Rust under plastic panel door frame

Agreed. I live about a half hour outside f Buffalo and have had a 87'. 00' and 09' Toyota pick ups and have never had that along the rocker. None. I have had some rusting where the seat leg mounts on the door side.

 

No idea why the seat brackets/bolts on mine would rust; the door sills are OK, no signs of water that I've ever noticed, I don't live in an area that sees snow often, the bolts and panels under the the truck are generally in good shape although everything metal (aluminum or steel) under the hood looks like crap, my frame doesn't show rust even though it's an early production, etc. Toyota just seems to have crapped out on a lot of parts on these trucks, especially the fasteners.

 

I'm shocked it rusted on you in a non salty area. Try some of the rust converter!

 

Mine is only rusty right where the bolt goes and the rust goes down to where it rest on the carpet.
I just now removed the bolt, slipped a baggie over it and sprayed it with corrosion X. I will let it sit that way for a day. Then replace the bolt.

 

Well do you clean your engine bay?

What you don’t keep clean will be prone to rusting and corrosion.

You can get a de-ironizer to spray on areas to help prevent major rusting on certain points.

 

Yeah, the engine bay gets cleaned every now and then, at least hosed out, and I never leave mud on the vehicle, not that I intentionally go mudding; I got that out of my system years ago. I actually pulled the bolts on the seats yesterday; the bolts themselves looked OK but the two metal frame rails on the driver's seat had some scale rust on the front two areas. I have Husky liners so it's not like they're getting wet from my feet. I wire brushed them and put some epoxy paint on them. It's just weird how my frame looks fine but so many of the fasteners under the hood and all of the aluminum look like crap. No issues with the body panels either.

 

I have the same problem, looks like the salt water gets stuck behind the plastic part and creates rust! wire brush, primer and paint will fixe the problem. after these steps put a 3m film sticker.

 

Incorrect on the moisture and thus the confusion on why it's so bad. A high salt (and thus acidic pH environment) and some dirt/grime will accelerate metal loss faster than just neutral pH water as an electrolyte for the corrosion cell.

 

OP,

As rusty as the seat posts look, I'd have a look under the carpets to see what else is lurking there...
for peace of mind if nothing else.