# RUST already in door sill!!!



## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

...take it back!


----------



## kkilburn (Mar 1, 2011)

I bought it in the first week in March, with only 200 miles on it. When I picked it up, it wasn't this way. I just started noticing it about a week or so ago.


----------



## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

Clay bar may remove the rust stain, but I don't think that will do anything for the apparent pitting in the paint. I am no professional body man, but I've painted enough cars in my time to say that clay bar will not fix that. It looks like a bad prep job to me. I wonder where else your car is rusting? 

Jim


----------



## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

Jim Frye said:


> Clay bar may remove the rust stain, but I don't think that will do anything for the apparent pitting in the paint. I am no professional body man, but I've painted enough cars in my time to say that clay bar will not fix that. It looks like a *bad prep job* to me. I wonder *where else your car is rusting*?
> 
> Jim


...*this* is why it's an excellent candidate for their "Corrosion/Rust Thru" Warranty.


----------



## kkilburn (Mar 1, 2011)

What should I say to the dealership then? I know they offer a paint protection plan through the dealership, but they never told me about it. Should I ask to have them put it on?


----------



## TSURacing (Jan 1, 2011)

Whatever you decide, keep documenting it like you are and add date stamps to the pics. Keep every invoice too.


----------



## kkilburn (Mar 1, 2011)

TSURacing said:


> Whatever you decide, keep documenting it like you are and add date stamps to the pics. Keep every invoice too.


Yeah, I always do. My previous car was an 06 Cobalt, that I still have and it has no rust on the paint. It has 106,000 miles on it.


----------



## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

kkilburn said:


> What should I say to the dealership then? I know they offer a paint protection plan through the dealership, but they never told me about it. Should I ask to have them put it on?


I assume that those are water drops in your pictures. Is the paint bubbled anywhere? I don't believe that this is a situation that "paint protection" would have prevented. This car is simply too new to have paint and rust issues. I'd say that something was not done correctly at the factory and Chevrolet needs to make it right. By the way, was your car built on a Monday (or a Friday)?


----------



## kkilburn (Mar 1, 2011)

Jim Frye said:


> I assume that those are water drops in your pictures. Is the paint bubbled anywhere? I don't believe that this is a situation that "paint protection" would have prevented. This car is simply too new to have paint and rust issues. I'd say that something was not done correctly at the factory and Chevrolet needs to make it right. By the way, was your car built on a Monday (or a Friday)?


No, it doesn't seem to be bubbled. I called the dealership back, and they said they are gonna take care of it. They are also gonna give me a loaner car while it's in the shop. Im taking it in tomorrow, so I will keep you guys up to date.

I don't know what day my car was built. Where would I find that? On the door?

If any one has any more suggestions before I go to the dealership tomorrow, please let me know. The more info I have the better it will help me.

Thanks


----------



## Burtess (Apr 7, 2011)

Even with breaks in the paint layer it shouldn't rust this quickly. The door panels are supposed to be galvanized, and thus the thin zinc plate will become a sacrificial layer, which will corrode before the base steel layer will. This is evident when you see a stone chip that is through to the base metal but does not immediately corrode. 

This is a tough one.... if the body was painted this poorly (or didn't have proper galvanizing), this problem will pop up all over the place eventually. 

Another possibility is that the corrosion you see is not really from the base layer, but from cleanliness issues on the paint line such as steel particulate on or near the surface of the paint.

Also, white is normally painted with two coats plus clear coat (other colours typically one coat plus clear) since it doesn't cover a dark primer/ecoat very well. So.... the white paint should actually be a bit thicker than other colours...

Burt


----------



## Aeroscout977 (Nov 25, 2010)

You should have no fight at all from the dealership about this rusting issue. Good luck OP!


----------



## RS LTZ (Jan 5, 2011)

It looks more like rust stains from some other source rather than rust in and of itself on the door sill. Maybe water is in the door, dribbled out and dried??

