Rustproofing

[balltofeet]

Is it just me or do all the VW UP, Citigo and Mii look like they have minimum rust proofing under the rear wheel arch?

[Ootohere]

Vehicles are built to be light these days.

There may appear minimum rust proofing, but then what you see is what you can check, & it needs checked for corrosion & paint warranties.

The rust proofing that the designers and manufacturers believe was needed has been provided.

(allowing for they dont really want the car to last 20 years, but it should do easily)

Thick coatings, Inner wing shields and guards, liners etc traps mud and moisture and can be the cause of corrosion.

You can always go and polish under the arches, & always clean and possibly spray Silicone Spray under in winter rather than coating with Fiinnigans Waxoyl or similar.

Use good quality waterproof/heavy duty grease to protect fastners & exposed components if you wish.

Keep clean and check for Broken Paint finish, stone chips etc, and Rust/corrosion should not become a problem.

2012, they have been doing this for 100 years.

(sometimes they still get it wrong, so best read your Paint/corrosion/perforation warranty.)

george

Edited 10 August, 2012 by sk4gw

[MikeW]

I believe the corrosion warranty on the Citigo is 12 years, so i think it should be ok.

[Hudson1]

I was going to coat my arches in Waxoyl for the winter months, probably do it around Nov time, have the wheels off and just ''paint '' it on. Can't hurt.

[allanhodgson]

Last week I was fitting rear wheel arch liners on my 2014 Citigo (see relevant Briskoda thread) when I noticed some serious corrosion on the right hand side of the rear subframe. The rust is worst along the various welds, where I chipped thick rust scales off, but it has also occurred around the various flanges. The subframe had not been primed or protected in any way - it appears to have been treated with nothing but a light spray of black paint. Given that this severe corrosion has occurred over a mere three years & 19,600 miles, and similar corrosion has probably occurred inside the subframe, I certainly would not expect my Citigo to survive ten years without serious remedial work. I attach pictures below, but please note that it didn't occur to me to photograph the rust until I was some way through removing it (the rust was originally flaking off and much worse looking). I had fitted the left hand side rear wheel arch liner first, but didn't check the condition of the rear subframe on the left so I don't know whether that side is in a similar state of deterioration.

 

Having chipped off as much of the lose flaking rust as I could, I treated the surfaces with 'Loctite 7503 Rust Remedy'; when dry, I sprayed the area with Dinitrol ML, and will follow this up with one of Dinitrol's underbody waxes. I have also found my old spray extension and, if we get a spell of warmer weather, will spray inside the subframe. 

 

This is the first VAG car that I have bought in 46 years of driving; if this represents the 'quality' of current VAG vehicles, it will certainly be the last VAG car that I shall buy. I recently sold a 2004, 148,000 mile Ford Focus estate - the rear subframe had a similar level of corrosion to that on the Citigo.

 

Has anyone else found a similar horror story? I was under the impression that the 'old' Citigo only had a three year anti-corrosion warranty, whereas the 'new' (2017) Citigo has a ten year warranty. Would any dealer or VAG representative like to comment on such a high level of corrosion in a nearly new car?