Question abour Honda/Acura warranty, rustproofing and various rustproofing products

Hi there all

I live in the rust belt of Ontario where snow and calcium is
everpresent between the months of December and March!

I have a brand new 2004 RSX. My dealer just told me that applying
rust
proofing treatment that uses "heavy oils" , especially Krown and
Rust Check, will cancel the Acura rust warranty (his quotes).
As anyone been told this? I have his email mentioning this...

When pressed, he specifically mentioned to avoid Krown and Rust
Check, as these products will "warp gaskets and seals". I did not
find any reference to this on Krown or Rust-Check's site. The
only rustproofing product he suggested was Ziebart. This is a
one-time application and provides a 10 year perforation warranty.

I have no doubt about him truly believing that my warranty would
be void should I use either this product. (He could be incorrect
yet believe what he says). Is he correct?

As anyone here who has an Acura were told about this? What
surprises
me is that I have been told only at my first oil change and not
before. Also,
I did not find any reference to this inthe owner's manual. I did
a search on rust proofing and no where did I find any reference
to Acura not honouring their warranty: I did read about people
stating this, but no solid evidence. I know they drill holes, or
the goo can block evacuation holes, but beside this, no solid
evidence.

I also would like to check this with Honda or Acura, but cannot
find their email in Canada. Anyone has it?

I do have a few more questions.. Assuming rust proofing is ok,
what
is the difference between "undercoating" and "rust proofing"? Do
undercoating with oil do a good job (Oil Guard)? Do they do the
wheel wells as well when they do only undercoating? Also, what
product do they use?

What do you guys suggest for rust proofing? I plan to keep the
car extra clean and for a long time; so do I need the full rust
proofing or just the undercoating? My other 91 Integra only
started to develop rust after 8 or 9 year, but I was not keeping
it as clean as I plan to with this one...

Thanks in advance.

 

Undercoat attempts to prevent brine that is being splashed up by the
wheels from getting at the underside of the car. Some undercoats are a
tar-like thick layer which stays somewhat flexible at summer
temperatures but is quite brittle when cold

Other undrcoats use a very thick grease-like oil

Products like Oil Guard take a different approach. They use a really
thin oil, it's rather like hydraulic fluid. They drill holes in your
doorsills a squirt it in from above. Their target is an area the
undercoat can't protect, the spot-welded seams where the unit body is
held together. Those areas are very vulnerable to rust because the
layers of metal are so close together there is capillary action to
draw brine up into them, and the spot welding makes the metal
susceptible to rusting. The skinny oils are meant to protect those
seams, but to be really effective they need to be reapplied annually.

Who's they?

I would say both.

Then plan on pulling up the carpets every spring and getting the salt
that has fallen off your winter boots out of them. That's a main cause
of rusted out floorboards. Also be aware that a lot of rusing can be
going on underneath plastic trim panels. Get a magnet and check to see
how much of what looks like metal isn't!

In winter avoid parking in heated underground garages. Rust doesn't
happen when the car is cold, it happens when temperatures are near
freezing and brine slush is liquid and mobile.

If you really seriously want to stop rust cold, use this stuff

www.por15.com

It's expensive, it's a pain in the ass to apply and you'll have to put
it on yourself before undercoat is applied, but man does it work!

 

Why not just a big heavy Weathertech-like mat to prevent the problem in
the first place?

 

They're a big help, but they're not perfect. Some slush always seems
to get around the edges, and the car's carpets act like a poultice,
holding the brine against the floorboards long after winter is over.

Something I found curious when brazing a couple of square feet of new
sheet metal into the floorboards of an 87 CRX was that the rust
actually seemed to be worse under the sealant that the factory applies
to the cracks where the floor metal folds down and becomes part of the
doorsills. Neither that sealant or ordinary paint is actually
waterproof. It's just a leetle bit pourous, and that's all brine needs
to get through to the metal.

 

Thanks John for the time you took to answer my questions. Much
appreciated. I only now need to know if the voiding of the
warranty that the service manager told me is true or not.
Tomorrow I am getting at the bottom of this and calling acura
directly.

Frank

 

I've heard that undercoat is crap and useless, and can trap brine
between it and the metal. It does help to deaden sound, though.

 

I can agree with you regarding this rust proof procedure. I was fooled by
"Ready Honda" business manager when finalizing the deal on 2002 Civic. He
said that by going to Krown I will void my power train warranty and body.
He was coming with so many arguments that Honda rust proofing is the one I
should go for that I gave up and sign. Now after realizing most of his
arguments were the lies I regret this. First and main thing is that they
charge in advance $500.00 so they have you on the hook. I sign the deal on
late Saturday evening and went to see this guy Monday morning trying to
cancel this rust proofing. I was told that this was already done on the
Saturday evening - another lie. One of his funniest excuses lie he made
was he has family he has to feed, that's why he can’t revert the charge.
Just one lie after another. I just want to warn everybody not to sign
this. Another think is that the car I bought still has 3 years warranty
for the body. Honda gave me 5 years from the time of purchase. It means
that really they gave me 2 years extra. Also don’t sign for extended
warranty, another way of sucking the money from you.



Thanks,

 

I can agree with you regarding this rust proof procedure. I was fooled by
"Ready Honda" business manager when finalizing the deal on 2002 Civic. He
said that by going to Krown I will void my power train warranty and body.
He was coming with so many arguments that Honda rust proofing is the one I
should go for that I gave up and sign. Now after realizing most of his
arguments were the lies I regret this. First and main thing is that they
charge in advance $500.00 so they have you on the hook. I sign the deal on
late Saturday evening and went to see this guy Monday morning trying to
cancel this rust proofing. I was told that this was already done on the
Saturday evening - another lie. One of his funniest excuses lie he made
was he has family he has to feed, that's why he can’t revert the charge.
Just one lie after another. I just want to warn everybody not to sign
this. Another think is that the car I bought still has 3 years warranty
for the body. Honda gave me 5 years from the time of purchase. It means
that really they gave me 2 years extra. Also don’t sign for extended
warranty, another way of sucking the money from you.



Thanks,