Make sure they FIND the problem and not just fix the obvious.


----------



## Skilz10179 (Mar 22, 2011)

TSURacing said:


> Whatever you decide, keep documenting it like you are and add date stamps to the pics. Keep every invoice too.


X2 

This is 100% unacceptable, even if the car were a couple years old this is unacceptable. Keep us posted how things go and what the dealer does to "fix" it.


----------



## kkilburn (Mar 1, 2011)

Thanks everyone. I think a contributing factor to this problem is the doors ability to retain water. We got a thunderstorm last night, and when I went out to the car today, the car was pretty much dry, but when I opened the door alot of water poured out. It seems like it does a good job keeping water out of the inside of the car, but wants to hold all the water between the door sill and door.


----------



## kkilburn (Mar 1, 2011)

Well, I went to the dealership today and spoke to them about the rust. One of the lead maintenance technicians I spoke with was gonna take the car to the back, wash it and clay bar it. He said that the reason it was like that was that tiny bits of metal get lodged in the paint and rust, its not actually the car rusting. He said this was normal, and will keep occuring. They also tried to sell me their paint and interior protection plan for $500, but I said no, because this car should not be rusting already. He also said its because it's white. 

So..I ended going next door, to that dealerships body shop and spoke to the manager. He said some of the same stuff, and said that the metal bits are usually from the trains when they are shipped from the factory. He said to give him a call next week, and he would be more than willing to wash the car and clay bar it. He also said, to just try and keep the door sills clean and dry and wax them after washing the car, and it should prevent the rusting. I asked him if the protection plan was worth it, and he said **** NO. Lol.


----------



## kkilburn (Mar 1, 2011)

Also, if anyone else has a white cruze with between 2-3,000 miles. Let me know how yours is holding up. Thanks everyone.


----------



## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

...take lots of pictures, pictures, pictures...and "date" them! Why? so as to chronologically 'document' any "growth" should it occur.

...also, you might wish to remind your dealership that vehicles are "transported" with their doors CLOSED, not OPEN, so _nothing_ should've gotten past the door seals while it was being shipped.

...and, "metal" in a paint job = a LOUSEY paint job!


----------



## kkilburn (Mar 1, 2011)

70AARCUDA said:


> ...take lots of pictures, pictures, pictures...and "date" them! Why? so as to chronologically 'document' any "growth" should it occur.
> 
> ...also, you might wish to remind your dealership that vehicles are "transported" with their doors CLOSED, not OPEN, so _nothing_ should've gotten past the door seals while it was being shipped.
> 
> ...and, "metal" in a paint job = a LOUSEY paint job!


 
Ya, I know. I always document everything. Im very meticulous with every little thing about my car. I will give them the benefit of the doubt for now. If it keeps coming back and gets worse, I will tell them to fix it. And if that doesn't help, I will contact GM's customer service center and get them involved. I think they may not be taking me seriously, becase im only 21, and thats BS.


----------



## Burtess (Apr 7, 2011)

Burtess said:


> Another possibility is that the corrosion you see is not really from the base layer, but from cleanliness issues on the paint line such as steel particulate on or near the surface of the paint.





kkilburn said:


> He said that the reason it was like that was that tiny bits of metal get lodged in the paint and rust, its not actually the car rusting. He said this was normal, and will keep occuring.


 
Now I am quoting myself here, but read my previous response and then your own... this does happen.. I have seen it on plastic trim (this of course cannot corrode, but it looks like it does because of the metal particulate in the paint layer)....

Still... this should not happen, and is due to deficiencies in the paint process.

Burt


----------



## tim18t (May 15, 2011)

Every white car on earth has marks like this on it if you drive it at all. It sucks, but you see everything on a white car. 

It will definitely come off with rubbing compound or a clay bar. 

Before anyone asks I repair cars in a body shop for a living, I 100% know what I'm talking about. if you keep the car washed and waxed frequently it will lessen the chances of getting future marks.


