are seeing rust on stamped or extruded parts ... i.e. frame, splash shields, etc., then you should definitely paint to protect.

If you get everything perfectly clean or it it a brand new truck, professional rust proof plus fluid film is best option.