I just discovered MAJOR rust under the stripping on the driver's side door (2005 SRT).
If I am reading the warranty manual correctly, rust on inner panels is only covered
the first 36 months. I do have the Maxcare extended warranty but no mention of extended
coverage for rust. The car only has 37,000 miles on it. Has anyone been successful
getting the dealer to repair this past the original 36 month warranty?

 

nope....and won't as old as the car is....

 

Wonders of wonders....

I contacted Chrysler Customer Service and explained how appalled I was that my $48000 car was rusting away. They said since my car had an actual in-service date of 02/2007, they would cover it under the 5-year rust perforation warranty.

My dealer has ordered two new doors. I certainly hope they will match up when they get finished. Allegedly the claim is going to be roughly $7000.

 

You must of done one heck of a job sweet talking them. Also, to replace both doors indicates to me how bad this rust problem could be.............hope they can find those doors for you.

 

I recommend ... POR15 to stop spreading and Inside doors Fluid Film to prevent it.

 

Imagine my horror when I checked on the progress of the car in the body shop and saw this:

 

I think they are stripping it for parts.

 

I think you should provide a little explanation..............I thought they were just replacing the doors; you must have decided to have the car completely repainted with custom body work added.

 

The dealership was concerned that the paint on the doors would not match the rest of the car. They wanted to blend in the paint and then clearcoat the entire sides of the car. They had to disassemble it to paint and seal all the panels correctly.I am getting a new paint job for free on 3/4 of the car. They are also paying for a rental that I have had for the past week.

 

I am amazed.............you have to be "Mr Negotiator"~! AND, what a dealership to have got that approved by Chrysler.

 

WOW!!!! Maybe this is representative of Fiat ownership! One can always hope!

Congratulations!!

 

Morning all, this is my first post on this site so a big hello. It's a shame that my first post involves the word 'rust' but nearly all makes of cars have an area that tend to be affected. FYI i am in the southern UK so our climate is rather mixed with lots of rain and damp conditions which are perfect for rust.
I have checked both my front doors on my late 2004 XF and the RHS door is unaffected, the LHS door (passenger) does have the start of some rust and it has cancered under the paint only in a small area. Two days ago i removed both rubber strips to investigate why the rust starts and this is what i found. The rust started around the clip hole of the rubber seal and has 'cancered' under the paint towards the lower door edge. My guess is that when these strips were installed at the factory some clips scratched the paint away around the hole and this with water retention under the strip is what feeds the rusting process.
My solution as rust wasn't too bad was to use Waxoyl (clear) and spray inside the clip holes and all along the lower door edge and coat the strip the stop water retention. This spray on wax repells water and has an anti rust formula that halts rust. As rust is only under the paint if it is starved of oxygen or water then the rust will not spread, infact the Waxoyl seeps into the area that the water used to, hence halting any further rusting. Waxoyl sprays as a liquid but sets as it cools so doesn't get washed off. I've used it for years and it really does work well. I treated both sides, one side to halt any rust and the good side to prevent any future issue.
I also used Waxoyl inside the door panels when i had the door panels off. I hope this explains why some of our XFs are affected and others not so, if the set clip scrapes the paint off then rust will eventually follow and remember many owners garage these cars to protect them and the door shuts do not 'air dry' like the cars left outside, this too is a reason some rust more than others.

 

Nice write-up on your discovery. I'll take a closer look at my door panels now knowing what to look for. No rust last time I checked, but always interested in preventing rust from getting started.

And welcome to The Forum. Great knowledge here on the XFire & owners always helpful in sharing their findings.

Later,

 

Thanks Al for your write-up; yes, you are in a climate that can promote rust easily......do you also get a lot of salt water moisture in the air too?

I think there are a couple of reasons for the rust along the bottom of the Xfire doors, being a vulnerable area; mine started at the spot welds that hold the weather strip channel onto the door. I have treated mine with rust remover and then coated with rust inhibitor and then coated again with thin coat of silicone glue before putting the weather strip back on. As far as I know, rust has not reappeared...........however, my Xfire now resides in the dry climate of Phoenix, Arizona.

Thanks again for your response.

 

Everytime I start to dry my car off after washing it, I always turn my mirrors backward so the water will run out of the space behind the glass. I also try to soak up the water that accumulates in the wells for the torx screws that hold the mirrors onto the doors.
Well the other day I noticed what looked like a considerable amout of rust on a couple of the screws. Actually all 4 had rust, but two were worse than the other two.
Now having an Alabaster car, rust stains will show up dramatically. Besides, who here neglects rust on their Crossfire?
So for the heck of it I drove over to my friendly local Chrysler dealer to see about buying four new screws.
The parts guy said of course he didn't have them in stock, and it would take about 4 days to get them. Then he told me they run $7.00 apiece. (must be aircraft quality)
I thanked him and went back home, where I removed them and cleaned them up with a wire brush on my Dremel tool.
I then coated the head of the screw with Por15, making sure the "torx" head opening wasn't filled with paint so the torx wrench would fit in with no problems.
Finally, a light spray of lithium grease on the threads and reinstalled them.
I realise this isn't a major problem, and mostly cosmetic. But I can see where it may cause a problem down the road if left unattended to, because enough rust could build up inside of the screws torx head making it hard (or impossible) for the torx bit to fit in for future removal.
My car was built in Jan. of 04, so it's been around for 8.5 years. It's never seen salt, and usually only gets wet when I wash it. I only drive it on nice days.
So maybe the newer Crossfires may not have the problem, but it's super easy to check the screws just by turning your mirrors backwards.
Good Luck

 

Hey guys, Just a word from a guy who has been into car collecting and restoration a long time. Believe it or not white cars rust through the paint quicker than other colors. It is the nature of the paint color white This has always been my findings and was told by other paint experts that white does pickup surface rust quicker where there is moisture. Just my experience over 45 years of being a car enthusiast and collector. It may be interesting to see how many other guys find rust on other colors and how many find rust on white cars. Just a suggestion from my personal experience.

 

I always thought it was simply because even a small amount rust just shows up better on a white back ground.
Oxidation occures when ever untreated metal is exposed to air and moisture. I don't see why there is any reason to believe that white paint is any less capable of sealing a primered surface than any other color is.

 

I totally agree with you about the logic of your statement. I have been told by different auto paint suppliers that the lighter a shade of white tends to pick up siigns of rust quicker then darker colors. I am not claiming this to be absolutely true but as I said in my thread it seemed to be the case over years of my observation. That's also why I said it would be interesting to see how many white cars in comparison to darker shades are experiencing the same problem. I probably should have presented my first thread with more" question."

 

Maybe that's why this is my favorite color.Message - CrossfireForum.org Gallery

 

Well, I happen to think that white is a great looking color on the crossfire. As is said, that black is the absence of color and white is the combination of all colors.