----------



## tourbus1 (May 12, 2011)

kkilburn said:


> Also, if anyone else has a white cruze with between 2-3,000 miles. Let me know how yours is holding up. Thanks everyone.


Hello KKilburn, after reading your article here, I too purchased a white Cruze, mine has about 4000 kms on it now, it was built in October 2010, purchased in March 2011, so it`s been around for about 7 months or so, just checked my door sills, and, knock on wood, no rust spots showing like your pictures. That shouldn`t happen to a new car. White is a notorious color for showing any rust down the road a few years, but no way should you have rust showing anywhere on your car. Good luck with your GM Dealer on this problem....one other thing, when you take it in for this, they`ll have a record in their computer systems of your early problem with this issue...may help down the road if situation becomes worse over time.
Cheers!


----------



## Eightbelow (Mar 16, 2011)

I know that on the cobalts the rubber door seals would rub off the paint after a while of opening and closing the doors but that just looks like a paint defect or something thats rusting ontop of the paint. I'm a little worried about the Cruze's paint getting rubbed off the same way because they have so many more rubber door seals. I also noticed that after a lot of rain or after a wash water seems to collect in the back doors, when I open them up water comes pouring out


----------



## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

...regardless of _how_ it got there, *rust* should not be forming _this_ soon.


----------



## Aeroscout977 (Nov 25, 2010)

Cleaning the oxidation off with a claybar is *not* a fix for the actual problem *if* in fact it's not due to small metal shards getting in the paint. This kind of damage mentioned somewhere above usually is not found in the door seals. It's more common on the front and rear of the vehicle. The area of damage in the OP *should* be protected by the weather stripping. Rust in the paint is unacceptable on a new car and should be corrected by the dealership.

edit: I see 70AARCuda beat me to it


----------



## tim18t (May 15, 2011)

That is in no way actual rust occurring on his car. Its rail dust or "fallout" that is typically lead or steel. The fragments get embedded in the paint, and they turn rusty extremely fast. 

Its nothing the dealership should be fixing, its something you can easily do yourself in the manner I listed above. This is common to all makes and models of car.


----------



## Aeroscout977 (Nov 25, 2010)

tim18t said:


> That is in no way actual rust occurring on his car. Its rail dust or "fallout" that is typically lead or steel. The fragments get embedded in the paint, and they turn rusty extremely fast.
> 
> Its nothing the dealership should be fixing, its something you can easily do yourself in the manner I listed above. This is common to all makes and models of car.


Wouldn't the state of being rusty be the same actually being rust... 

Oxidation is oxidation is oxidation in my book. It's like a cancer and fixing it at the source is the only way to stop it.


----------



## tim18t (May 15, 2011)

That "rust" is on the surface of the paint, it didn't come from the car. It came from an outside source and embedded itself in the car. It would take ages for a spot like that to actually rust the car, if it ever did at all.


----------



## Aeroscout977 (Nov 25, 2010)

While I agree with you on it being surface rust on the paint. It did not come from an outside source based on the location. This area should be protected from outside sources by a proper door seal.


----------



## SilverCruzer (Nov 30, 2010)

tim18t said:


> That is in no way actual rust occurring on his car. Its rail dust or "fallout" that is typically lead or steel. The fragments get embedded in the paint, and they turn rusty extremely fast.
> 
> Its nothing the dealership should be fixing, its something you can easily do yourself in the manner I listed above. This is common to all makes and models of car.


 Its stll not right and its still a defect. A defect that the owner should not be responsible for fixing.
I also question that its harmless in the long run.


----------



## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

...*rust*, unlike aluminum-oxide (anodizing), does not "cure" itself with time!


----------



## Blue Angel (Feb 18, 2011)

I'll bet anyone a beer, that the source of the rust is INSIDE the door and it's nothing to be worried about.

The first thing that comes to mind is that it's small metal shavings coming from the teeth of the window regulator arm; unlike the teeth on the motor's pinion gear, the teeth on the regulator arm are stamped (i.e. "cut") by a die when the arm is formed. The surface of those teeth are not a hard smooth surface, they are "shorn" and a bit rough. As the window motors are used the first few times the roughness of the teeth will smooth out.

Usually any filings from this "break-in" would be trapped by the grease on the gear teeth, so it's possible that the gears in this car did not have enough grease on them... if they have no grease on them at all, this could cause them to wear and deposit filings in the bottom of the door also.

To the OP, I would follow the reccomendations of the others who suggested taking a clay bar to the car and cleaning the steel particles from the surface of the paint ASAP. Once that's done, I would take the door panels off and make sure the window regulator teeth have suffucient lube on them (they don't need much). If you're not able to do this yourself I wouldn't worry too much unless the rust particles keep appearing.

Of course I could be 100% wrong, but in my mind this seems a lot more plausible than the "railway" deposits suggested by the dealership... that sounds a little like a "standard response" to me. FWIW, I have seen similar deposits on my cars, it usually requires a touch of rubbing compound to get it off, no big deal.


----------



## Blue Angel (Feb 18, 2011)

I should have added that my ramblings above are assuming the Cruze uses a gear-style window actuator arm! There are several different types, but as far as I know the gear style is the most common.


----------



## dubecruzen (Apr 28, 2011)

*rail dust?*

you guys heard of rail dust? normally u dont see it in weird areas like cracks and crevices, door sills more often on the on open panels of the car.but if the clean up dept missed it...and if that car was shipped by rail. I worked for dealer receiving cars and was common and especially noticeable on white.....my thought is it cant be rust this early....but rail dust if its not removed can be very bad as it will dig into the paint and cause un-removable rust. just a thought.


----------



## jsusanka (Jan 31, 2011)

dubecruzen said:


> you guys heard of rail dust? normally u dont see it in weird areas like cracks and crevices, door sills more often on the on open panels of the car.but if the clean up dept missed it...and if that car was shipped by rail. I worked for dealer receiving cars and was common and especially noticeable on white.....my thought is it cant be rust this early....but rail dust if its not removed can be very bad as it will dig into the paint and cause un-removable rust. just a thought.


that is what my dealer said. rail rust from the railroad wheels. they get wet and splash it all over the place. 

I had some on my left rear quarter panel and inside the rear door and on the weatherstripping on the bottom of the door it was also on the silver trim on the small section of the rear door window. 

used detailing spray to remove it but had to go back to the dealer for the weatherstripping. dealer said they will just replace the weatherstripping cause they can't get the crud off the weatherstripping. so they have to take out the weatherstripping and clean the paint off with the weatherstripping removed cause I could not get underneath the weatherstripping with it still on. 

this should of not been an issue though. dealers should of caught it and detailed the car before putting it up for sale.


----------



## turbocruiser (Sep 10, 2011)

I found similar rust marks on mine. It seems to be prevalant on the "Summit White "cars. The marks came off by hitting it with wax, but I'm watching the areas closely for reappearances.


----------



## kkilburn (Mar 1, 2011)

Ya, I have to completely dry each door jam after I wash it. I also have to keep wax on it. I still get the rust spots from brake dust, which really sucks. I just have to have it clay bar'd.


----------



## grumpy (Oct 24, 2011)

i think its coming from inside the door...its not the door surface itself rusting...its coated(dipped) in ELPO Phosphate...

and the upper door seal should keep large volume of water out...

a component inside the door may be the source...

i'd ask the dealer to take the door pad off and look inside...


----------



## pberesford (Jan 14, 2014)

I have a 2013 cruze with the same issue all four doors and some on the roof. bought car in july with 160 miles on it I now have 12K on it. i have left messages with GM/ chevrolet and contacted cutomer service several times and had no response. I have also taken to three different dealer ships and have been told only the service manager can make a call on what to do. many calls to service managers and zero return calls. going to another dealer ship today to try and get resolved. I have been ablr to get the spots to go away after rubbing compound but they always come back a week later.


----------



## NBrehm (Jun 27, 2011)

You positive it's rust? There are some contaminants that look like rust be are not. Let them clean it and see what happens.


----------



## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

pberesford said:


> I have a 2013 cruze with the same issue all four doors and some on the roof. bought car in july with 160 miles on it I now have 12K on it. i have left messages with GM/ chevrolet and contacted cutomer service several times and had no response. I have also taken to three different dealer ships and have been told only the service manager can make a call on what to do. many calls to service managers and zero return calls. going to another dealer ship today to try and get resolved. I have been ablr to get the spots to go away after rubbing compound but they always come back a week later.


That sounds like rail dust from the shipping process. Both of my new cars had some stuck on the paint.

Your car needs a good detailing.


----------



## Blue_RS (Aug 30, 2013)

Im willing to bet that its rust off the front brake discs. Youd be surprised where that will end up. I noticed this exact thing on my 12 rs a little bit of rubbing and it came off.


----------



## Starks8 (Jul 20, 2011)

Maybe give these a try.... 



CarPro Iron X Lemon Scent, auto iron remover 


Auto Finesse Iron Out Iron Remover


----------



## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

pberesford said:


> I have a 2013 cruze with the same issue all four doors and some on the roof. bought car in july with 160 miles on it I now have 12K on it. i have left messages with GM/ chevrolet and contacted cutomer service several times and had no response. I have also taken to three different dealer ships and have been told only the service manager can make a call on what to do. many calls to service managers and zero return calls. going to another dealer ship today to try and get resolved. I have been ablr to get the spots to go away after rubbing compound but they always come back a week later.


Hipberesford,

We're very sorry to hear that you've experienced issues with spotting on your doors and roof. We didn't see any messages from you in our inbox, but would like to begin looking more into this situation. Can you please resend us your full name, VIN, mileage, current dealership, and full contact info? We appreciate your patience and look forward to hearing from you. 

Amber N. (assisting Erica)
Chevrolet Customer Care


----------



## jsusanka (Jan 31, 2011)

Take it back to to the dealer and have them remove it properly. It is rail rust and takes a special remover. The only problem is getting it all. Had some on on mine all along the left side of the doors. I had to take it back like 5 or 6 times to completely get rid of it. I don't know why it comes back or moves around. It is a pain and GM really needs needs to get a new train carrier or find some way to cover these cars up we should not have to put up with this on a 20 to 30 thousand dollar car. I know Ford had the problem too.


----------



## pberesford (Jan 14, 2014)

I not only left messages but explained about this issue in all of the surveys you sent after I purchased the car. Some surveys were from Modern Chevrolet where I purchased the car and the other surveys were from GM. I live in the 28673 zip code and went to the dealers in Mooresville and Statesville and Hickory no help from any of them. Dale Earnhardt is going to take care of my car. they have all of my info.
Paul. White 2013 Chevy Cruze


----------



## pberesford (Jan 14, 2014)

To all that said rail dust you are correct!!. Took my car to Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet in Newton NC to have oil change 28.70 compared to 50.00 at randy marion Chevrolet. also had a check engine light on easy fix control module for # 3 spark plug cracked. I also asked them to look at the rust spots in my door jams. service manager took my car to the body shop and they explained to me it was rail dust and how it occurs and they would get it fixed. they are going to sand down the affected areas and repaint. three days and going to give me a loaner car. This will be the dealership I use from now on for service and future car puchases. I currently own 7 GM vehicles.


----------



## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

pberesford, 

Glad to hear you were able to have your concern resolved. Let us know if you have any further questions or concerns. 

Erica Tiffany
Chevrolet Customer Care


----------

